Parts of Art

    It’s officially the Dog Days of Summer, folks. If, like me, you find it challenging to make every day count when it’s hot and dry and you’re tired and it’s easy to get in a funk, here’s some ideas:    1.   Do the same thing every day . Since when has routine become a bad word? My routine is what gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s what keeps me from going in circles or wasting time wondering what the heck I should be doing. All I have to do is look at my Google Calendar and it tells me that at 7 AM it’s time to get up, make coffee, and get into God’s word. At 9 it’s time to clock in to the studio. At noon I go inside and clean one room. (There are 7 rooms in my house, one for each day) If it’s Tuesday my routine includes driving to my favorite coffee shop for a great coffee and some serious internet time.         This being said, there are no two days or hours or minutes that are the same. Ever notice?! The daily rou...

      It’s just that simple when painting with watercolor.  This is how I start my day in the studio. Open to a new page, fill a brush with sparkling clean water, and fill the page or pages. Then, add watercolor paint and let it do its thing.              The daily studio routine is this:  clock in at 9 and paint that page in my journal.       I realize that the painting on this page could become a beautiful fabric design, a batiked collage, or an amazing painted wall hanging. But my POINT is that I start my studio day with water on a page and go from there.           As far as the illustrated journal, yes it’s true. Any thing done on these hallowed pages could become some great masterpiece someday. But that’s clearly not the intent. The journal is the place to play, to experiment, to express,  to answer the question “what if ?” It’s about the...