37! As I write this I am overcome with gratitude. Gratitude for another year of life. Gratitude that I get to share my art. Gratitude that I have the opportunity to bring more beauty, creativity, and joy into the world.

2023 In Review & Reflections

• Countless Classes & Paint Parties taught

• 135+ Paintings & Drawings completed

• 28+ cities in 12 countries visited

• 3 Collections released

Happy Inktober!

Continuing my theme from February Flowers, I bring you more Bard Blooms.

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to run away to a remote mountain cabin, surrounded by nature? Ever wondered how it would feel to take some time for yourself to nurture your peace and creativity?

It would be an absolutely magical weekend in Slovenia!

36! Another year older. Another year wiser. Maybe. This time of year is always a time of reflection for me. Summer is ending. School is beginning. I celebrate another trip around the sun.

In January, my girlfriends got on our group chat itching to travel and after much back and forth we decided to hop on a plane to Barcelona. A couple of weeks later we did just that!

Barcelona is a city of art. It is almost a shrine to the architect Gaudi. We visited many of his works including Casa Bellono, Park Guell, and Sagarda Familia. Gaudi was inspired by nature and you can see this in each of his creations. My favorites were the mosaics at Park Guell and the incredible rainbow stained glass windows at Sagrada Familia. I love all of the colors, and shapes, and light. I think our forever home will have to have stained glass windows.

Traveling to France has always been a dream of mine. In high school I took 2 years of French, instead of the much more practical Spanish, because I was sure I would go to France one day. It took 20 years but the day finally came!

February Flowers! Shakespeare Edition!

Last year was my first year participating in #FebruaryFlowers. The project was very healing for me and I created some pieces that I loved that I turned into my 2023 calendar.

For my 35th birthday I really wanted to add another country to my collection. I had my heart set on Paris but when that wasn’t coming together I started looking at more local options. I priced out trips to Corsica, Budapest, and Prague but those weren’t flowing either. Finally I landed on Austria. I found an adorable cabin, and fun things to do for our whole family.

In May, we were able to travel to Croatia for the first time! County number 19 for me. We drove from Italy and in less than an hour we drove through Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. Being from the USA where it takes 3 days to drive across one state it boggles my mind that I can visit 3 countries in an hour.

Lots of new faces around here! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. Here are a few fun facts about me:

My Grandma passed away a week ago. I need a distraction that is not mindlessly scrolling. I am going to try my hand at February Flowers. 1 flower a day for 28 days.

Thank you to EVERYONE who painted with me this year. After a rocky start in 2020 it was amazing to watch my business grow in 2021. I am excited to see what 2022 has in store.

Earlier in October I took my very first solo trip ever. I laughed, I cried, I sat in silence, I found my courage, and I reconnected with myself.

Of course I also painted.

Ciao! I hope you are having a wonderful Summer so far. Summer is in full swing in Italy and it has me dreaming about Tuscany. Earlier this summer, we spent 4 days exploring Florence and the northern Tuscany area.

I had a ton of fun painting this and I am super proud of how it turned out!

It’s that time of year again.... INKTOBER! My most favorite time of year!

MY THEME: *Sparkletts*

I collect little bit of inspiration all of the time, little sparkletts. Things that catch my eye that I find beautiful. Lots of flowers. Things my friends and family share on social media, things I see in my day to day. And after I collect them they often sit in my camera roll. For this project I will be using these sparkletts as inspiration.

MY GOALS: Create everyday for the next 30 days. Good, bad, ugly, doesn’t matter, just make something. I am keeping these pieces small (5x7) so that my goal will be easier to attain.

1. Find some watercolor paints and a paint brush. Prang or Crayola from the school supply isle will work perfect.

2. Find some heavy paper. Watercolor paper is ideal but cardstock or thick drawing paper will work too.

I have had an idea in my mind for a while now to add pen and ink to my landscape paintings. Fear of ruining my hard work has kept me from experimenting. What better time than Inktober to dive right in, no expectations, just creating? So my theme for Inktober this year is Ink & Landscapes.