You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
― Mary Oliver

What I’m listening to:

Arthur Fields - How Ya Gonna Keep’em Down On The Farm, 1919

This song was mentioned in the book The Paris Wife, which I read a few weeks ago. I had to look it up. It’s pretty catchy. :)

What I’m watching:

Jack Kerouac - Reluctant Icon | Biographical Documentary

I’m about to listen to On the Road, but wanted to refresh my memory a little about Jack first. Such a sad story. I’ve never read On the Road, and hope it’s not too depressing. Will see.

Totally Drunk Guy Is A Famous American Novelist Who Viewed Hippies With Disgust On National TV

The “totally drunk guy” is Jack Kerouac, and it was filmed in 1967. There’s more info in the description of the video.

THE LAB: DECOY | 6 Photographers 1 Man - A Portrait Photography Session With A Twist

6 photographers photograph one man. The results are interesting.

Decoding the Great Pyramid NOVA Remix

What I’m Reading:

A Ticket to Ride by Paula McLain - the author of The Paris Wife, which is such a good book. I’m hoping this one is just as good. I like it so far.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

This is a book of poetry. I like to have an assortment of books going on at the same time so I can pick & choose what to read in the moment. I’m almost done with this one.

The Life of Chuck by Stephen King

I used to read Stephen King books every summer when I was in high school. Those days are long gone, but since I’m on such a reading kick right now, I figured why not see what he’s been up to? I picked this one because it’s only about 100 pages, and I won’t have to invest much time on it. I’m not a fan of horror these days. The world has changed drastically over the years, and I get enough of real life horror on social media. Just got this one last night on my library app when it became available, so haven’t started reading it yet. It’s gonna be another busy reading week for me.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks (US shipping only), Etsy, and eBay

I ship globally from Etsy & eBay - for now. This is subject to change without notice, since I can’t predict what the US government is going to do on any given day.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

I painted this portrait of Marilyn about 4 years ago. I recently ran across these photos, and thought I’d post them.

Since my old blog is no longer available, I’m going to start posting more of the oldies but goodies here.

I have my entire blog from my old website saved, 2011 - 2025, which means tons of folders stuffed full of photos that I’m digging through. I have hundreds of work in progress photos, plus some art supply reviews I wrote not too long ago that I want to share.

I will probably start posting the art supply reviews on the weekends, so look for those soon.

I haven’t offered this painting for sale yet. It’s still in my personal collection, sitting on the shelf over my desk as I type this. That said, I do have giclee prints of this painting available on Etsy and Daily Paintworks.

Audiobooks I listened to this week:

I finished listening to The Housemaid last week. It was okay. I gave it 3 stars, which I thought was being generous. Despite all the 5 star rave reviews, it was meh, imo. I’m going to stop at book 1, and not read the entire series. There are better thrillers out there, imo.

Also listened to half of Big Kiss, Bye Bye by Claire-Louise Bennett before I returned it – DNF. I would have enjoyed this book more if I read it myself rather than listening to the audiobook. Unfortunately, the option isn’t available through my library app.

The author reads the book herself at a rapid pace without pausing for air. She was so fast that I can’t tell you what the book is about. I kept zoning out because it felt like someone was talking at me, and it didn’t matter if I was there or not, listening or not. So, I didn’t listen, and instead checked out. I might as well have been listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher. If my library app ever offers the book to read, and I can take my time with it, I would try again.

Reading: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

I finished this one on Monday. I enjoyed the format and writing style of this book, even though it was a tough read. Sybil wasn’t an easy character to like. She had tremendous flaws that made her unlikeable from the start, but I’m glad I gave the book a chance. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but I ended up giving it 5 out of 5 stars anyway.

Watching:

Jimena Agra - Her paintings are magical. I binge watched a few of her videos in one sitting.

Then, a few days later Youtube recommended Jimena Agra: The Oil Painter with 1M YouTube Subscribers to me. I was like, wait, isn’t that the girl I subbed to the other day? It is her, so I had to watch it. I had no idea she was so well known, but I can see why. Wow! A M A Z I N G work!!

Youtube also recommended jasmine to me, and I love her art vlogs. She only has a few videos up, and I hope she makes more. She also has a Substack.

