What a great week (or was it 2) - Join me for Bend's Art Hop, April 1, 2011 (NO FOOLING)

Well I have had a busy week!  First, I was at an art retreat in the Columbia River Gorge - Menucha.  Complete with bunk rooms, home cooking and art instruction from 9 a.m. until bedtime.  Everything was fabulous!  The (way too much) food, the art teachers and especially my roomies, Sydney and Bernice from Portland, Oregon were all more than I had ever expected.  I loved getting to know my roomies!  The fist night I was a bit worried when I came into my room and they were already snuggled up in their beds, lights off.  The next night they did stay up a little later and we chatted into the night comparing art journaling ideas. 

Then I came home to a flurry of activity getting ready to the the Red Chair Gallery's Featured Artist for the month of April.  I was a tad stressed that everything (paintings and jewelry) had to be in by Sunday, March 27th.  But then, you know, when I dropped everything off and helped organized and went home on Sunday, I felt a huge relief and have had a great week not worrying about my show. 

Lavender Fields

Painting the Plants of Greece: Monkshood

Monkshood

Part of what I love about watercolor journaling is that it engages all my senses.  In order to paint a flower, like the Monkshood, I use my sight to tell me colors, shapes and value, but I am also experiencing the sounds and feeling the warm breeze along  the hillside. I also love that it takes me to new, as well as familiar, places.  I look for different ways to represent my life journey.  It a wonderful way to slow down and savor the moment.  I look forward to sharing this experience with you in Greece!  There are lots of techniques that I can show you that even a beginner to watercolor painting will return home an artist.  If you would like more information on how to join me on a Watercolor Journaling in Greece, please contact the American College of Healthcare Sciences.  The class is May 27 - June 2, 2011.

The Stylish Blogger Award...... and the winners are......

Laure Ferlita, on her Painted Thoughts Blog, honored me and surprised me with the "Stylish Blogger Award!" Laure lives in Florida and is a very talented watercolor artiest and enjoys sharing her knowledge on her blog as well as with her imaginary watercolor trips (painting classes online). Please stop by and check her out.  Thank you, Laure!

As you may or may not know, (I didn't know) these awards always come with a "to-do" list and this one includes linking back to the giver, listing 7 things you don't know about me and passing the award on to others. 

Here are 7 things you don't know about me (do you really care?  I am going to pretend you do).

1. I love salt!  I am a salt snob.  My dining table has little bowls of red, black, green salts from around the world.  Some are Hawaiian volcanic salts, some are colored with bamboo leaf extracts.  But my favorite salt is the French, Fleur de sel, which is the hand harvested "flower" of the salt crystal.
2. I planned a watercolor painting trip in 2009 to Provence, France and it was a wonderful trip.  Everyone loved the hotel, the painting, the wine, the camaraderie.... The worse thing that happened, happened to me.  My purse was stolen with lots of money, my passport, my credit cards and basically any way of paying for all the things I was responsible for as well as all my identity.  This happened the day the students arrived!
3. I was almost kidnapped when living in Greece in the early 1960s.  While playing outside, a man drove up on a motorcycle and offered me a ride.  I really wanted to go!  I told him that I had to go ask my mom and when she came out he was gone.  
4. I never took an art class until I was in my 30s.
5. My first art class was a watercolor class.  I just wanted to paint.  If I had known you had to draw something first, I never would have taken that class.  
6. I was born in Japan.
7. My husband doesn't know I blog.

Well enough about me!  Here is the exciting part.  I am passing this award to the following wonderful blogs:

 Forgotton Old Photos 

A wonderful and noble blog about return vintage photos to their families

Nature Journaling and Art

Stunning and inspiring watercolor journals 

The Provence Post

Everything Provence!  Beautiful and full of interesting information about Provence

A Spattering

Beautiful art, beautiful blog

Catching Happiness

A great writer, fun to read, and she has a Jack Russell

Elva's Field Notes

Amazing drawings, great journals

Traci Bunkers Blog

Art journaling to the max!  Full of energy and excitement.  She makes fabulous letter stamps too.

A Brush with Color

Very painterly watercolors, fun read

Freebirds Drawing

Great examples of watercolor journals and fun drawings

 

To recipients of the Stylish Blogger Award:

1. add the award picture to your blog

2. thank and link back to the person who awarded it to you

3. share seven (7) things about yourself

4. pass this award up to 15 other creative bloggers

Olivier, 26 Euro: a New Watercolor and Mixed Media Painting

I just had fun painting this little square watercolor with a touch of mixed media painting of these little olive trees.  I saw them in the outside market in Provence.  They were in growing in beautiful terracotta pots.  I used gold acrylic paint for the lettering and lifted out the pattern with a stencil.