Summer!

Summer! We just got back from our family cross-country trip! (you can follow the whole trip HERE) It was awesome!! Now I’m looking forward to a relaxed rest of the summer ; ) The summer issue of Daughters of Promise magazine arrived just before we left, with my library illustration in it!

Then, as soon as we got back I had an illustration to do for the fall issue! I was glad to get back to drawing and painting after a month hiatus – but of course I can’t reveal the finished piece until the magazine is out ; )

So, now I can get back to gardening, porch sitting, and day trips with friends to the beach! I hope you’re having a lovely summer and enjoying every moment!!!

Painting Orchids

I’ve been teaching an art class at our homeschool group for the past three years. I enjoy it so much and hope to do it again next year! This was our last class of this year – painting orchids! These girls are great fun and have each learned to become more comfortable with their own artistic style!

Waterlotus!

One week!

Week two!

I’m growing lotus waterlilies from seed for the first time ever! I had an old seed pod from a floral arrangment I’d saved years ago and thought it would be fun to try a little lotus water garden! I was so pleased that 6 of the seven seeds sprouted!! When they start putting out roots I’ll plant them in a water tub outside. I got a betta to live in there with them (he’ll eat the mosquito larve)…hopefully, if all goes well I’ll have beautiful lotus blossoms in a couple years!

Landscape Illustration

I received the spring issue of Daughters of Promise this week! I did a lanscape illustration for an article about nature and poetry – the beauty of words to describe God’s beautiful creation. I feel so grateful to be a part of this lovely publication!

Natural Body Care

Friends of mine have just started a line of soaps and body care products. I’m having some fun doodling a logo for their brand and some label illustrations! They are using all delicious sounding essential oils: oat milk & honey, cucumber & mellon, sandalwood & oakmoss, eucalyptus, cinnamon & clove, lemon poppyseed, lemongrass, orange, lavender, and juniper. Their drying/curing room smells amazing! They gave me a couple bar soaps and a liquid soap to try at home. I’m in love!!!

Hello March!

A drawing of our kitty, Kilo – this is how she likes to nap. (The flowers were added from later doodlings)

Spring is just around the corner and the warmth of the sun is melting the snow away inch by inch! It always inspires me just thinking about the warmth, flowers, butterflies, and songbirds returning to the landscape! With all that happy anticipation, here’s a few pages I did in my art journal this week!

Has spring come to your neck of the woods yet? Or, like here in Maine, are there still a few weeks from finally finishing the winter weather! I’ve been turning my energy to some spring cleaning instead ; ) Getting everything indoors tidy and clean will allow me to spend all my time outdoors in the garden as soon as the ground thaws!!!

Pretty Housekeeping

I like this idea to display regular, everyday used, items as decoration – to recognize the simple beauty of a mundane thing like a handbroom! I’ve never been one to display things just for show…they have to have a history, significance, and/or purpose. What do you think?

There’s this trend for fancy, upscale-utilitarian cleaning tools – there are more beautiful housekeeping tools available everywhere! I think it’s partly the eco-friendly natural and the minimalist long-lasting fashions that have swept the world by storm! I found this darling broom and dustpan and now sweeping feels like a special occation ; )
Also, thanks to Marie Cando and the *spark joy* trend, I’ve been organizing, cleaning out, and re-evaluating all the spaces in our home too! It’s the perfect activity for these winter days when cabin fever is at it’s pitch!!

How about you? Are you ready for spring cleaning?! Or, like me, just couldn’t wait and have spent the winter digging out the recesses of every closset to discover what’s hidden inside!

February

This month is always the longest feeling – ironic since it’s actually the shortest! But, it’s the middle of winter here with the cold days and snow. I haven’t done any painting in a while, but I’ve had other illustration work and I’m enjoying a beautiful butterfly puzzle! I have made my own matcha cheescake, a linen spray with essential oils, a card for a friend, and I’m started on a second rag rug! Handicrafts are a great diversion from the cabin fever that threatens to settle in this time of the year! What do you like to do in the winter months?

Winter Decorations

It’s time to put up the snowflakes and twinkle lights! I love to see all the snowflakes silhouetted in the windows – reminding me of how beautiful the snow is about the time in the winter that I start resenting how long and cold winter is!

Work Satchel

I found this love-worn leather satchel at Goodwill and knew it would be the perfect thing to keep my illustration work in when I have a client/commision I’m preparing for.

Right now I have a very exciting and fun job that includes drawing conifers – I haven’t done many evergreens before, so this is a great opportunity! There are so many different trees and shrubs: juniper, hemlock, cedar, pine, larch, balsam…once I got started I realized there are way more options then I had space on my paper!