Another new painting. What do you think? This one will be going to the Enormous Tiny Art Show in a few weeks.

I've been painting at night lately. I'm noticing that I can focus well once it gets dark, especially when I have some great music playing. I lose my sense of time more than I do working during the day and can fall into the simple joy of painting. I've also been waking up a little bit later than usual in the mornings. It's funny, because there's a part of me that thinks "Wait! But I've always been a morning person! I'm not supposed to be working at night, and I need to get up as early as possible!" and then another part of me that just realizes that it feels right right now. If I'm getting my work done, then what does it matter, right?

Have you ever had an experience like this, where your schedule shifts dramatically and you're working differently than you did before? Does your schedule change with the seasons? I wonder if the summertime has something to do with my shift.... once fall rolls around, will I be back to my normal routine? I wonder!

Last week I bought a whole bunch of cradled wood painting panels. Normally I get the wood cut myself, I sand and paint the edges, and I generally prep/create everything myself. As I continue to get busier in my art career, I'm discovering that I need to streamline some things. And I decided that all this sanding and prepping was going to be the first thing to go! So 3 big boxes arrived on my doorstep on Thursday, full of the painting panels I'd ordered, and I tore them open like a little kid on Christmas. I was so excited!

Let me tell you, this was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. While I spent more money per panel than I would've if I'd gotten the wood cut and prepped them myself, the fact that I could open the box, unwrap the panels, and they were ready to paint on was beyond worth the extra money I spent. I've been thinking about how to most wisely use my time lately-- is it used most wisely by prepping painting panels or by actually painting? If I have more time to paint, I'll create more stuff that I can then sell and show. When I realized this, the decision was simple!  Normally I try to keep my costs as low as possible, but I'm discovering that this is not always the best way to run my business. 

The other thing about it is that I never really enjoy prepping the wood for painting either-- the sanding is messy, and I'm always relieved when it's finished. Why would I spend my time doing something that I really don't like?? That's crazy!

Have you made any decisions like this recently, where spending just a little more money made your life a heck of a lot easier? I'd love to know!

Oh, and the image above is the first painting I finished on one of the new panels. I'm in love! It's called "King of the Mountain." More to come, soon.

I recently completed this portrait that the woman is going to give to her husband for their anniversary. And it got me thinking about anniversaries, how we celebrate them, and what they mean. My husband's and my first wedding anniversary is coming up on August 1st, and I want to do something different than we normally do to celebrate. We've been together for a long time and we tend to just do something low-key, like go out to dinner or something, but I want this one to be really special. We talked about renting a canoe and taking a trip down the Chattahoochee River or renting paddle boats or something... I think that would be pretty fun. Maybe a picnic in the park to follow? It would be fun to make it an all day affair!

What do you do to make anniversaries special?

Thank you thank you to everyone who entered my fabric giveaway! I've loved reading all of the comments about what you want to do with the fabric, and this is the toughest decision ever! if I could send you all prizes, I totally would. You are amazing!

So, the two winners of 10 fat quarters each are: 

Beth Nicholls

and

Eva Dougherty

!!!

Congratulations, ladies! I will email you both today to get your mailing addresses, and then I'll send your fabric out asap. I hope you love it even more in person!

Here's what the winners plan to do with the fabric: 

Eva: I have just found your artwork and i am in love. It's all over my facebook! I really love to sew, but with a 13 year old's allowance, I rarely have the funds to buy beautiful fabric. I would love to use this fabric for a set of napkins embellished with initals for my grandma. She always has all the family at her house for shabbat dinner, and I would like to make her something because she is my favorite person in the world.
love and turtledoves,
eva

Beth: As someone who has just discovered the delights of a sewing machine at 33 when I received one for my birthday, I would use the fat quarters to make ten 'happy pockets' (fabric envelopes containing a secret note of inspiration) which I would then give away over on my blog, to share the fabric love all around (and tell everyone about your fab new collection).

I would then use the leftovers to make a stitched postcard which I would frame and put up in my studio (moving house next week, so it would be wonderful to make myself a little studio-warming present with the leftovers!)

Thank you again to everyone who entered the giveaway-- I so appreciate your support. I just might have to do another giveaway at some point, because this was so much fun!

Happy Tuesday to you all.

There is a new gallery/boutique opening in Richmond Hill, GA (near Savannah) called Off the Tracks Gallery & Georgia Boutique, and I'm happy to say you'll be able to find my work there! In addition to prints and screen prints, my custom portraits will also be offered. I got to create a portrait of the owner and her husband as an example to have in the gallery, and it was such fun to create such a beachy portrait. I love all the blue!

If you're in the Savannah, GA area, check out the new gallery in Richmond Hill! It's opening in just a few days.

This custom portrait is a gift that the woman above is giving to her husband above as an anniversary present. Isn't that the sweetest thing? I was so happy to create it for her.

I have a page with more information about the custom portraits if you're interested-- they make terrific gifts, or even just a nice piece of artwork for yourself!

I'm working on a logo and custom pattern design project for a client, and this pattern that I created ended up not being quite right for her site, but I really like it! I'd like to use it for something else. What comes to mind when you look at this pattern?

I'm picturing pretty storage boxes in a white room... wouldn't that be lovely? Or wouldn't be so cute for little girls' dresses?

I've added some screen prints in brand new colors to my etsy shop, as well as some sets of 5 prints, which I've never offered before.

See?

5 times the inspiration! I think the pink color is going to be a big hit.

Some of the prints are on brown kraft stock as well... this mint green color is brand new:

Take a peek if you want a special reminder of how lovely you are, or if you'd like to remind someone else that you find them lovely with a little gift.