Mike, me, and Angie at the end of our visit, with the painting of Bella. Remembering Bella A short while ago I learned that Bella, a sunny, often beribboned Shih Tzu, and loving companion of dear friends, was ill. Over the course of the following days, I saw Facebook posts such as one that showed a

While in Florida this past winter I took long walks in my community most days. Some days I listened to audio books, some days I listened to podcasts. Many days I listened to nothing, enjoying having the time to think. On one of these days I approached the large pond near the entrance and was struck

Opening Day at the Show This past Friday, opening day of the show, I stepped into “Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience,” in Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI, expecting to be immersed in the work of Vincent Van Gogh. I have to say, it was not quite what I expected, and the more I look into it, I

Commissioned Landscape: Kayakers on Indigo Lake, oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″ Just before sunset the neighbor’s yellow kayak slid through the water away from their dock next door to us, heading toward the far side of the lake. I sat on my dock sipping a glass of wine looking out at

Optical illusions have always fascinated me, especially those involving the illusion of 3 dimensions in a 2D space. I adored my brown Bakelite View-Master. I sat for hours looking at immersive nature scenes and cartoons brought to life. My favorite was of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Flora, Fauna,

Fishing for Ideas Where do ideas come from? How does a realist artist translate the world around her into works of art? I thought you might find it interesting to see a tool I used for coming up with an idea for a painting, so here I will describe how I did that for a recent landscape. The Nudge