Let's talk about something fun today.  Let's ignore the cold and snow and biting wind and dream about riding our bikes through the park with flowers blowing out of our baskets.  Let's talk about plum colored pants and little furry dogs.  And please, let's not mention the color gray.  Just for today!

I'd like to teach you how to do something I just started doing a few weeks ago.  Let's go back to the basics and start our days right, with clarity, Scripture reading, journaling, and painting our dreams.

Here's what you'll need (let's keep this simple):
a compact watercolor set
a cheap sketchbook
a pencil
a glass of water
a paper napkin
a small collection of visual references

What inspires you?  What colors and patterns make you swoon?  If you had the day all to yourself, what would you do with it?  What sort of things would you want to see?

Now, open the curtains and let in the morning light.  Start the tea kettle.  Turn on the music.  Ignore the clock, your phone, the computer.

Let's begin.  Lay out the fun visual references you've been collecting.  How happy are you right now?  What about those references make you happiest?  Now pick up your brush, wet the palette, and begin.  Who cares what happens after that?  This is just for you, for fun, for practice, for presence and joy.

Finished?  How does it look?  Does something bother you, please you, make you smile?  Remember those things.  Now, close the sketchbook and open your heart to what God has in store for you today.

Repeat each morning.  :)

*If you're on Instagram, tag your paintings with my custom label #morningpaintsketch and see the artists who have already joined the fun!

Seth and I returned home last night after a few days away to find our town has nearly turned completely black and white.  All of our neighbors were building great piles of leaves and that Fall smell of burning leaves filled our car as we pulled into our drive.  This time of year always makes me so thankful!  Thankful for where we live, for the life we have, for the colors and the baby squirrels emerging from their summer nests.  You should see these baby squirrels I spotted on my morning walk.  They were about the size of my hand with long velvety white tails.  I went back for a picture, but instead got the warning look of a very protective parent. Next time, perhaps.  :)

And now, as I sit in my studio and listen to the thunder clapping and the rain pounding I am thankful for work.  It's the kind of work I miss when I'm away.  The kind of work that is always on my mind.  I am so grateful to be in my own home with a line-up of customers.  It is the best life.

So thank you to all of the wonderful people who believe in what I do and allow me to paint all day long!  You are truly the best and most loyal customers.  I am thankful for you!

painting swans

It's gone a little something like this the past few weeks...

7:30 a.m.- stumble out of bed, literally running into things on my way to the bathroom
8:00 a.m.- chug coffee or hot tea with caffeine to wake up, say a little something to Seth (if he's still home) who always seems WAY too happy in the morning. pretend to laugh at his jokes.
8:30 a.m. - wake up a second time out of the trance of reading the Bible or writing in my journal or scribbling a note to not forget to buy new candles next time I'm at the store
9:00 a.m. - do the dishes, take out the trash, sweep the floors, switch the laundry
10:00 a.m. - answer emails, start painting swans and trees and houses and portraits, momentarily freak out at the long list of things to do, say a little prayer of thankfulness for having so many things to do
1:00 p.m.- lunch and maybe an afternoon walk, then back to work
5:00 p.m. - is it seriously dinner time?  I just ate 10 minutes ago. this clock must be wrong.
9:00 p.m. - talk on the phone to Seth, who is now at least 100 miles away.  say a prayer asking God to keep him safe and bring him back home to me soon
1:00 a.m. - is it really one o'clock in the morning?  geez, where does the time go?  Seth is going to shake his head at me when he finds out I'd up late again to paint.
2:00 a.m. - maybe I should stop.  The swans won't mind if I stop, will they?  Oh no.  I'm talking to the swans.  time for bed
2:15 a.m. - shower and fall into bed, completely exhausted and satisfied

Ok, it's not always like that- just lately because of all these deadlines.  Sometimes I get to take long walks and coffee breaks and sit-on-the-couch-and-read breaks.  Sometimes I stop painting at 5:00 and make a nice dinner.  Sometimes I sit on the porch for long hours and stare at the birds and squirrels in my front yard and day dream about planting another tree so we can attract more birds and squirrels.

All that to say that work is work- no matter how much I love to paint (and I do), it's still a lot of work.  It's happy work, to be certain, and I wouldn't trade it for any other job.  But it seems that the more you love something, the harder and longer you work at it to make it perfect, you know?  It's completely exhausting and wonderful in the same moment.

The swan painting (above) is a little "teaser" of my larger body of oil paintings to be announced in just a few weeks.  Most of the watercolor work you've already seen, but the oil paintings will be a surprise!  I'm so looking forward to my October show at the gallery and to sharing these new works with you right here, on my blog.  Until then, happy working to you, my friend!

studio day

After a long and hard-working week of organizing and cleaning, this week my studio is finally inviting me back in.  I really can't get enough of my beautiful white and pink peonies that are blooming so huge in my backyard.  I can barely stand to be away from them!  So I clipped a few from the bush to look at while I work on this house portrait today.  It's my first house portrait ever!  It'll be a part of my Doolin Family Portrait series and maybe something custom I'll offer seeing how well I like it.

Did you have a nice Mother's Day weekend?  I hope you gave your mother something pretty and had some time to relax and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine!

Another peek...

Here's just a few more shots from our just-for-fun New Years photoshoot.

We might not have had the best camera or the cleanest horse, but the outfits Corrie put together were warm and perfect for the cold and windy weather.  I have a lot to show you in regards to the painting/scribbling/drawing mess that seems to be filling up my mind and sketchbook since our outing.  There's just something about our landscape around here that I'm beginning to love...so perfectly and simply even across the horizon and so often overcast and foggy.  I can't always put it into words, but the shades of dark green and grey this winter have been standing out to me everywhere.

I suppose words aren't always necessary if I can show you with pictures and paintings.

Much more to come.

Painting: Steps 3-4

After showing you the first few steps to complete a painting Michelle style,

I'm happy to share this next step:

adding detail.

Once all the paint has dried from the first two washes of color,

I go in with a pencil and refine the edges, add swirly details, 

and give my characters some character (if you know what I mean).

I work through this stage pretty quickly before I move into the next step:

adding collage.

I've got a vast collection of materials to pull from: old piano music books, discarded book pages that have fallen out of their binding, and song music with words.

I cut and tear and rearrange until it feels just right...

Then I glue!

The very last step is coming up next, and this painting will be ready for sale!

Happy friday to you all!

The first step to painting...

...is to sit down.

I have this terrible habit of never sitting still.

But last night, I ignored the laundry basket next to me full of clothes,

and I painted.

It was wonderful!

I lay down the brighter colors first in thin, uneven washes so that later on,

if I want to make a color darker, all I have to do is add another layer or two.

It's much easier this way.  Watercolors can be tempermental.  If the bottom layer is too dark or dull, there are very few things you can do to change it.

So, bright colors first and dark ones last.

The 12x12" painting on the right will be a male Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly.

It's one of the largest butterflies in the world!

Here's a few shots from my sketchbook...including a sketch for my current painting

and a huge list of ideas for upcoming ones.

I've really got to get back in there and do some more drawing.

Currently my studio is undergoing some changes as I'm trying to think practically about how I can utilize all the space.  I'd like to have about 10 paintings going at once which would require adequate space for palettes, water, brushes, paper, etc.

More pictures soon!

Her Faithful Friends...

Just dropping in today to share the latest addition to my etsy shop!

Her Faithful Friends, 8x8 round, Watercolor on paper

Click to purchase!

The piece was inspired by the little girl who modeled for me named Sydney.

She has the brightest blue eyes and is just as adorable in person.

I knew I had to paint her.

Thanks Sydney for being a great model!