HAPPY 2024 and MY FIRST NEW ART!

I AM THE WALRUS, I AM THE EGGMAN Digital Art-sketchbook by auto desktop Prints Available On Demand HAPPY NEW YEAR and FIRST NEW ART…in 2024! It’s a new day, a new year, and hopefully a new us, right? Blah blah blah….does anyone else get tired of all these demands of self improvement each and every …

The Artist and The Little Blue Cottage…

The post’s author describes how they’ve embraced a simpler lifestyle at their home, the “Little Blue Cottage”. Here, they continue to create art and develop a growing interest in gardening. They share how these activities have deepened their connections to their home and each other. Despite this blog’s longevity, the author announces they will no longer regularly update it, instead choosing to focus on creating art, preparing for empty nesting, and turning 60. They are currently working on several projects, including a new coloring book and a children’s book.

I Remember Why I Began Blogging…

It is not uncommon to feel a mix of emotions when it comes to blogging. On one hand, there’s a sense of accomplishment and mental release that comes from creating a blog post. It’s a way to express yourself, share your thoughts and experiences, and engage with others who may resonate with your content. It can be an avenue for personal growth and self-discovery.

Artist Connections, Exhibitions & Exploration…

Collaboration is an essential aspect of the artistic world, where artists unite their talents to create works or participate in group exhibitions. Building a strong network of like-minded artists is paramount to achieving common goals and fostering growth….

The Value of Art To Me…

Art, for me, is not just a hobby or a way to pass the time. It is a fundamental part of who I am. It allows me to express thoughts, emotions, and ideas in a way that my words alone cannot capture. Whether it’s through bold color or delicate and intricate details, each piece I create carries a piece of my soul.…

Titles Have Never Given The Just Idea Of Things…

When it comes to creating art, one of the most challenging aspects for me as an artist is deciding on a title for a piece of work. I have often found myself contemplating the significance of having a title and how it can shape the viewer’s interpretation and experience of the artwork…

Summer & Rain Take Me Away…

Today, the gray clouds hang low and fill the sky as a steady rain falls. The sound of raindrops against the roof and windows creates a soothing melody, providing a sense of tranquility that washes over my environment.…

I Am My Own WIP…

Looking into my past years as an artist, I have much in which to be grateful. I am not famous by any measuring stick, but I know I am fortunate. Beginning without any acquired/practiced skills, and nothing but a passion in my heart and longing to create. I stumbled along my path for years….

Where Does Time Go?

I seem to always have an endless array of tasks and responsibilities to occupy my time during the vibrant seasons of spring through autumn. Every moment slips through my fingers like grains of sand, as if time itself is in a hurry to move forward. The impending commencement of a new school year looms on …

Artwork In Progress & Event

New work…An XL or XXL gallery canvas is definitely the way to tempt my artist soul.

Studio, Time & Frogs

In my studio I feel a sense of calm and solace. I believe being enveloped by our trade supplies, that most of us creatives are ‘in my space’. I do not refer only to creating time, but the feeling of being in the space you’re meant to be.

How Do You Define Success?

If you’d asked me how I define success twenty years ago or today my answers would differ, greatly. I imagine the same would be true for any one of us.

When I Was A Kid…

When I was a kid I used to draw two things constantly. Horses and clothes. Of course I thought I was destined to be a fashion designer and own horses and ice skate like Dorothy Hamill.

I’m Alright, Baby Girl, and New Art…

Greetings & Salutations, After my last blog, I thought perhaps a quicker follow up post is in order. I am still frustrated and feeling a little lost. But I am ok. I needed to let off a bit of emotional steam. Please, do not worry. I’m tough. Let’s move on.

