First stab at People and Salvage Piece

The lighthouse image to the left is another salvage piece. When first playing with acrylics, I slapped two layers on the canvas, a blue/black at the top, and a green/yellow at the bottom, and with smooth side to side strokes, called it "depth", the latest, greatest new age / abstract art piece there could ever be. Then, a month later, I added the land, light house tower, light and moon.

The other image, "Apalach" is endearing and precious to me as I'm taking a stab with people in it. PLUS, it is from a photo I took while we were crossing some huge bridge heading to St. George Island. Lovely memory, sweet people. I am learning that just hints are fine. Details aren't too essential to painting people and if you get hung up on it, it saps energy from the picture.

What do you think?

Today's lesson: Salvage away! And as for people, don't be afraid of trying your hand at suggesting them in your paintings.

Painting for myself

After creating so many paintings for other people, my husband and I decided it was high time I did one for us!

We both loved the red/orange tree branch one I had given my son Kris, so I did another like it for us. Except ours is huge (24 x 36) and now hangs in our dining room! It is simpler than the other. I tried using a heavy, thick brown paint (Liquitex Super Heavy Body) for the branches to give it more texture, but honestly, it was awful to work with since I was applying with a brush. I'm sure using palette knives it will do great, but with a brush, forget it! I had to redo parts of it several times over (the sky areas, especially) and decided to outline most leaves with a strong blue, the compliment to orange, to make them pop. I think it's a pretty decent one. Especially in digital version and when you stand far back from it.

Today's lesson: If you plan to use Super Heavy Body paint, use a palette knife!

End the madness... paint!

Today, I had a lovely conversation with Mary, my sister-in-law who is a skilled oil painter. I'm honestly shy talking about my painting endeavors with most people but she was so nice and inviting to chat with, and encouraging too.

And she put something I've been unable to express in words much better than I could: "I'm a much nicer person to be around when I paint," she said.

My mom used to swim laps in a pool to "swim the meanness" out of herself, and some people work out, do yoga, or whatever. I know when I can take a "purposeful" walk, it is pleasurable and relaxing.

I find when I am able to go into my studio or to painting classes, I feel this sort of release, a physical sigh, and my whole body relaxes into the moment. I forget about worries that I can't control, things that might or might not be coming down the pike, and just let go and create. There is something sensual and luxurious about controlling a paintbrush as it glides along the canvas or paper. As I mentioned, I write, and can get lost in typing onto a screen words that flow to the point I forget to eat. It is similar, but the dot dot dot of characters and words appearing on a computer screen do not compare to the pleasure of seeing a line of paint flow across paper or canvas support.

Today's Lesson: Painting is good therapy.

The last Christmas Gift paintings

I discovered what a great way to make folks feel loved and special AND practice painting all at once: PAINT them gifts!


And dirty little secret time: The middle one "Haybales" was done on recycled canvass I got at the local Goodwill store of a painting someone had started but never completed! It was a totally different style, so I gessoed over it and had a blank white canvas again!

The first one is also a sort of recyled one. It was done as an experiment using rubber cement as masking fluid before I ever bought any and with watered down acrylics, like in watercolor painting style. I hated it and it floated around the studio for a while until I took the brush and full strength paints to it, and really livened it up. It has special meaning to a lovely friend who lost her husband. She loves and collects hearts and we consider him a star in the sky. Get it?

The final painting is for another of my brothers. It's a simpler style crest which looks identical to the one we had hanging in our house as we were growing up. I think he's gonna love it!

Kris' Brooklyn Skyline

My older son, Kris, who lives in a gorgeous neighborhood in Brooklyn Heights, NY, wants a painting of Brooklyn. But he likes impressionist work, and wants one that has a sort of old-world feeling. I had a 6 x 12 canvas and a great image of the Brooklyn Bridge skyline at night and decided to try to convince him that THIS is what he really wanted for Christmas. It's in the mail and he's busy with final exams, work, and volunteering at a community shelter over the holidays, so I don't think he'll be reading this post and feel safe posting it...

Some of it works kinda nicely, I think. I used bubble paint for the light dots and some other streaks of light reflection in the water but didn't want to use too much of it.

I worked on this one, the Borch family crest, and the Bavarian Church scene all at the same time. Crazy stuff!

Moving mountains

This image is painted from a photo I took while traveling in Bavaria, Germany in 1991. I was staying with a lovely family who took me around the countryside on daytrips. I have kept in touch with them and decided what better way to express belated thanks than by making a painting of one of the scenes we experienced there together?

