Blog

Something new I am working on. Will be available soon!!! Ft. Fisher is one of the best loved places along the coast of NC. Watching the sun set on the live oaks across from the Cape Fear River is something one will never forget.

Just finished Tale of the Whale. Will be posted soon. I had fun with this one. Inspired by Wyland, but with my own touches. I simply can't paint the way he does. His work is magnificent. Mine is.... different. And I like that. Hope you do, too!

In celebration of opening a shop in the Blue Moon Shops in Wilmington, NC, I have painted my version of a blue moon. I am holding my Grand Opening tomorrow, August 31 during their blue moon gala called Wine and Unwind, for tomorrow is a blue moon! Also, allows me to usher in this new venture AND not have to pay for the wine. I am, after all, a starving artist.

Thanks to all who have supported me through the summer months. They have been tough. For the first summer in a long while, my health has been great, but I the mental weariness of the last several years has kicked my butt. Hopefully, now that the kids are where they need to be (school!), and Scott is back doing what he loves (involves him being in a different state), I can get back to doing what I love... creating masterpieces. (ha!)

Had the opportunity to head to the mountains of NC and got some wonderful roadside shots. It was a lot of fun. Except for a coal-fired plant and a paper mill, the air was clean and fresh. I hope, for the sake of clean air, we, as a country, must invest in clean and renewable energy. And we must make an effort to produce products in a cleaner fashion.

We are slow but sure, with the use of pesticides, removing all favorable habitat for beautiful creatures, like the swallowtail butterfly. I find it cynical and downright disappointing that there is a lawn care company that drives around with the picture of a monarch butterfly on it, yet, their chemicals are helping insure the monarch has fewer and fewer places to reproduce and its food source is greatly reduced. "Weeds", AKA wildflowers, are the the natural sustaining habitat of butterflies' larvae, better known as worms and caterpillars, and many homeowners are opposed to them feeding on their lawns and foliage, so use chemicals to kill the "pests" without regard to destroying the end result -- a beautiful butterfly.

Makes me angry and sad.

Just got back from celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. It was wonderful. We renewed our wedding vows barefoot on the beach on Saturday with friends and family. Then, we headed off to Corolla, NC, making our way up the Outer Banks via ferries. We took a tour of the lighthouses along the way. North Carolina has such a rich and wonderful history. The lighthouses are our links to the past and the sea. It ties us together. Amazing marvels of engineering that helped guide ships through treacherous passes and away from the hazards of the shallows. We got up this morning and made our way to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse as dawn was approaching. We had never seen anything like it. It was amazing and it lit up all our senses.

Somehow, I feel lucky that I have had an internal lighthouse. It has helped guide me and my husband through 25 years. Thirteen of them with me having to fight cancer. He has fought equally as hard. And our kids have both taken their turn at the helm. Somehow, we find our way. Somehow, we make it past all the obstacles that can lead us aground.

From this, I feel even more dedicated toward conserving what we have with the ocean. Everything we do on land eventually finds a way to impact the sea. We're responsible for the wellbeing of so many creatures that can't escape our foul ways of life. We owe it to them and to our children to commit to keeping it as pure as possible. Cancer is a terrible disease where cells, if left unchecked, can overflow their usefulness and invade other unsuspecting cells.

Kind of like our pollution's impact on the ocean. We have to stop the cancer. We have to shine our lights and warn others of the perils. I tend to do my part. Keep the oceans alive. Be the lighthouse and keep our fragile lives safe.

I am inspired to draw, paint and continue capturing the ocean and Earth's beauty... to explore how I can shine.

Life is good. The lighthouse was an inspiration. I hope you feel that inspiration, too. To do your part. To add your light.

Today is a nice day... Father's Day 2012. My husband is home, for once, on this special day. We held our 25th wedding vow renewal ceremony yesterday... it was wonderful. Scott and I spent a lot of time remembering how blessed we are, though the "poorer" aspect of our vows keeps rearing its head, but it's in there, so I guess we have to abide... but the point is, we are so truly blessed to have been all the places we have traveled to and met all the wonderful people we have who have enriched our lives. Seriously... some amazing people. I live by the mantra, "What next?" It certainly makes life adventuresome. I wish everyone the love, joy and resolve that I have in my life. It's a good one. It's not enough to simply be, but to simply live!

I am trying to expand my horizon... there is so much I want to capture with my painting. Tests came back with some issues... not cancer, thank goodness, but due to cancer treatment. I may just ignore suggestions... I think they just want my money.

This is what my next project looks like in the day... Need final touches and some water play...

Working on some acrylics featuring ocean life... especially humpback whales. Whales are such beautiful creatures. Harming them would be like harming a child... what shall become of us if we decide to obliterate them from this Earth?

Rage from internal fear
Reveal to populace abound,
The quietness of thy seed doth mount,
Explore fissures of hollowness as the uprising succeeds.
A climb from disdain to flourish,
Coursing through vessels as if a chose path
Leading through bands of fleshy tyranny,
Alas, triumphant break of perjury to sequester thy heart.
Opprobrium commands the soul;
Compunction be unwelcome.