I'm happy to have finished my second acrylic painting.  Getting out of my drawing comfort-zone once again. I call this one "Connections."  I put the finishing touches on it today by adding a varnish--a glossy protective coat.

I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed my first acrylic painting (below).  In that it was fun initially, then I hated it, then it was just ok, and now I like it pretty well. 

Friends helped.  I mean the TV show (see Phoebe above), but actual friends helped as well (encouraging comments, etc) as did husbands (really just my own, he told me that yes, it does look like it could be finished and stop stressing).

Process pics below.

This weekend I went camping with some girlfriends--four ladies and four dogs. So thankful for these beautiful friends (and dogs).  Click on an image to make it bigger. 

Blank walls just beg for pretty things.  Like this.

It's so fun to see my art "hanging" on a wall (In quotes because in this case they where Photoshopped in ;) ).  These framed prints you can find on BoomBoom Prints.

I feel very close to being finished with this painting.   It start with a bunch of squares and has since turned into something much different.

And speaking of beautiful painted colors that have a life of their own, I love the work of Amanda Krantz that I discovered on the Artsy Forager blog.  Her paintings are so alive.

And speaking of living... we have been living in Oregon since December, and my car and I are now officially Oregonians! (weak transition, I know)

Yesterday I spent some time and cash going to the DMV to get a new drivers license and license plate.  I even had to take a driving test!  Gasp!  (on the computer, not in a car--that would be even  more terrible) But I passed, so now my Subie and I are official.

I participated in a watercolor trading card exchange recently organized by my friend Beth of OliveMeArtsie.  So  last week I sat outside and painted this little one.

It was fun to experiment and play on such a small scale.  I started a second one too, in case I didn't like the first.  That one is still just sitting on my desk if anyone wants to trade...

And of course I can't NOT scan it and make it available as a lot of fun products (click on the image if you're interested in the product).

And hey, did you know you can now buy my art on journals and sketchbooks over at RedBubble?  So fun and pretty! Spiral and hardcover!

Stay tuned for more about another acrylic painting I've begun, and a drawing of a shark....

And then there is this beautiful waterfall, found after climbing over logs and walking through freezing water in Oneonta Gorge. You can see  some of my braver-than-me friends climbing on it....  Really, I didn't climb on it less because of fear and more because the water was SO COLD. 

Besides, SOMEBODY had to take pictures.

(By the way, I feel like I should say I do other things in my daily life other than make art and frolic outside--like teach and vacuum and walk the dogs and wash the dishes.....for example)

I feel like I am about done with  my bike lane guy.

I was planning on darkening the lines throughout the whole circle, but I kind of like the look right now--where only the bottom is darkened.  I think I'll shade around the guy himself and perhaps call it a day.  Maybe shade around the edge of the circle as well. What do you think?

A similar thing happened awhile back when I was working on this Saturn piece.

I was going to fill in the whole rectangle with tangled patterns, but then I paused a moment and realized I liked the unfinished spaces, and so left them blank.

By the way, "Patterns in Space" is available over at BoomBoom Prints as a variety of fun products for the whole family.

And did you know I also have creative and adventurous friends? I got to spend some sweet time camping with them this past weekend. Click on an image to view it larger, if you feel so inclined.

Lovely people and places.