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A few months ago, a bride-to-be whose wedding I will be painting, messaged me asking if I’d ever painted any whooping cranes. She explained that her fiancé has a special place for them in his heart because his grandfather once rescued one and nursed it back to...

Pelicans-- the birds I used to watch before I watched birds. Persistent little things. I suppose all fishers have to be if they want to survive. Persistence is what 31 in 31 is all about after all-- getting after it whether or not the desire is there. Funny thing is...

Day 5. Already? Just?  I typically move at the pace of a hummingbird's wings-- 70 flaps a second just to stay afloat. What is it about water that says, slow down, don't worry, be still? Last night I attempted two other little paintings that weren't quite right. I...

  This whole watercolor thing started because I wanted to give myself some time away from my studio to clean it out, declutter, reorganize. What’s actually transpired is that I’ve shut the door to the messy studio and settled into my desk in the sunroom. Out of...

I used a pen this time which, I don’t know, feels too harsh. I was able to go outside the lines more with the actual paint (something I really want to do) but those black pen lines feel so precise, I can’t tell if the painting is free-spirited or completely rigid....

Hey there, Watercolor. I’m Denise. I know we don’t really hang out and it’s mostly because I’ve been so involved with my other friend oil. I hear you don’t mix (although I’ve got some ideas about how to get you together for a little soiree on the same canvas but more...

This time last year, I was exactly where I am now-- on my couch with my computer, sipping a cappuccino. But last year the document was titled “2018 goals” and three pages later, I was still going strong. I can’t quite bring myself to revisit that document though I am...

Forgive me reader for I have sinned. It has been months since I wrote my “weekly” blog, a 2018 new year’s resolution I first embarked upon with heartfelt enthusiasm and dedication and then let dwindle into the background of a life overrun with emails, paint stains on...

"Jen" 30x40, oil on canvas SOLD I came across the following blog post I wrote on this day exactly two years ago. I was doing a 30 in 30 challenge in which I did one painting every day for the month. Each painting was based on a story sent in to me. The theme was...

Why Art? In my last blog post, I posed a question that a child had asked me when I told him that I was making a painting. “Why?” Why art at all? The other day, my six year old was asking me about different jobs adults have. As we went through a rather generic list, he...

I didn’t think about it much at first, and now I can’t stop wondering if I’ll ever really know the answer to it: My why. Last weekend I was painting at a lovely New Orleans wedding when a little boy who couldn’t have been older than eight approached me. Decked out in...

"Open Hand" 24x24, oil on canvas  “To make art is to sing with the...

"What's Next?" 6x6 oil on canvas  Sometimes I picture this older, more...

"Letting Go" 6x6, oil on canvas  My son’s karate class is structured...

"Doer of Deeds" 24x20, oil on canvas  “It is not the critic who...

"Taking Root" 24x24, oil on canvas  On day 24 I wrote about "phoning...

"Perfect Patience" 4x4, oil on canvas  Great Blue Herons are...

"Morning Walk" 6x6, oil on canvas  My friend Kama posts all kinds of...

"Sunlit" 10x10, oil on canvas $200.00  I woke up this morning early. I...

"Red Head" 6x6, oil on canvas  For today’s painting, I referenced a...

"Ruby Throated" 24x24, oil on canvas  This is what I meant to do...

"Not Just" 24x24, oil on canvas  When I do live paintings at weddings I...

"A Moment Composed" 4x4, oil on canvas  I usually treat Sunday...

"Baby Steps" 20x20, oil on canvas Earlier in the month, I knew I'd need some back up paintings for that inevitable day in the 31 where I just can't quite complete a painting or don't quite think what I have "completed" is actually done. This, as I've mentioned before,...

"Gentle" 4x4, oil on canvas  Yesterday, I got the same good advice from a...

"In a Flash" 4x4, oil on canvas  Yesterday morning I was staring out...

"Bright Side" 24x24, oil on canvas  Today's painting is the larger,...

"In Good Company" 10x10, oil on canvas  I do this often: buy...

"Face to Face" 20x20, oil on canvas  About a decade ago, I was...

"In the Shadows" 4x4, oil on canvas  Chapter 5 of Art and Fear...