And this short film – Letter To a Person Who No Longer Exists by Justin Kaminuma grabbed me by the heartstrings, and won’t let go. It’s beautifully haunting.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks (US shipping only), Etsy, and eBay

I ship globally from Etsy & eBay - for now. This is subject to change without notice.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

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I enjoy the spring more than the autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older.

Virginia Woolf

This is so true. I can’t imagine creating for the sole purpose of “show and sell”. There has to be deeper reasons to dedicate a lifetime to art besides ego and/or paying the bills.

I keep a huge percentage of my art private for many reasons.

1. I paint and draw A LOT. If I posted every painting & art journal page I make, I’d have to post here several times a day, and nobody has time for that.

2. For me, it’s simply enough that I made it, I don’t require more from my personal art than the satisfaction it brought me to create it.

3. I like to think of the art I make for myself as a gift I’m giving to myself. I don’t generally share gifts other people give me, so why would I share the gifts I give myself?

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

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I think communication starts when words are not present. I think we put so much emphasis on language, silence is so much more important.

Marina Abramovic

I was sad to receive email that artist Igor Shulman passed away last week. I loved many of his paintings, but Jan 1 was my absolutely favorite. It’s one of those paintings that tells a different story every time you see it. There’s so much to take in, process, and wonder about. It’s magical.

RIP, Igor. You will be missed.

What I’m reading this week:

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

I’m listening to the audiobook read by Noah Reads while I paint. Sounds kinda cheesy - artist listens to classics while painting, but it’s true. :) I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and I’ve been painting these portraits…

I’m also listening to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden while I paint. I can’t seem to sit and stare at a wall when I’m listening to a book. If I meditate or lie down while listening, I fall asleep, so I either clean, paint or play games on my phone.

229146 people are currently reading this one according to Good Reads, and 1338682 people want to read it. It’s one that is easy to listen to - not all audiobooks are like this. I’m flying through the chapters, and can’t seem to turn it off. Every time a chapter ends, I think one more, just one more. The buildup is just perfect, and I’m waiting on the edge of my seat for something to happen. Something does happen, right? I’m on chapter 21.

Hunchback - Ichikawa Saou

Finished it this afternoon. Still processing how I feel about this book. Didn’t love it, which I understand I wasn’t supposed to.

The Definitions - Matt Greene

I hope to finish this one tomorrow or at least by the weekend.

I seem to be swallowing books whole lately, which was my secret new year’s resolution back in January. I don’t normally do resolutions, but I did set out with the intention in 2026 to read more this year. After a slow start, I think I’m starting to make it happen.

Last month, I slowly made my way through The Paris Wife, (which I gave 5 stars) but then dove head first into these four. I didn’t want The Paris Wife to end, so I savored it. When it did end, I knew I wasn’t ready to let Ernest Hemingway go just yet. I’m completely enchanted with him, his life, and the people he kept company with, especially Gertrude Stein.

At some point I’m going to circle back to Paula McLain’s (The Paris Wife) other books because she’s a fantastic writer, and I need to read more of her work.

What I’ve watched this week:

Ernest Hemingway, Wrestling With Life (documentary)

I Tried Hemingway’s (amazing) Daily Routine - Nathaniel Drew

Ernest Hemingway - The Later Years | Documentary

Ernest Hemingway Documentary to Fall Asleep To - I didn’t fall asleep while listening to this. It kept my brain fully engaged, and I ended up being awake until about 4 am. Oy! It made getting up early to feed the fur babies a bit challenging.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

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Thanks again to The Substack Post for featuring my art last week. I’m so happy everyone seemed to enjoy having a peek inside my art journals. A warm welcome to new subscribers & followers. :) I’m elated to have you here.

I’m staying with the same theme again this week, and I’m sharing more of my favorite art journal pages.

I’ve been on a wee bit of a painting break lately, so that AdminMe can catch up with ArtistMe. I have to do this quite often because AdminMe can’t keep up with ArtistMe.

ArtistMe has many series going on at once, plus several art journals in the works. AdminMe does the best she can to keep up, but she finds ArtistMe overwhelming most days.

