by now everyone’s fully aware of my moss & lichen love, and there’s just SO MUCH of it to love in my current location! it’s been such a treat to visit certain patches on a daily basis to track their progress and changes as the rainy season began here.

it’s been equally fun to learn how to depict them using my chosen new-to-me medium: paint.

after a few false-starts and dead-ends that felt like bad renditions of other people’s work rather than my own [sorry, not shown. but if you're really interested i'd be happy to post those as well!], i feel as if i’ve finally arrived at my own “take with paint.” above, 2 pieces i’m happy with. below, a detail of one of the pieces.

it’s not so easy to traslate your vision and work to a new medium. this is a conversation i’ve had with quite a few other artists in the past few years. painting is a much slower and more deliberate process than the pen & ink work i’m accustomed to, but i saw first hand the depth of possibilities paint would bring to my work when i did a collaborative art show with three other painters two years ago.

yeah. it’s taken me that long to arrive here! more painting, more creating are two of my primary goals during this sabbatical adventure year i’ve given myself!

another detail of one of the moss pieces:

one of my other goals this year is to be better about selling my original artwork, rather than just tucking it into a flatfile drawer and forgetting about it. in the next few days i’ll decide the best way to accomplish that with these pieces!

and also get these new images to the printer for notecards in time for the holiday season! stay tuned!

wow, these photos of my friend kati and i taken last month by her daughter penelope make me nostalgic!

in 2004 i got a product enquiry email from a woman named kati opening a shop in san francisco not too far from my then-studio. she described her shop as an “enchanted urban garden with forest elements” and mentioned her business partner, penelope firefly, age 19 months. how could i say no to all that?!

this past weekend’s camping trip on the oregon coast with friends included penelope, now 9 years old, her mom, kati, and her younger sister, sabine. we all live in the portland area now. in the past 8 years kati and i have collaborated on many projects together and have become close friends and business confidantes.

from custom murals for her two san francisco shops to my latest anima stuffies and stitch kits, a custom chicken coop gate design, drawing workshops incorporating organic locally grown meals, gardening and farm animals – our projects and interests continue to align, even after all these years.

my butterfly journal is featured on the home page of barnesandnoble.com today!

kati, our retreat cook, has begun planning & planting for the 3-day drawing & eating retreat’s breakfast & lunch menu in july. these are some pics of her animals & gardens that will provide our meals, along with provisions from my own garden.

this is going to be FUN!

there’s still a handful of spots left for the day program, but the guesthouse is full!

i love it when customers take the time to email me and let me know how my work fits into their lives! it’s an extra special bonus added on top of creating the work itself. check this out:

“my friends bought one of your cards for me because i had to let my best friend go. she was a rez dog from east glacier montana and she was my best friend for 12 years. she took care of me when i was sad and she would throw down the coolest style when she caught frisbees. she wanted to herd real bad, but i could get her to not chase the deer that would hunker down in the campground where we lived. before she adopted me the locals in town called her hubcap because she liked chasing cars. it’s a popular sport with rez dogs. i think she would love your artwork. the elk with the owl, butterflies, chipmunk, snake, quilt style. it hits close to home, geographically and in our hearts. thanks for your creations.”

my journals and art panels, on gorgeous live edge wood shelves!

spotted at the willow room in lakewood, ohio!

check out these custom print-to-order posters and the custom bathroom they were made for! i worked with the client directly so that the poster backgrounds match the bathroom floor tile colors. fun! beautiful! hurray!

it reminds me of a visit a few weeks ago that i forgot to post at the time… below you’ll see my sea lion seas poster and one of my “vintage” hanging ribbon mobiles have pride of place in my friend bishop‘s apartment bathroom!

last night & this morning were all about foxy legs… this evening it’s about palm trees & avocados, but it’s too dark to take pics!

here’s what i was able to accomplish today! yay!

back in the studio after a bout of illness & so excited to be back with my plants, paints & pens!

the project above doesn’t look like much yet, but just you wait. about 20 more layers of paint and it’ll look aces!