Using My Frustration To Push My Art

I was struggling with my clay sculpture classes. I was totally lost-kept hemming and hawing, after about the third class my prof …

Follies, She Sheds & Art Studios…

Follies, She Sheds & Art Studio…As we’re into the early days of spring and my mind is straying from creating art and more into studying all things garden and outdoor related…

Blog Crashes & Artist (Me) Is Distraught 😭 🤯

My blog page crashed!!!?? 🤯 but my tech guru aka Ashley the Eldest, has been helping me to get it fixed. We even had to call in the big guns aka Wordpress Support Team

The Social Media Maven Wannabe…

The Social Media Maven (that’s not me) Wannabe (is me)…. has recently, and I’ll be honest, admit was inspired by my recent invitation to earn bonus money for creating reels. Social media is the bane of almost every creator existence, especially those that try to self promote their work and sell. I’ve been spending a …

A New Year, A New You…Right?

A New Year, A New You….Right?? or that’s how the saying goes. I am typically not the new year resolution sort and…

The Last Days Of 2022…

The last days of 2022 wind away into the ether, as most of us are reflecting on what has been and will be…

September Art Greetings…

September Art Greetings, where does time go, work in progress, loss of a parent

Hand painted journals…

I have decided to create a limited number of a keepsake painted journal this year. These hard back books are hand painted by me and I just added them to my etsy shop for the holiday shopping season 2022 Each book is 8.5×11 inches, with 110 blank 75 lb pages by artist loft from Michaels. …

The Magic Of Trees

The magic of trees has intrigued me most of my life. They’re a place to rest, a place to ponder life or just while away time on a hot summer day.

All roads lead…where?

I know I know! It is a landscape….WTH!!?? Val doesn’t do “landscapes”. But she just did and it here is the proof. ​

New Purpose & Look

Greetings to all, A new purpose and look for this blog is to apply a sense of meaning and purpose as well as refreshment. it is very obvious that I am no longer able/willing to post every week. If forced, I could come up with some claptrap that would be basic and boring, but that …

Stalled & A Bit Uncomfortable…

If I am being totally honest, I am uncomfortable with my inability to create and it’s been going on for a prolonged period of time. If I had words, or were able to work through the many feelings I am experiencing while I share this in a post, then I’d probably/definitely be painting. Part of …

It’s Officially A Series …

I’ve lost count of how many pieces there are in this series but they just keep coming. I learned a long time ago to ride the train when it starts rolling. It might suddenly stop, but sometimes something beautiful happens. You just do not know until you…let it go. Wait…isn’t there a Disney song about …

A Digital Art Series

Sometimes at night while we watch tv I like to draw/doodle in my digital art app on the iPad. I use Adobe Fresco and Autodesk sketchbook both. I like them for different reasons. The biggest being i like a simple to understand app that will not do everything for me. I prefer the way these …

January’s Ending & February Begins….

Late January Greetings and Salutations, Our weather has been cold, blustery, but passing very quickly which surprises me no end. I am usually struggling mightily by the end of January with seasonal blahs. Still my craving for some color and dirt filled garden/flower days does not wane. It feels almost like a physical ache. Anyone …

The Eve of Christmas Eve…

2021 is quickly winding down and to a close. just like that, it seems as though 2021 has flown by and is coming to a close. As people gather together to celebrate the season, my thoughts are conflicted. Do I write I about my struggles to organize my thoughts and blog regularly. Or do I …

Greetings from the studio….

The holidays are officially upon us. Hard to believe we are winding down yet another year. I don’t know about you guys but I am so worn out with the worries of these last two years filled with illness and fear, loss and financial burdens. I sometimes wonder if life will ever be the same …

Lost-In Her Own Mind…

LET’S ART TALK: I’ve decided to back up and talk a little more about my recent painting. I believe I mentioned how this painting just started to come to me suddenly and I didn’t understand or know what it was about, so I just painted. And I painted. Sometimes I struggle with composition when my …

It’s Beginning To Feel Like Xmas….in October??!!