AdminMe constantly feels drained and overworked. She’s always yelling, “Too much computer work!!”

I have a post coming up soon about the stack of paintings AdminMe’s been working on getting listed on Etsy. Oy. Here’s a sneak peak…

There’s probably 50 to 75 paintings in this stack, and to think there are boxes & boxes full of stacks like this one for AdminMe to photograph & list. Ugh. Makes ArtistMe never want to paint again.

AdminMe constantly grumbles and bickers at ArtistMe because of all the work she makes her do, and can you blame her?

Good thing ArtistMe has art journals to pour her creative energy into while AdminMe sorts this mess out, eh?

I titled this page Who’s The Fairest? A dear sweet lady asked me if I would make this 2 page spread into a print, so I scanned it, and jazzed it up in Photoshop. She loved it so much, she has two giant giclee prints of it in her house now. If you’d like one also, I offer small to large sizes on Etsy.

And now some super cuteness to end this post with…

What I’m reading:

Inside The Sketchbook of Adebanji Alade

What I’m watching:

whistledoen - I found this youtube channel the other day, and it’s delightful. She only has a few videos up, but I’m hoping she makes more. I love her filming style.

Cicada

B&W film from 1936 that shows the life cycle of cicadas. Riveting!

Cats and Domino - aw! I wanna get some dominos now. :)

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

These portraits are all in the same little art journal, which I absolutely adore.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

I had to paint this guy 4 times because for some reason he melted every time I tried. I didn’t think I was using more water than I normally do, and the temperature in the room wasn’t hot. Yet the paint kept dissolving into itself until I was left with just a blob of paint, and hardly any recognizable features of the man.

I think this was the third try. This time when I saw his face dissolving before my eyes once again, I grabbed a piece of paper, and made a print out of him before his features completely slid around the panel and vanished.

It turned out fine in the end, I was able to finally get the paint to stick, but it was a weird experience. I painted another portrait after this one, and the paint stuck to the wooden panel like it normally does. Not sure what was going on with this guy, but I’m glad I kept working on him.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.

Henry Ford

Sooo thankful Substack finally has a center alignment option. It’s the one thing I missed after I shut down my old website and blog.

I titled him Square No 31, and he’s available on Daily Paintworks or Etsy, whichever you prefer. Just don’t purchase from both sites because there’s only one available.

What I’m reading:

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - a historical fiction book about Ernest Hemingway & his first wife, Hadley.

I’m looking for a BIG escape these days. I don’t usually read romance type novels, but I’ve recently cracked that door open because love sure trumps doom scrolling all the worldly hate, wars, violence, and the cold dystopian feel to the world. We could all use more love in our lives.

So, romance and Paris it is. I screamed Calgon take me away, and the book did just that. Now I’m having a hard time putting the book down. All I want to do is read all of Paula’s books, and I just might. 📚📖📕 I’ve put her newest one on hold in my library app already, but it won’t be available for months.

I took a minute to refresh my memory about Ernest Hemingway by watching this short 30 minute documentary, and his later years (45 mins).

As I was going down these Hemingway rabbit holes, I got a notification that another book I had on hold in my library app was available. Oy! The timing isn’t great because I’m about 1/3 of the way through Paris Wife, and don’t want to rush through it. I’m thinking this is a book that isn’t going to end when I’m finished reading it because I’ll want to keep exploring Hemingway’s life because it fascinating.

At the same time, I also didn’t want to ignore the library hold, so I borrowed Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I read this book many years ago. My memory of the story is fuzzy at best, and I can’t recall if I finished all 907 pages of it. I’ve read just about every book that Larry wrote, so I most likely read it all, but I can’t remember.

Whenever I’ve thought of Lonesome Dove over the years, the story seems to swirl together with Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Grapes was one of my all time faves back around the same time I was also into Larry’s books, so the two books have melded together in my brain over the years. It’s gonna be fun to refresh my memory. I might just have to reread Grapes of Wrath, also.

I hope the spring/summer is long enough for all the books on my tbr list, and that I still have time to paint. 😉

Edited on 4.22.26: I’m going to return Lonesome Dove to the library. It’s a huge chunk of a book, which needs more time & attention than I have to give atm. I will circle back to it later this summer, perhaps? We’ll see.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

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It’s tax day here in the US, so I figured this painting would be a good reminder to take a deep breath and tap into the calmness within.

