Happy New Year 2023!

Just a sampling of the 40 pieces of art created and sold this past year!

Greetings and salutations to all on this wintry day. The laundry is done, the dishes are done, the Christmas things are mostly down, my business taxes are filed - whew! The birds are snatching up the seeds as tiny white flakes spin down from above. And I'm free to play catch-up here, for a change.

2022 was a great year for sales of my watercolors. Over 40 framed pieces sold between the Bellefonte Art Museum, Art a la Carte, and The Gallery Shop in Lemont. That's truly exciting. Lots of prints were sold last year, too. So I've been able to keep my supplies coming in and my paintings going out - with a bit of a profit, to be sure.

And what are my thoughts about the coming year...?  Perhaps to broaden my subject matter to include more types of wildlife. And maybe to expand on my trial efforts using gold metallic paints/inks with the watercolors... Possibly to add some details to the background with pen & ink... and more mixed media, perhaps.

I chose a special frame with gold detailing to accent the gold moon behind this mockingbird

This is Merlin, a mixed media mounted on a panel, which then was varnished numerous times before painting. No glass is required when this method of finishing is used.

So far, I have limited myself to two sizes of framed work, making it easier to order bulk frames to meet my needs. I have experimented with a few new sizes - including a small square frame, which worked out nicely with some petite paintings.

My studio is in the process of returning to being my studio, after spending several weeks as the Christmas storage room for gifts, wrapping papers, ornament boxes - not to mention the bird seed, my indoor plant shelf, new frames waiting to be used, numerous drawings on 300# Arches watercolor paper awaiting my paint & brushes to come to life.

I'm looking forward to cleaning out the boxes and getting back to painting once again. May you all be looking forward to new opportunities for love, laughter, and contentment as we move into 2023!