I am feeling more comfortable working with acrylics than watercolors, as you might be able to tell here. The trees came out really easily, and while the structure has a bit of wobbliness to it, it's not half bad, is it? Hazel added the gorgeous golden afternoon light glow to the building and we thought it was good to go until we noticed that the highest mountain peak was right behind the church's tower. I figured this was accurate since it is how it was in the photo, but Hazel and I went round and round about factual accuracy and art. In the end, I caved, moved the mountains (messed up a previously lovely sky), and ended up with this. When I tell you I messed up the sky, I'm serious, there are so many layers of paint under this I'm sure the postage will be increased by $3 because of the weight! LOL.

It's a pretty little thing, though and I like the serene feeling it evokes.

So, the moral of the story is, never put a mountain peak, tree trunk, rock crevice, castle, or other big structure directly behind your main subject. I hope that makes sense?

The Borch Crest

Working from a horrible copy and doing several hours of research, I was able to come up with this for the ex-husband.

I used a sort of tracing paper you can buy at art supply stores to trace the image onto the canvas, and worked from there.

Tackling the Walsh family crest

Growing up, my Walsh family had two things it could count on: chaos and the family crest. I don't know where the original came from, but dad had a copy of the full crest mounted in a large picture frame on the wall, and wore the pierced swan on a gold ring all his adult life. The motto is "transfixus sed non mortuus", wounded but not dead.

My younger brother, Kevin, who knew I was trying my hand at painting hinted a while back that it would be cool to paint the family crest. He even showed me a spot on a wall in his rec room where it would fit perfectly. So, I researched, got the best image I could find to reproduce, and used an enlarger lamp device and copied the image onto a 16 x 20 canvas with pencil. I had seen my BFF Bindy enlarge computer generated images in this way and figured it might just work.

The first day back to painting class for a shorter, 2 week "intersession" I brought in the pre-traced crest image and my acrylic paints. Starting with a very large (1-1/2" mural) brush, reasoning that I was painting a large area, Hazel came by, first told me to work with a smaller 16-round brush and not worry about laying the paint on the canvas in any good order to begin with since I'd be covering and reworking it several times. I had been trying to paint as one would paint a wall, strokes all going in the same way, but she explained that doing that would show subsequent brush strokes that couldn't possibly mirror the same length and style of stroke I was already using so random, smaller ones were better.

This was an absolute b**ch to paint, pardon my french! I had not planned it out too well, the greenery around the shield was supposed to be exactly the same on both sides, and the "arrows" that look like eyes and nose are supposed to be identical in size. So much for perfection. And I do recall Kevin saying he wouldn't be bothered by a loose interpretation of the crest. He just wanted something...

All told, I think I spent more than 20 hours on this, but am very, very proud of the effort. I know I'll have a hard time figuring out how to ship it -- he lives in Virginia, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Sorry about the lousy photo - it'll have to do in a pinch.

I plan to do at least one more crest for another brother, and try to do one of the "Borch" family for my ex-husband. As my son's family name, I figured they would appreciate the effort I put into the research and creation and I knew he'd like it too.

Do try this at home!

At least that is what I've found... Working in my own studio, I feel comfortable and can explore on things that might seem too ambitious for a 3-5 hour class where I have to tote all the gear in, subject myself to Hazel's criticism, and work with limitations of size and scope.

So over this weekend, I tackled this lovely piece - it's a 16 x 20 acrylic based on a photograph I saw recently and just loved because of the colors. I love the simplicity of it too. What do you think?

I am giving it to my older son, Kris, who has a small but bare apartment in Brooklyn Heights, NY. He needs color and I need space! I hope he loves it!

My first creature attempt

I decided I had gotten into this class to be able to illustrate a children's story book based on my dog and my son Pete's dog so, this being the last class of the session, I better darn well take a stab at canines. Here's Smokey. I realize her eyes look evil and scary and hollow and I'll have to do something about that, but I am sort of pleased with the overall shape and stance and all that. What do you think?

And on the other picture -- remember, I work in pairs at least, since it takes them time to dry -- I still had another seascape in me, as illustrated here. It is from a scene on one of the travel brochures from the Panhandle region of Florida. I murked up the water something bad, but did an OK job on the seashells, sandollars and bird prints, I think.

