Almost Time

Well, the summer is starting to slowing come to a close here. School starts for my girls in 3 weeks and we are off to see family in Colorado before that happens. We've had really unusually hot weather here in the Pacific NW and today I heard my first huge thunder clap! It almost sounded like an explosion, it was so loud. Then the rain came. It's actually been several weeks since we've had a good rain. So this is good. I love the sunshine, but a little rain is always nice and needed too. Back in Colorado they've had their share of weird weather. They've had some very hot days and it's cooled down 30 to 40 degrees in a very short period.

I went into Portland yesterday and found a 70% off sale on stretched canvases! I had to buy one. I got a 30 X 40. It just made since. It was the biggest one and down to 17.00 from 60.00! Can't beat that. I'm still not sure what I'll paint, so it will sit there for a bit till schools in gear and I have several hours to play! So stay tuned. I'll post when I get started.

New Paintings Can Now Be Yours!

Some of my new paintings that you have seen recently are now on sale. I have them up in my store at Michelle M Designs. Also check out my Secret Escapes! Some of my photographs and paintings I have decided to use there are on beautiful keepsake boxes, tiles and cards. Start your holiday shopping now and enjoy this season stressfree!

Here is one of the paintings for sale. Tuscany Farm. $50.00

The Creative Side Of A Teen

My daughter has been spending a good amount of time drawing when she has a feel for it. She has developed a style of her own with her playful theactical imagination of pretend from her childhood and her love and passion for what lies in the present and future. She still loves the world of imagination and discovery. These beautiful and colorful drawings bring back youthful memories and feelings of love, happiness and dreams. Come see for yourself the creations she has developed. They're avalible on t-shirts, totebags, journals and teddy bears and so much more!

Successfully Completed Cannon Beach Sunset!

Here is my finished painting of Cannon Beach Sunset. It is a 24 X 36 wrapped canvas. I really enjoyed it and I love how it looks in different light! I am excited about starting a new painting soon. We have company coming in for a few weeks so I may have to wait. Maybe I can sneak in a few minutes here and there. It's getting hot out now. This will be our 2nd day of 90's here in the Pacific Northwest! Stay cool!

Wrap It Up And Put It Away

Don't wait until the winter holiday season to find a holiday gift for your loved ones. If you live in the north pacific come by the Art and Wine Fair in Vancouver, Washington for the perfect glass of wine and beautiful hand crafted gifts. Find the perfect gift , wrap it up, and put it in a safe place until the holidays. With a glass of wine in hand, you can stroll the winery grounds, listening to music and perusing the many, varied works of our artists. You'll find established artists and up and coming artists working in a variety of media from oils to watercolors to acrylics to mixed media: landscapes, still lifes and abstracts to pique your interest. There will be wonderful objects of wood, of glass and of metal. Silk flowers, arranged in gorgeous bouquets. If you love beautiful photos of landscapes and nature, of people and places, you'll be in photo heaven. Crafted jewelry, purses, totebags, note cards, specialty foods, recycled wine bottle chimes, soaps await your choice. Meet and talk to the artists creating these unique works.
All the works are crafted locally, and the prices are affordable.

If you can't make it to the Art and Wine Fair come take a peek at a few of the gift items that will be there and also my store! or my other store at Secret Escapes!

Art Show Went Great!

My "Art, Women, And Wine" class I attended for the last 8 weeks had an art show. We all put in 3-4 paintings that we either did in class or have painted before. The turn out was great and the ladies in the class did awesome. There was so many different styles and techniques. It was a lot of fun to see so many different mediums, and subjects in one room. It really brought out the creative juices I've stuffed away for so long. We have another one at a winery that I plan on doing. Hopefully the painting of "Cannon Beach Sunset" will be done by then. Here is a look at the almost finished painting.

Playing Around With Photography

I have always loved photography but could never really have a nice camera that takes great close-up photos with a nice zoom on it for wildlife. So I try my hand with what I have and went out to Cannon Beach, Oregon in Febuary. It was beautiful out there the whole week we were there till the last day it started getting alittle chilly. I'm sure thats why this photo "Haystack Rock" turned out to be so colorful. To check it out go to Secret Escapes in the dolphins and shells. I put it on a keepsake box and it turned out really nice!

I am also going to try and reblacate in on canvas in acrylic. I'll be posting my progress soon.