To me, this portrait—which I’ve titled Creating a Zen Garden Within—is all about an internal search for stillness & peace. I wanted to play with the idea that the "raked sand" isn't just something you see in a physical zen garden; it’s something we try to cultivate in our own minds, especially during unpleasant or chaotic times.

The act of drawing this portrait was a form of meditation for me. Just as monks find focus by raking gravel into waves, I found my own rhythm in the repetitive motion of putting down oil pastels and blending it with my tortillon.

I paid close attention to my breathing as I created this piece, and felt a great sense of peace within. I was deep within the zone.

Drawing this portrait helped me strip away the noise of everyday life and find a sense of quiet balance right under the surface. I’m convince that peace, and stillness are there within us at all times. We just have to be willing to sit, meditate, and quiet the mind to find it. Bring on the peace, baby! Let’s goooooo! Sadhu!

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

New! Oil & acrylic marker portraits in the Bezzie Series now available.

If you have a strong purpose in life, you don't have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there.

Roy T. Bennett

Having a passion for creating is enough to fuel me most days, but when I hit a wall, I’m quick to remind myself to take a break, go meditate.

Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”

Christopher Hitchens

haha..this is not true in this house. 😂 ChewyBarka makes it very clear that his god is my husband, even though he never feeds him, I do. In this photo he lunged & bit me because I asked him how big of a doggie treat he wanted. I was being generous, but I guess he thought what I suggested was too small. He’s a greedy, mean boy. 🤣 The cats adore me, tho, so I win. 😅

Miss Pea had a birthday on March 29th, and turned 15. How is it possible that it’s been so long since she was a wee baby kitten who stole my heart at first sight? Aww..how I love this precious girl. Happy Birthday, beautiful!!

What I’ve been watching:

What They Don’t Tell You About Being a Full-Time Artist by Florent Farges

So spot on!! If you’re a new artist, I highly recommend watching it.

100 Faces Later… How I Learned to Paint Portraits by Studio North

I did the same experiment back in 2010, and thought 100 was such a huge number at the time. I didn’t believe in myself, and doubted I’d ever reach my goal. I kept plugging away at it, tho, and was gobsmacked when I hit the number. I’ve painted thousands of paintings since then, so 100 really doesn’t feel like much once you get going, and days, months, years fly by…and boy, does it ever. Whoosh!

Kiun B - I’ve been subbed to this channel for a while now, and I’m so addicted to hearing the stories about families who live in coldest region on earth, Yakutia. It’s fascinating how people survive when it’s -95F/-71C. I can’t imagine it being that cold. It’s been dipping down to -40F here the past 3 or 4 years, and it’s brutal. I think I need to insulate my house with cow dung like they do to stay warm.

Reading - life ceremony: stories by sayaka murata

I loved Convenience Store Woman when I read it during covid, so I’m hoping this one is just as quirky. I’m pretty sure it is, judging by the first story. lol It’s pretty weird, and knowing me, I’ll love it.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well, happy and peaceful.

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I wanted to keep things easy, so I only used a handful of oil pastels in this drawing.

Every generation says this of itself, but these were indeed bewildering times he lived in, a time before iPhones were everywhere, and people still looked up as they walked, their heads filled with self-generated thoughts floating up from deep pits in the subconscious. A time when you still knocked on each other’s doors, and if you wanted to talk to somebody, you had to call them on a landline

Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness

I’ve become a huge hoarder of cardboard. This is just one stack. I have boxes full of this stuff, and it’s taking over my house. I either need to start letting some of it go into the recycle bin or I need to paint more. I feel like I’ve been slacking lately, so maybe I should paint.

Seriously, Mom? WHY can’t it be stacks of doggie treats instead??? You obviously don’t wuv meese.

My cats are obsessed with silvervine, and I like that it doesn’t make a mess like catnip does. I let them play with it as a treat a couple times a week, and keep it sealed in the bag the rest of the time to keep it smelling fresh. They love this stuff, and I love filming their goofy reactions. I’ll have to go through the footage, and maybe share something soon.