Today's lesson: patterns, shadows and highlights

It was a hectic week getting back into the swing of life, what with work, unpacking, stocking up the fridge and all, but I managed to get to painting class all the same.

Driving in I noticed the fall leaves are still so gorgeous and I think lend themselves to watercolor painting, but unfortunately, I'd brought images of Florida to paint instead. I am tempted to bring my acrylic supplies but just didn't have my act together enough, so...


The top painting is based on a photo I took while visiting a medieval village in Austria. Hazel tried to help me get the angles and perspective right and showed me how the pattern of the sky against the rooftops was what would draw peoples interest.

I'm afraid I really botched it up when I went home and used a heavier than appropriate black marker to outline things on it. Darn! Mediocre at best.

The image below that also deals with sky and just when it looked like it was a complete failure, Hazel came by, took my paintbrush, and put some great highlight color onto the brick in the foreground to really make it jump out. And used blue to shade in the white beams. The whole painting is, again, mediocre, since I think the colors - excuse me, the VALUES - are way too dark in most of it, but it was a great lesson in applying little changes to bring things to life. And if I did anything good, it was the original brickwork. For the mortar, I basically scrubbed the paint out with a fine brush and water.

Acrylics, LOVE THEM!!!

OK, the vacation is almost over and I hate like heck to leave and return home.

That said, I've discovered a newfound love: ACRYLICS!

OMG, why doesn't anyone ever tell new painters that they are so much easier to work with than watercolors? That the final product is vibrant, fun, exciting ... brilliant! That they are forgiving and give the works more oomph?

I used to love the look of watercolor paintings and will admit they are beautiful. But now, honey, there's a new kid in town!

I tried painting in acrylics both ways - watering them down and using like watercolors, as in the first painting, above. It was done on canvas, though, and the flaws of the cheap canvas showed through. Clever me, though I incorporated the flaws into the mast of the sunken wreck and the moon.

The other is a goldfish. I've been dabbling with her all week and think if I don't stop now, she'll be a mess! From my friends at painting classes, I learned that using craft-style "bubble paints" is OK as long as it is for really out there endeavors. I figured this goldfish and my gold glitter bubble paint were made for each other!

My first plein air efforts!

Well, to be able to paint "en plein air" is something probably most artists hope to achieve at some point in their lives. Some are more fortunate and get to do this on a daily basis. Today was my first effort in this and it was lovely in what I was able to experience, but the set up and all that proved ... cumbersome to say the least. And trying to paint in sand? Not so much! Even though I had a great blanket spread out and the painting box with easel. The problem arose because we'd brought Smokey and, well, let's just say dogs, sand, and watercolor painting do not mix...

When I got back to our rental home and looked at them after they dried, I am afraid I ruined them with the dark markers I used to liven up the color of the grasses. Too heavy handed, me thinks.

Having a lovely time, wish we could stay here!!!

OMG, I love it down here! We're staying in Gulf County, Florida, on the Panhandle below Panama City in the area of Port St. Joe. We've rented a place 1-1/2 blocks from the beach which is deserted except for us, the dog, and occasional flies, gulls, and dolphins that dance in the water. Every night, the sunset is better than the night before!

There's not a McDonalds or Walmart within 30 miles, I think, probably one of the reasons it's so lovely and we love it! (No offense, you two global giants of commerce, but the less people, the better...)

The mornings are filled with walks on the beaches with the dog. And I mean LONG walks (at least by Smokey and I... David tends to lag behind and relax in his own way). We explore. She sniffs and meanders and I tredge purposefully along the surfline in one direction and up by the dunes and grasses on the return trip.

Today, we actually snuck out leaving "daddy" behind to sleep and drove to one of the beaches at Mexico Beach. As we walked, the dolphins escorted us along the coastline. I got loads of great shells, and of course, Smokey had a grand ole time! I shot pictures of the sun as it rose and plan to paint some of these gorgeous scenes at some point.

We arrived back home to a nice breakfast and are planning the day as I write. I haven't yet tackled the plein air painting of my ambitions yet but think today is the day. We have a cart to wheel all the gear down to the beach with and I'll spread out a blanket and have a chair as well. Can't wait!

We're going on vacation!

These are from my class yesterday but my mind wasn't really into it...