First the Calendar News So I don’t forget to tell you! The calendar will be ready in a week or so….I am only making limited quantities of this calendar, so get them asap for gifts. $25 will include shipping in US contact me to arrange international shipping Ok, now Christmas, that’s right I said Christmas! …

Fall Equinox

AutumnYellow the bracken,Golden the sheaves,Rosy the apples,Crimson the leaves;Mist on the hillside,Clouds grey and white.Autumn, good morning!Summer, good night!by Florence Hoatson It has been about three weeks since my last post and felt that it was time to update you on what’s going on in my studio. It was fairly uneventful until a few weeks …

New Artwork….

When the muse takes the wheel of
You Art…

August Thoughts & Art …

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” Sylvia Plath I relate with these words by Sylvia Plath on the month of August. It is my birth month. I am a true sun worshipper, but the August humidity and temps run me inside more …

What’s On My Canvas…?

Greetings from my studio! It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to get these posts in on a regular basis and I do apologize for this, yet another lapse. I am making art. More personal art and in various ways. Summertime usually inspires a little selfishness in my time and art. However, my canvas is …

Blame It On The Rain…

I have a thing for borrowing song lyrics and using them as titles. What can I say, I listen to music often. While this has absolutely nothing to do with my art, we purchased a new Bose sound bar and sub woofer and I gotta say that it really ups your sound experience. (No this …

What’s In A Surname?

Tuesday Greetings,I have finished with the mural project. (Well my part is over anyway!) Now the owner (my son Shaun) needs to wipe off the chalk lines and apply the clear coat. The project was on hold awaiting the family name sticker. I don’t do letters. Nor did I want to purchase stencils that would …

Getting Out Of My Own Way…

is probably the hardest requirement for creating my art. Whether you are a painter, a writer or whatever, it is hard to let go and allow ‘the muse’ to direct your decisions during the creation process. One, because we like to be in control, or at least to think we are anyway. (We all should …

New Subscribers Greetings & Poem Revision 2…

Greetings: Hello and thank you for following/subscribing to the blog. Please send me your addresses and I will send you a little thank you. Also, to any of my other followers, if you read this and send me a comment or email with your address, I will send you a gift too. Also, don’t worry, …

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“Morning Glory” Previously Known As “The Kingfishers Mistress” Is Mostly Finished….

…I think. Art and Poetry: My Gift I am alone with my thoughts. it is early. I sip my coffee, I drink in the silence. We awake to her light. The sun glides silently, From behind the mountains. I sit, Breathing deeply, All is quiet, Except the birds. They sing her praises. I listen and …

It’s A New Year, Its A New Day…and I’m Feeling Good

As I began this New Years post I’ve tried to think of the right words that could express all, or at least express some, of the things we’ve battled as a people, living in the historical time of a world wide pandemic. It actually still perplexes me to say and write those words… And as …

Five Days Before Xmas…

And what have you done? Another year older and a new year is almost begun…it’s that time of the year. Time to reflect. Time to plan and begin anew. Let’s talk about art: I have a bigger commission piece that came in late, but after a sucky 2020 it is hard not to find time …

December Art Greetings…

Late Blogging Greetings on this cold Wednesday morning-here in Central Virginia anyway. I needed a little break from blogging, if you’re still there, thank you for respecting and understanding this. However, taking a break from attempting to write does not mean I have been breaking from Art. Indeed, just the opposite! Fortunately art commissions began …

Sometimes You Are The Bug & Sometimes You’re The Windshield….