Watching:

• The happiest orange cat

😹 Orange cats are pretty silly.

• How I Turned Cardboard Into a Cute Mini Ceramic Mug ☕✨

• 7 Monk Lessons to Clean Your Home (and Quiet Your Mind)

The book he’s talking about in this video, A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind is on Amazon.

Reading:

Reimagining Masculinity by Ocean Vuong

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

“It was the kind of day where anything felt possible. As if the charity of the world had tipped, finally, to one side of the rusted scale. The kind of day where you can fill your scars with Magic Marker and tell yourself you’re normal—and it might be true.”

― Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness

This will probably be my favorite book for 2026. It’s going to be hard to find something that will top this one, but I will try because it’s only March, and I want to keep reading.

I’m madly in love with Ocean’s writing, so I borrowed his other book from my library app, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. It’s an audiobook. and from what I’ve heard so far, it’s as beautifully written as The Emperor. I’m only on chapter 2, and I’m savoring every word. I already know when I’m done listening to it I will borrow it again. I’m on the list to get The Emperor of Gladness again, but I have to wait 5 months because it’s in high demand. I was lucky to get it when I did.

Because I’m suddenly no longer in a reading slump, and want to play catch up for not reading enough all winter, I also started reading Writers and Lovers by Lily King. I’ve had this one on my TBR list for a while now. I’m a bit disappointed because I had hoped I would like this book, but it’s not my cup of tea.

Last night I looked at the glowing 5 star reviews of this book to figure out what I’m missing. I feel like it’s a “me, not them” type of problem because most people liked it, but I could walk away right now, and not care if I read another page or how it ends.

I’m only going to finish it because I’ve stacked too many books on my DNF pile lately, and it’s about to topple over from the weight of it in my mind. I feel a bit of shame when I don’t finish a book, always have. I don’t want to add another one to the pile. I plan on whittling down my DNF stack over the spring/summer. I won’t force myself to finish books I didn’t like, but I want to get back to the ones I stopped reading because I got too busy.

From Margaret Ray‘s book Good Grief, The Ground: bit.ly/raygoodgrief

This little snuggle bug fell asleep beside me, and kept having little dream twitches. He was poke poke poking me in the side. 😹😻🐈

Trying to knock the phone out of my hand takes extra concentration. 🤣

Repeat Until Death by Novo Amor - Performed by Tamara Laporte

So happy Tamara posted a new song recently. Her voice gives me chills. So pretty. I’ve been listening on repeat for weeks now.

[ASMR]Compilation set★ASMR SOAP★Crushing soap★Cutting soap cubes★FOAM&GLITTER&STARCH★

Fun title, color, visuals, sounds, and wow!! 5+ hours long!! I’ve had it up on my second monitor while I work for days now, and it makes me so happy to keep glancing up and stealing little eye candy breaks. All those colors are my colors.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky, where I post multiple times a day.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

I make my own little thank you cards to stick inside my packages. I’ve been doing this since I started selling my art online back in 2001.

I like to give them out for orders over $35 to show my appreciation, but sometimes I run out, like I did over the holidays. These take a bit of time to make, and tbh, since I feel most will end up in the garbage, I have to be in the right mindset to sit down and make a big batch. I had a few hours to kill, so I figured why not create some bright colorful art to give away.

Seeing the cards spread out like that reminds me of portraits I created a few months back. The colors are about the same although these portraits were made with oil pastels, and the thank you notes were made with gouache.

What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence.

Claude Monet

I found a new game about a month ago, and I’ve shamelessly/mindlessly played it over 350 times already. It’s called Arrowscape, and Maudie likes to watch the little arrows swish across my screen.

It does make a satisfying sound, I must say. 😁

I’m relisting some older giclee prints in my Etsy shop this week. I have 448 expired print listings, so it will most likely take me a couple months to go through all of them, and revise/edit/list or delete them. I’m working on it, tho.

Watching:

Buying a Cow

A silent French comedy short film from 1908.

I can’t imagine having to act knowing there will be no sound, which is why I love watching silent films.

Now AI has stolen my creative career, what art do I make? - a question many artists are asking themselves.