The hubby, dog and I are going to Florida Sunday for a week's vacation in Gulf County where dogs are permitted on the beach all the time... I can't wait to eat the fresh seafood (Tennessee, as you may be aware, is landlocked), and walk along the beaches, explore the water, take photos of sunsets, and etc. I also look forward to testing my hand at some plein air watercolor paintings and will try my first acrylics, too, in that low-pressure environment, I think.

I have a few books from the library to bring down on acrylic painting, and have learned quite a lot on how to set them up from others in the class who often paint in acrylics instead of watercolors.

Don't get me wrong, watercolors are nice but I think I'm too rigid to feel too comfortable with them and may have more success with acrylics. From what I understand they are more forgiving. Besides, I have that starter set from my kit. Might as well use it, right?

Well, off I go... wish me luck!

Margot's Opus

A lovely woman I paint with on Thursdays, Margot Baeder, has been painting this European Abbey for several weeks now. She has attended to every single detail possible in this painting and we all celebrated when, yesterday, she declared it was completed. It is breathtakingly beautiful and just sitting near her as she worked on it, I learned a lot. I hope someday that I can paint like that!

She painted this in acrylics.

I tried the salt thing for watercolor texture again

and am really thrilled with the results!

Don't pay heed to the skewy angle of the top of the lighthouse, OK?

I did the outline the rocks (and structure of the light house) with marker again since it looked kinda blah without it.

Watercolor Sunflower dealy

Note: When at class, I have found doing at least two paintings at a time is better since you want to let the areas you are painting dry well before working more on it.

Lynne showed me the mechanics of painting a watercolor sunflower today. Her style is loose and flowing, confident and exploratory and with her guidance, I was able to paint the pretty one here. It wasn't easy to allow the freedom and accept that colors outside the pre-drawn lines were OK, and we could work with them, but I got to see that that is part of the beauty of such works. I also learned more about complementary colors (across the wheel from one another, using these opposites often produces a really eyecatching effect.) And she had me drop a few sprinkles of salt on the paper to give the paint an opportunity to dry splotchy, hinting at textures that wouldn't have been there otherwise. We also sprayed a little alcohol on for that same reason. My sunflower is by no means a great work of art, but it was a start in learning this new, far more relaxed style of watercolor painting which I'm sure I will enjoy!

In the second painting, you'd never know it but I find it very hard to loosen up. This one is from a photo I took years ago at Black Rock Village, Thomaston, CT. where we used to live. I painted this, as the photo looked, mostly in dark greens, blues and such. But then, Hazel came by and with the touch of her magic paintbrush on my paper, she softened it, gave it the sparkle and brilliant color, and voila!

Despite practically reworking my whole paper, she did say she liked my grasses and weeds that had been painted at water's edge and the overall composition of the picture at least. This watercolor painting stuff is hard!

When I got home, I applied a little trick Lynne had taught me to the second one which I think made it look even better. I accentuated some edges with a microfine marker to suggest tree branches better, different tones and textures, and layers of the painting. Hazel cautioned, though, that using markers like this can damage the longevity of a painting. But as these are learning works, I figured I can start here and move to a really fine brush when I get better at it.

In the company of geniuses!

These three pics are from unfinished works girls in my class were working on when I left. Lynne, the nice "mentor/friend" I mentioned, is working on the cow with bee on it's nose one.

Still off with the perspective!

Hubby and I went to Seaside, Florida a couple of years ago and shot some gorgeous photos, including one that I attempted to paint here. It took hours with a T-square to draw out, and I think the perspective is still off. I know the shadow is way too heavy too. I think I got the seafoam through the spokes of the bannister OK, but it's hardly noticable. This took forever to paint, and despite it, it's not right. Eesh! I have so much to learn! Despite the flaws, David loves it.

I am heading back to painting class this tomorrow and can't wait.

Yay! Painting again!

I’ve been able to unpack, regroup, and yes, even paint in the past few days!

I got into the habit of taking photos with my iphone when I see something I can use for reference… a great excuse to get out there and walk the neighborhood!

I tried this out on one of my Iphone pics, of one of our Orchids in a nice asian style pot. I have a long way to go in terms of perspective, the pot is way out of sync, but I think I did OK on the orchid itself. I have a long way to go, though and from what I understand, the best way to get anywhere, is to just keep painting!

Pics from the conference

My son and some of his fellow Iraq Vets who all served in Hit, Anbar Province, and Jake Krapfl, another Iraq vet from the 82nd who spoke at the conference.

View from the hotel room, located right near the Pentagon.

