Last month my husband, myself and our 9 month old son went on vacation. It was a wonderful week of. . . nothing. The only plans we made were to relax and vegetate. We stayed at a ministry camp in a house just inside the edge of a thick wooded area at the top of a hill with a view of Canandaigua Lake down below.

I brought my jewelry making supplies, oil paints and sketching materials in the hopes that this leisurely week would allow me to get creative. With a difficult pregnancy and delivery, I wasn’t able to keep up with art as I would have liked and now I feel that I am just now able to devote my time to it. So these paintings and sketches are some of the first renderings I’ve done in about 2 years, . . so take that into consideration as I know they are not up to par.

While I took the time to read art magazines and books and didn’t have to do anything but sketch and paint if I wanted to, I learned a few things and made some goals and decisions. I feel ready to work hard to make time for more art in my life.

Sketching: It doesn’t take long, just a few minutes really, but it’s fundamental to keeping those drawing skills sharp. I enjoyed pulling out some of my baby’s toys for some quick drawing time.

I enjoyed painting Landon’s toys also. I think I had a real connection to the rubber ducky (I sure painted him enough times) however those cups and the ellipses gave me a run for my money. When I finished up this little one, I had a feeling that one day when I was able to pursue my persistent desire for children’s book illustration that perhaps I had stumbled on a style worth trying. Fine art still life, with a slight painterly line drawing. We’ll have to see where this takes me and how it develops.

Some of my goals include sketching more often, painting during my baby’s naps, reading about art more than I do, blogging more often, and I plan on beefing up this website after I complete a few art projects. So keep watching.