Reading:

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail

!!! What the??

A Case for Joy in a Monetized World - “We know something’s wrong, but we don’t know what to do. We still need to pay rent, buy groceries, find a way to survive in a system that rewards efficiency over depth, image over presence. There’s no clear answer. Just tension, quiet resistance, and sometimes—if we’re lucky—a moment of clarity.”

I’ve been admiring the photography of Dennis Lehtonen. His photos of Greenland with its stunningly beautiful icebergs, and brightly painted houses make me so happy. I spent a couple hours looking through his photos, my mind is spinning stories of what it must be like to live there.

When I was young, my family almost moved to Greenland. It was the main conversation at the dinner table for weeks, but my father ended up turning down the job offer after much consideration. I remember feeling relieved, but also disappointed at the same time. I wondered how different life would have been there. I still can’t help but wonder all these years later. Different in a good or bad way, remains forever a mystery.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

Somebody goes ahead and dies and all of a sudden you become a box for them, he thought, you store these things that no one has ever seen and you go on living like that, your head a coffin to keep memories of the dead alive.

Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness

Last week I learned of the death of my best friend from high school, so naturally, I’ve been thinking of her, and having mini flashbacks of the crazy things we did back in the day.

I just read the book The Emperor of Gladness recently, and the passage above stuck with me, and sums up the past few days for me. My head has become a coffin to keep my memories of her alive.

Her death has nothing to do with this portrait. It’s something I created many months ago, and has no connection to what’s going on this week.

I hope you enjoy looking at the work in progress shots, while I tend to filling the coffin in my head with more memories.

Reading:

Things My People Say to Me by Orly Avineri

I felt this one to my core. 💕 I recommend reading it, and then listening to Orly read it, and then, if it moves you, as it did me, read it again.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

Bez·zie

/ˈbezē/

adjective

• denoting a person’s best or closest friend: “we’re practically bezzie mates”

noun

• a person’s best or closest friend: “she and Nadine used to be bezzies and even shared a flat”

My furry bezzies..

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

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Art, I understood now, was so much more than the sum of its brush strokes, curved clay appendages, or intricate stitching. There were stories woven, kneaded, and scratches into each piece. Blood, sweat, and tears intermixing with charcoal, textile, and canvas. Hopes, dreams, anger, fear, heartbreak, redemption, romance, and the thrilling sensation of falling in love all resided in an artist's word, the admirer of such pieces never knowing what emotions and story had shaped it.

Noelle Salazar, The Roaring Days of Zora Lily

Reading:

The Bubble - Living in My Own Little World is My Job.

I read this last summer, and keep going back to read it again.

Artist I’m admiring this week - PAN INKHOO 😍

Watching:

Egon Schiele’s Short, Scandalous Life — And Why His Art Still Matters

Basquiat’s Work Ethic

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

May you be well and happy.

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I used watered down gel medium as my glue to add these white paint chips to the page.

I didn’t think this would actually work. The paint chips are heavy, and the gel medium was too watery. I left it to dry on top of the fridge overnight. It’s warm up there, and when I checked it the next morning. The pieces stuck.

The paint chips definitely add more interest to this abstract piece. Not sure if it’s finished yet, but I like it!

I wish I could say I’m almost finished with this art journal, but I’m not even close. I made it back in September, and I think I’ve only finished maybe 4 or 5 pages in it so far. I thought I would be using this little journal constantly, and I’d fill it in less than a month. I had good intentions, but nope. Didn’t happen that way.

Ah, well. Sometimes I start things, but the timing isn’t right. Working on other series is higher on my list of priorities. I’ll get back to it when I can. I’m not going to sweat it.

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.

Mary Oliver

So true, sadly, and on that note, I hope you’re having a creative week.

Art I’m admiring this week:

Adam & Andrea Clague - husband & wife who both make amazing artwork

Becca Brown - porcelain and stoneware artist

This flower painting by Lisa Daria

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

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One of the things that’s fun about trying out a new art supply is figuring out how to use it that works best for you. Weeks pass, and you might think you know all there is to know when suddenly bam! Without even trying or meaning to, you learn something new, and it takes you by surprise.

