Of most recent note in my world: the babe is crawling! And climbing! And getting into EVERYTHING. He’s so smiley and hilarious and fun these days… you guys, I have SO many cute photos of his sweet little face that I am dying to post, but it’s just such a tricky thing, posting photos of little ones online, isn’t it? I just don’t know what the right answer is. Ryan feels strongly about not posting photos of him, and part of me also feels strongly about it… another part of me just wants to share his cuteness with the world!

Do you have kids? What did you decide as far as sharing pics of their faces online? Have you read any good articles on the topic? Share links in the comments!

I’ve also been working away on my daily animal paintings. I counted last night and there are 110 so far! Not all of them are going to make it into the oracle deck (my ultimate goal for this project) – I’d like to narrow it down to maybe 65 or so – but I did decide that I’m going to have a big sale on all of the original paintings and turn them into prints. That is going to happen on AUGUST 17, 2016. My birthday!

There’s LOTS to do to prepare for the sale… photographing paintings, adding them all to my shop, writing descriptions, etc. Eek, August 17 is just over a month away! I can do it. (That will be my mantra…..)

I’ve been posting each image as I paint it over on Instagram… and along with the image, a description of the animal’s energetic qualities. For example, this is my animal from yesterday:

And a bit about this mysterious ocean dweller:

 Octopus. Intelligence. Camouflage. Mystery and wonder. Related to the spiral of life. The number eight is of importance and is very powerful for Octopus. Fluid movement. Symmetry and balance (did you know that the left and right sides of an octopus are perfect mirror images of one another?). Octopus is a sacred, ancient messenger who will reveal profound lessons to willing students and seekers…. Let her guide you into your watery depths…

I am so in love with this project!

Lately I’ve felt an intense urge to clean out all the junk from my house, my life, my work….. and that included painting over some old paintings the other night. Not sure what they will become yet, but it felt good to cover over the old, to transform it into something different.

Art is alchemy sometimes!

I’ve also been working on some paintings for my beloved women-only gym here in Portland, K Fit Studio. I’ve made some really wonderful friends here. We all just ran a half-marathon together this past Sunday – my first one post-baby – and I’m so grateful to have a group of friends who motivate and inspire me to stay healthy, stay active, stay strong. I’m excited to have some artwork gracing the gym walls soon. Here’s a peek:

I also got an iPad Pro recently, and the Apple Pencil (you guyyyyyyys, it’s a game changer! SO AMAZING.), and I’ve been playing around with that in my spare time (ha ha ha…. spare time! Hilarious.)

Here are a few things I’ve created. Drawn directly on the iPad! Look:

The only problem now is that my cat Anika knocked the Pencil off the kitchen table while I wasn’t looking (I’m assuming that’s what happened) and now it’s just GONE. Poof. Vanished. I haven’t been able to find it for a week. I’ve turned our house upside-down, and it’s just nowhere. I am at a complete loss for where it might be. I finally just ordered a new one yesterday, which will arrive tomorrow – so I’m sure the lost one will show up shortly! ;) ha. Isn’t that how it works?

I also discovered Adobe Capture:

Where have I been? So fun, turning images into patterns.

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In other news:

I can’t believe this is just 2 months away now, but I’m teaching 2 days of painting at Art Makers Denver in September:

The workshop is called Jump Trust Paint. We’ll be carving our own stamps to create stamped/painted backgrounds, playing with color, painting intuitively (that means starting without a plan and just going for it!), and it’s going to be an awesome time. More info can be found here. If this sounds like your jam, sign up by July 31 before the price goes up. People travel in from all over the country for this fun urban art retreat in my home state of Colorado. Full details can be found on the Art Makers Denver website.

And lastly:

Pattern Camp starts this Saturday July 16th. There is still time to join us!

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Life is full and busy. I am so blessed!