Recent work

As of late, I've been giving myself permission to have a little "me time" during Paisley's naps instead of using it as a time to keep up with housework. And let me tell you, it has been simply glorious. Once I put her down in her crib with her beloved Pinker bear and seahorse and I know she's asleep, I grab the monitor and laptop and head down to my art studio. I put a show on Netflix to play in the background and then dive into my pastels for a good couple of hours before she wakes up.

For awhile I would tell myself, "Well today you'd better do this cleaning or this chore and then TOMORROW you can do pastels." But then the next day there was a different chore to do, and then the next new messes that needed cleaning. And I realized. Hmmm. I think that having a toddler and a husband and two cats (and a myself) means that there will always be messes to clean and chores to be done.

So. If I want to do pastels I have to make the time! And guess what. The housework still somehow gets done, dinner still (usually) gets cooked, and everyone still survives. It's great.

Here are a couple of pieces that I've been particularly pleased with. I'm still experimenting and learning about how I like to work with color and it's not always successful, but super fun when it feels like it is.

For these portraits I didn't want to take the time to make them look exactly like the picture I was working from, but rather tried to keep it loose and quick, and the colors vibrant.

I'm seriously having so much fun with my beloved pastels!! Each color is a special little friend. I am planning on eventually listing some prints in my shop, but first have to figure out what kind of pieces I would like to create and the direction I would like to go from here.