This will probably sound silly to those of you who have used oil paint markers forever, but I recently discovered I can build up layers with them. I had never given it any thought before, and the first time I did it, I was like like woah, seriously? You can use these things like paint??!! Okay, okay!

It was like a lightbulb moment, which suddenly changed everything. For the past few weeks I had been drawing one way, and now suddenly that changed in a blink of an eye. Layering markers? Why hadn’t I thought of that before? It should have been something I tried much sooner. Ah well, better late than never.

Making new discoveries like this is what keeps me interested in art. I get bored fairly easily, but when creating, there’s always something new to learn. If it does start to feel like the same old thing after a while, all you have to do is use a new pen, paint with a different size brush, switch up the paint - try gouache instead of acrylics or oils, change your color palette, work on different substrate, start a new series, and/or change your subject matter. Everything becomes new again.

Watching:

Ajahn Achalo is “rising up above the mud” (the news headlines) with his watercolor lotus painting practice.

Sādhu, sādhu, sādhu!!

Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Here

“A documentary about an important American still photographer who captured New York City in the 1960s (his work there is said to have influenced the TV show Mad Men) and later the West in Texas and Los Angeles.”

Lewis Rossignal - Storytelling and Creative Comedy

LOVE Lewis’s work. He’s so funny.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

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There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of these silly little characters alive & dancing in my head atm. They’re banging loudly on the bars of their cage, begging me to let them come out to play.

I tell them not to worry about it. They’ll each get their turn. I’m in no rush to end this series any time soon.

Hiding away in my pretend cartoony world is my way of escaping from the real world these days. When someone asks me where I’m from, I want to say I come from the land of The Bezzies. I’m finding it harder to relate to planet earth with each passing day.

I might be switching back to gouache soon, tho. I don’t remember the last time I picked up a paint brush, and I’m starting to miss it.

The world is filled with profound beauty and tragedy, and it is through art that we can reconcile these contradictions.

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Reading:

A Tribute to Donald Baechler (1956–2022) I ran across his painting titled Painting With Two Balls again recently, and loved it so much I went down a rabbit hole searching for more of his artwork. I didn’t find too much about him, but this tribute to him was nice.

Watching:

Sloths Are Slow For A Reason - aww! I want a pet sloth. 💗

Speaking of aww, I just found the aww! subreddit. I’m addicted already, and I do find myself saying “aww” out loud while I’m scrolling.

These Oil Pastels Made Me CRASHOUT! Trying Winsor & Newton Oil Pastels! - Christian might not have liked the pastels, but wow, the art he made is stunning. That, and he made me LMAO as usual. He’s sooo funny. 🤣

I wanted to try some oil drawing sticks after watching Sandi Hester’s video, but I’m afraid they’re priced waaay out of my budget. Wow! Almost $200 for only 12?!! I either need to raise my prices, sell a kidney or stick with more affordable oil pastels. I would try making my own, but after Googling and seeing many artists say it’s not worth the cost or time involved, I won’t be doing that. I guess that explains why they’re so expensive. Oh, well. Maybe some day?

I’m still going down a Maud Lewis rabbit hole, what can I say? I love her art.

Maud Lewis Interview, Making and Selling Paintings (1965) - art supplies have always been expensive, even back in 1965. I wonder what Maud would think of the drawing stick prices these days.

Maud Lewis - A Virtual Tour

You can read more about Maud on Wikipedia

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

I’ve been setting up new 2026 folders & spreadsheets on my mac this week. The new year has gotten off to a slow start for me because I’ve been feeling under the weather the past few days. I haven’t had energy to create anything, so instead I looked back through some older folders to see what I was doing in January in years past.

Turns out I was revising this little 4x4 portrait a few Januarys ago, so I thought I’d share. She was one of my very first oil paintings, if I remember correctly, which I painted in 2012ish.

I don’t know what’s become of this painting. It might have sold or it could be in a box in storage somewhere?

When you eat, sleep & breathe art every day, and have painted thousands of paintings, the details of each one tend to get fuzzy over time. Unless I take photos as I go along to document, I can easily forget what I created and when.

It’s kinda like trying to remember every single time you’ve driven a car, and where you went for the past 25 years. It’s impossible.

