Peony Bouquet from the Garden

I love peonies, they are one of my favorite flowers.

Lucky for us, the previous owners of our house had planted a large mound of them in our backyard.  They are just starting to bloom, and I was excited to see that they are a pink/white variety!  So I picked a bunch of them along with some lilac blooms and they smell amazing.

It is so nice having fresh flowers in the house.

I also finished this small painting this afternoon:

Simplicity

Sometimes it is good to have a simple and relaxing day.  Yesterday was that day for me.
Painting:




Making a terrarium using a thrifted glass container and a tiny plant I found in my yard.


And a simple dinner of Salmon and Red Potatoes.


I'm waiting for corn to be in season so I can do a shrimp/potato/onion/corn boil!  Even though it is hot as hell outside, I'm really loving this summer so far. :)

In the Studio

I finally took the time clean out my studio a bit so I could paint without having to maneuver around boxes and random art supplies!

I love oil paint.  Isn't that pink the perfect bubble gum pink?  Yum.  It has been so nice to spend a few solid days working on painting - I feel like I've got my painting mojo back now that the sun is back.


This is the underpainting - a quick study of light and dark.  I like to use a tinted canvas - it helps me to quickly lay out the light and dark areas, and forces me to build up thicker layers of paint.


I also really like this little table easel that I bought on a whim - it works really well for smaller paintings.


I think this stage of the painting is a bit creepy looking!


90%  Finished - just have to wait for the paint to dry to go back in and 'fidget' with a few areas.

Lastly, the cats say HI!


Can you tell they are siblings?

In the Garden

Everything is starting to come to life in our garden!  We've got a ton of stuff sprouting and growing, and our work is starting to pay off!


{Baby Zucchini}


{Cherry Tomatoes}

{Swiss Chard}

{Genovese Basil}

{Baby Romaine}

{Armenian Cucumbers}

{Front yard raised bed garden - we took out some huge perrenial flowers and planted the zucchini and cucumbers here}

We've also got a huge mound of peonies almost in bloom!  If you live near me, you'll probably be receiving some! 

Small Paintings

A couple of quick paintings I did while in Colorado - both are done on 5 x 7" paper using watercolor.


{Half-melted snow outside our window}

{Pine trees at sunset}

John Statz's Kickstarter Campaign!

Hi all,
Just wanted to share my good friend John Statz's Kickstarter campaign with you guys!  He's using Kickstarter to fund his next recording project/ record.  If you donate more than $10 you will get a digital copy of the CD once it is finished - please consider supporting independent (not to mention awesome) singer songwriters!

To go directly to his fundraising page, click the following:
John Statz - Kickstarter Campaign

Snapshots of Colorado

{Landing in Denver}


{@ Red Rocks}


{Scoops @ the Ethiopian Restaurant}


{Driving through the Mountains on the way to Frasier}


{Out for a walk with the Husband}


{Nice view!}

{Dead Pines and Sunshine}

{Day Hike near Rocky Mountain National Park}


{Moose! We saw two on our hike - this one and another one that we were about 30 feet away from!}


{Johnny and Nate trying to cross the mountain creek}


{One of the lookout points we hiked to - This is where we saw the first moose in the distance}


{Nate and I}


{John, Heidi, Nate, and I after our hike}


{Mountains and Clouds}


{On the drive back to Denver}


{Just east of Denver from the plane}


{Heading back to Wisconsin}

We had a wonderful time in Colorado - John and Heidi were amazing hosts, and we are already starting to talk about where we are all going to go next year.  It is fun to hang out with another Musician/Artist couple!  You should most definitely check them out:  John Statz  & Heidi Keys

Sorry about the recent hiatus - we've been on vacation in Colorado!



I'll be back soon!