I'm going to take a Holiday break. We are traveling. I'll paint as often as I can in Rhode Island and post the paintings when I get back. Happy New Year!!

Dear Santa: A Letter from your old Friends Pink and Purple

It's almost Christmas, I thought I better get my letter to Santa in before the deadline.

What Comes Around: Circles in Pink and Purple

In this painting, I'm experimenting with circles that are hollow and some that are not. It's more of the rubber stamping with found circular objects, that I started a few weeks ago. The color palette was inspired by some withering pink roses that have touches of purple.

Letters to Ms. Red and Ms. Orange

I'm really tired today, the Christmas hustle bustle is wearing me down. Here is another letter color study.

Little Love in Pink and Brown

I'm hoping to squeeze in some regular paintings of my daughter into this blog. She moves a lot, so I have to be fast. Here is my first go. I painted her last Christmas in Hawaii, and I manage a few sketches a month since birth.

L for Lemon --- Bid

My husband cooked a tastey lemon dill salmon tonight, for our friends and us. Our friends brought with them a delicious bubbly lemon beverage. Need I say more?

Dear Mr. Green and Ms. Blue

Tonight was another night painting with my daughter present, and in a lot of ways it really frees up my spirit and tempers my inner critic. This painting goes back to my graphic design background, both my love of typography and my need to be less of a Miss. Hospital Corners.

Lonely Rose

I thought I would give realism a try again.

Red and Purple for Prosperity

This painting is number four in the feng shui series. I thank my daughter for the original idea to start these color studies. It's been a wonderful thing to get to sit and color with her and her crayons and then add a touch of my adult self with the acrylic paint. The prosperity corner of the home is the back left corner.

Blue for Wisdom

This is the third abstract painting in the feng shui series. This painting will hang in the Wisdom quadrant of our house (front left). Some feng shui experts say this is the most important room and peice of the puzzle, because without wisdom, you won't even notice if other parts of your life are improving.

ME?

I was doing some research on neo conceptualism today and looking at some of Cindy Sherman's work. Somehow, this lead me to finally put to use the old diaries and photos of myself, that I've been dragging around with me, some for over 15 years. My first peice in this series, I've named "ME?" I hardly recognize myself in the photo taken a month before my sixteeenth birthday. Big hair and a mint green polka dot dress (which I hated). The text is the the first four pages from my "top secret" diary started 8 days before my 16th birthday. The text begins on July 5, 1989: "Today, I have decided that I want to keep a diary of my thoughts. It usually helps me understand what I'm feeling and what I want. Lately, I've been trying to feel better about myself by reading instead of watching TV, not eating as much junk food, and if I'm not working I try to spend my time wisely." Well, I may not recognize the girl in the photo, or her handwriting, but the girl in the text hasn't changed much and could probably teach me a thing or two. I haven't completely worked out the layout, but for now, it's sort of a fake scrap book thing.

Town Lake Austin on a Rainy December Sunday

On the weekends I usually get 2-3 hours of free painting time. I joined Austin's Plein AIr Group when we moved here in July and started painting outside the studio. It's as thrilling as surfing or rock climbing.

Green and Brown for Family

I really like how yesterday's painting looks on the wall, so I thought I'd give the process a try with another color, for another room.

Pink and Red for Love and Relationships---SOLD

The feng shui love quadrant of our house (the back right corner) needed some color help. So here it is, in crayola crayons and acrylic paint. I bought my daughter her first box of 32 crayons, I just love the smell of them and the color names. Brick red was my favorite as a kid, although it seemed a little bit browner than I remembered.

Memories of Flatiron Snow

It's almost Christmas, and I'm dreaming of East Coast snow here in Austin. This is a painting of another of my favorite NYC buildings, The Flatiron Building.

Covering Love with Circles

I had some trouble finding time to paint today. My daughter is still "off her game" and putting painting above her even for a short time seems silly. I tried painting the word "love" which was especially interesting because most of the time I was painting , I was thinking " I hate this painting". I finally made some peace with the painting, when I covered it stamped white circles.

Searching for Comfort with Imperfection

As a graphic designer I produce art on a computer, easily aligning and sizing objects to mathematic perfection. I've noticed that my design work has begun to affect my painting and home life, so much so that I am physically uncomfortable with things that don't align. This painting sets out to begin to free me from that discomfort.

Sweet Dreams of You

My daughter is sick with a fever, so making time to paint today was harder than the last three days. We watched "Miracle on 34th Street" to keep everyone calm and still, and it started me missing New York. Here is my favorite building there, The Chrysler Building.

P is for Persimmon

I have a 16 month old, need I say more. I'm also a graphic designer by day, so I've been itching to incorporate letters and typography into my paintings for a while now. I bought these stencils to start with.

Painted Over Persimmon

I don't often allow myself the freedom to paint anything abstract. It seems that with this blog may come more freedom.

Persimmon in Red for Fame

My husband and I are in a new home and are furnishing it based on feng shui. The middle back of the house is the fame quadrant and needs a touch of red, so here it is, inspired by a ripening persimmon.