For now, I’ll have to be content with seeing the photos of this painting once again, and the rest will remain a mystery.

I hope you have a creative new week. I’m gonna go rest up, and hopefully I’ll be back making new paintings soon. I’ll leave you with some links that I hope you enjoy.

Reading:

I’m still trying to slough my way through 418 pages of Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’m struggling. I wanted to love this book, but if I’m being honest, I don’t even like it. The storyline is super slow, depressing, and boring, imo. It’s time to start speed reading to get through it, and put an end to my misery. I’ve purchased two other books this week, and I’m ready to move on.

Watching:

introvert & dog - “Slow city living in Oslo, Norway with a dog. The world seen through the eyes of an introvert guy. I'm very happy to be ordinary and average. I live with my boyfriend Mr. J. + our wonderful doggy pal Mochi in a small apartment.”

Youtube recommended I watch this channel, and sometimes, although I hate to admit it, the algorithm is spot on. I’ve only watched 3 videos so far, but I look forward to binge watching a few more sometime soon. They remind me of Benjiplant & Chris Middendorf, two of my favorite Youtubers. Chris is actually the reason I wanted to love the book I’m reading — because he highly recommended it on his channel. Sorry, Chris!!

Michaël Borremans: A Knife in the Eye [english subs] - soooo good! I want to watch it again and again.

art journaling with recycled paper by Alisa Burke - I need to do this. I have way too many bits and pieces of paper lying around. Will I do it, tho? Probably not because I’m lazy. lol

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, and eBay.

I also just reopened my Etsy shop after an almost 2 year hiatus, if you prefer shopping there.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.

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If you had told me back in January of last year that I’d be OBSESSED with drawing portraits with oil paint markers by the end of the year, I would have told you “NO WAY. Sorry, but I hate drawing.”

Like most people, I’ve been around markers my whole life, but I used oil paint markers to sign the back of my paintings, and to make marks in my abstract paintings. I never thought about actually creating an entire portrait with them, until a couple months ago.

At first I thought that’s a stupid idea, I’ve never liked to draw, especially with pens. What about making mistakes? There’s no erasing oil paint markers, and I suck at drawing, so there will be lots of mistakes.

The voice of reasoning inside my head kept insisting I try. She said I could figure out the rest once I was there in the moment. Why bother sitting around trying to fix a mistake you haven’t made yet? Duh! You won’t know how to fix it until you allow yourself to make mistakes, and then you’ll figure it out. It’s not a big deal. It’s only markers and recycled cardboard, ffs. Who cares? She was pretty convincing, and the only way to shut her up was to pick up a marker and begin.

Oh, how life can change for the better if you fight against your closed off mind, and challenge the bs you’ve been telling yourself for years. I’m sooo happy I stopped listening to the nonsense my brain told me. I’m now addicted to drawing, and need to get my fix daily. haha Seriously, a day without drawing feels a bit sad, unless I painted instead, of course. 🥰

When you hear that little voice inside whispering (or sometimes yelling) at you, please listen. You just never know until you try.

A few of these Beezies are up for auction on eBay, which are ending tonight. Take a look if you’re interested in owning one. I ship worldwide on eBay.

Watching:

Walk for Peace - Buddhist Monks from Fort Worth, TX #walkforpeace to Washington DC.

Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!

☸️ ☸️ ☸️ ✌️✌️✌️☮️ ☮️ ☮️

Reading:

Klara and The Sun - I started reading this one a couple months ago, but life got busy & I’m just getting back to it now.

“Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?”

I’m not sure I’d call it “thrilling”. I’m half way through, and I like it, but there’s not much going on, imo. I’m hoping the thrilling part starts soon.

Artists I’m admiring this week:

Through the eyes of Daniel Eatock - real cool abstract painter

William Rochfort - his paintings remind me of Norman Rockwell

Joe Paquet - landscape artist whose work I can’t afford, but it’s fun to look.

Angela Sung - Sony Pictures animation artist, who has a huge portfolio of work on her website.

My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, and eBay.

I also just reopened my Etsy shop after an almost 2 year hiatus, if you prefer shopping there.

You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.

I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.

Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.