Happy Easter!

Gracious but it's been far too long since I've had time to do any blogging. My goodness but times flies doesn't it? Ah well I shall try to be more faithfull and show my face more often.

I have traveled since I was here last, a trip that furthered my own personal art journey. Oh my but it was great to finally meet Gaby Hunter of http://artapprenticeonline.com/. I've been taking some on line classes with her at the site referenced above and have nothing but praise for this gracious and knowledgeable artist. Her AAO partners are equally amazing so click away on the above site and find out for yourselves ~ LOL. You will drool and while away a good part of your day I'm guessing. Be warned too that you may do considerable damage to your credit card and blow the family grocery budget into the bargain. Bookmark the site too cause you're gonna be seeing some incredible stuff in the decorative painting world from these ladies and their team. Oh my! The places we can go as artists!

Another great lady and friend, whom I think fondly of, as my own personal mentor, Cindi Estes offers on line classes too. She is a fully certified DecoArt Traditions Teacher for Modules A thru D. Visit her for more information at http://candjdesigns.com I invite you to join our on line classes. You'll wonder what took ya so long and you'll also find a great place to call home on her exclusive Yahoo group, where Traditions Artists gather to learn and grow, support and encourage each other. It's my 'home group' and I am proud to share about it. You'll find no pretense here, no ego, no controversy ~ nothing but a huge welcome all sign hung at the door. I will never regret my decision to join her Deco Art Traditions on line classes. With Cindi I am enjoying greater personal accountibility and growth as an artist. See my latest breakthrough above, of a lovely and tranquil rural cottage landscape on canvas. Original design by Neadeen Masters CDA as part of the Deco Art Traditions Educational Teacher Certification Program ~ you can find her work and classes too at http://artapprenticeonline.com I have a few teensy touches left on my canvas but I'm sharing it simply because ... well I just grew so much working through it, kicking and nashing my teeth all the way through it too because it forced me to rely on my own gut and instinct instead of simply telling me what pigments to place where. The emphasis is on lesson oriented learning that builds on excellent foundational skills instead of the more usual project copying step by steps many of us got accustomed to seeing in the last few decades of the decorative painting industry. I threatened to feed this work in progress to the dogs so many times. Thankfully I am also stubborn and like to compete when my mind says 'give up girl'. This one will get matted and framed and humbly hung as my break-through work.

As for me ... well I continue on. I am designing some (watch for that soon!) and feel content and solid ~ well as much as my chattery, creative mind will allow in any case. Soon it will be time to plant my gardens and before we know it, I'll be writing here about the yummy tomatoes, squash, artichokes and goodness knows what. Just now in the garden I have roses, irises, batchelor buttons and wisteria in bloom and of course the faithful herbs are surging forth. I found one lone beet and some carrots that over-wintered under the safety of some large artichoke leaves and a few spring onions as well. The chard has shot up and is begging to be sauteed in EVOO (thanks Rachel Ray!) and some garlic. Geeze, that even sounds good enough to have for breakfast instead of my usual oats or quinoa.

On that note, I am off to fuel the bod. Who knows what great things may come my way today that will surely require me to fuel up with healthy foods to meet whatever challenge this cool but also soft and pretty desert day may bring? We are expecting some rain this evening so the wildflowers and wild critters will be happy too.

Peace and blessings to all who find their way to this page. :>)