Warning: If you’re not up for some personal reality then you might want to skip this blog. I don’t know about you guys but 2020 has been super tough on me. So many things have happened that if I start listing them all I might have a meltdown, so I won’t (you’re welcome). But what …

Art Title: Golden Crowns For Princesses…

Finished…. As a native plant of North American no other plant has such global significance as the sunflower. From its beginning as a prairie weed, the sunflower is now one of the world’s leading oil seed crops, second only to soybeans. Early American natives used the sunflower long before corn and beans were brought to …

Ah! Sunflower and My Art…

Artist blog sharing sunflowers, poetry, personal thoughts and art in progress

Once Upon A Time…

…A Story of Angst & Frustration Begins There was this artist who also blogged. She had just enough digital/technical knowledge to be dangerous in most cases. She created a blog post two times only to give up on them and not finish. Then one days she made this fabulous post with all this positivity and …

August

August seems to have slipped up on me in these days of hermit-like conditions. We are all struggling as we adopt and adjust to new normals in our life. We struggle. We laugh. We cry. Some of us, even garden (me) as we try to cope. But time keeps rolling along and here we are …

Full Of Grace…

Someone commented that inside this painting remindEd them of dancers and commented I should title it Full Of Grace. I like the symbology connection they made between the stamen and dancers. A lot actually. But I am not sure I am sold on the title. But, this got me to thinking about dancers, ballets, ( …

Cherries & Flowers

Lately, I had lain aside my surreal self portrait to curb an urge to paint this piece that’s rather traditional in subject matter, but hopefully a more contemporary perspective. At first i was going to call this piece Wine & Flowers but have second guess myself and given it a generic title that states the …

Let Us Descend Together…

how an artist uses small things to affect her behavior and life during all the political, racial and virus quarantine.

I Am Baaaackkk!!!

Greetings! I disappeared again-and I am back! this time it was not my fault. Well, it actually was my fault because I didn’t catch a problem with the WordPress theme I was using until it was so convoluted (thanks theme maker for abandoning your theme and NOT telling me) that it was a total FUBAR. …

Self Portrait in Progress…

Struggling art blogger catches up on her blogging and progress of her very first representational self portrait…

My Paintbrush Is My Instrument, Your Support Is The Catalyst…

On A Personal & Artistic Note: While I was under the weather, I needed to retrieve art from a group show. I had participated never expecting to suddenly get laid low with bronchitis/pneumonia. When it came time to pick up my work, we were having trouble making arrangements and a kind artist friend picked up …

Please send bread or flour…

On A Personal Note: I am at the point in my recovery where I am still sick enough that focussing is difficult, I get tired just from taking a shower, and really want to resume some of my idea of normalcy again. But for whatever reasons my brain is muddled, and mush. It happens every …

Sick & Tired…

Of being sick. My asthma went sideways, turned into bronchitis. Now it’s progressed into pneumonia. I’ve been fighting this for a month now and I’m worn out with it. So yeah, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. In light of the virus scare, you should see me clear an area when I …

My 10% Perspective…

On A Personal Note: In fall 2018 I wrote a blog about fall and how I was feeling/reacting to the weather decline. I came across some wisdom in this post that I’d shared. It was meant to uplift myself but hopefully it will others too. I spoke so eloquently that I’m surprised it is from …

Roads Less Traveled, WIP & Art Receptions…

On A Personal Note: It seems that my surrealist leanings are being highly influenced with nature, flowers, women, pearls, vines and other natural and highly symbolic imagery. In a world that’s working so hard to end more gender bias, and encourage neutral environments, it seems I am choosing to follow a different path. But then, …

What’s Up With Lace In My Art? Fashion Is Art, Right…?

Friday Greeting 1: Some unrelated art sharing-After we moved to Central Virginia, sold our house back home, then moved yet again into our permanent home a year later and in between sold and emptied our place back home, my back & hips, which are not the strongest, took a beating. I find myself almost three …

Pop Up Art Show…

Popped in (he he) to put this poster on my blog as a reminder, and to re-invite you Downtown (Commerce Street) this coming Saturday. December 14, 10-2pm 11 Artists in varying fields and styles Mission House coffee & local goodies available 100% of Booth fees are going to a local charity for grieving children in …

Monday’s Are For Beginning…

beginning the week with new art on the easel, a fun journal cover project, and friends coloring with me this past Saturday