Pat and Sherman.

Yay, the Conference is Over! I can go back to painting again!

The weekend conference, put on for Veterans and Military Families for Progress, was a tremendous success despite modest attendance. We were able to push out a lot of great ideas, inform those veterans, military family members, vets advocates, government officials, and the news media in the audience of a number of important issues, developments, and more related to our constituents. I had a lot vested in this because the group included Pete, one of my sons and his “band of brothers” a group of seven Iraq War vets in all who served in deadly Anbar Province together. Three are purple heart recipients and one has been awarded the Silver Star. We had been fortunate to put out a financial appeal ang received donations to "sponsor" the travel expenses and attendance of these men and some of their family members. It was, in my opinion, a great investment.

We all got to listen to Congressmen, a V.A. Assistant Secretary, an Undersecretary of the Pentagon, and a White House Special Assistant too! We heard compelling stories from military family members, veterans, and healthcare providers that treat veterans and those serving, as well as educators, employers and more. The main thing is, it is over, my effort paid off, and I learned and experienced a tremendous amount during the weekend. I know my son and all his army buddies did too.

Now, though, I am spent, both emotionally and physically and I can’t wait to get back to painting! Tonight I am spending the night at my lovely friend Pat’s home, located in the area around Manassas Battlefield! It’s a wonderful quiet and peaceful respite from the hustle and bustle of metro Washington, D.C. and we had a gorgeous walk in the battlefield with her black lab, Sherman. Pat, an art school graduate, showed me some of her work and encouraged me onward, noting my photography background would be helpful in composition. I took tons of photos of Sherman in the fields and Pat said she wants to paint landscape paintings incorporating him in them. I’ve promised to send her a CD of the pics. She uses her art, by the way, in her graphic design / trade show exhibit business called Showcase Portable Exhibits. Affordable trade show/ exhibit displays by a talented, great person (and fellow former Blue Star Mom!). Use her if you have the need and tell her “Moesse” sent you!

Pictures of the classroom

I surreptitiously took these shots with my IPhone.

My first formal painting session!

Investing time and $40 into this promise to myself, I enrolled and started watercolor painting classes today in Nashville at Centennial Park Arts Center.

It is located in one of those buildings you’d miss if you weren’t specifically looking for it, off in a corner of the park. What a wonderful place, though, just perfect! As you enter, there is a gallery, shaped like a short, very wide T, with lots of windows. The studio I paint in is to the right, down a little hallway. I can tell it’s a special place, just by the energy and vibe there.

I didn’t know a soul, as is often the case when I get into one of these “Lucy, what did you do?” scenarios where I get into something and wonder at my sanity as I take a deep breath and go through the doorway. It so happened, though, that I found a warm, congenial atmosphere there. Several folks were already engrossed in work, but Hazel King, the instructor and a pistol-of-a-nonaganerian(I looked it up!)-woman greeted me warmly. I noticed that experience was sweetly etched in her face and she had plenty of sparkle and shine still in her eyes. Reminded me of my mom at her elfish, most-mischievous best.

I explained I was new to painting and meekly went to the files to find a reference image to paint and set myself up in a quiet little corner to get to work. I had my original British supplies and a nifty new painting box David had given me for my birthday. It had three drawers and was stocked with watercolor, oil, and acrylic paint supplies, one set to each drawer. And the top lifted up to produce an easel. I had ditched the oil and acrylic supplies, added the british painting supplies for more variety, and the watercolor paper I had bought in the U.K.

Hazel showed me how to line my workstation with old newspaper from a big pile nearby and I promptly got started. It was amusing and educational listening to the rest of the group talk as they worked. At times it would grow quiet, but more often than not, Hazel would pipe in and make an observation on someone’s work.

"There's not any value change in that at all!" she'd bemoan. And "look at that, don't you see all those colors in that? It ain't just red, you know!"

“She is hard of hearing and can get very critical at times, but don’t let her discourage you,” Lynne, a friendly 30-something, warned. She had come by to freshen her water and glanced over my work. “Very nice!” I explained I had never really painted before and she quickly became mentor, friend, and art confidant, showing me how to place dabs of water on paper, fan it around, and create little surprise blotches of beautiful color.

Unfortunately, I’m chairing this major weekend conference in Washington, D.C. next week and with so many details to tie up before heading up there Tuesday, I had to leave class early. Still, I managed to tap into something, and found an impromptu, easy-flowing style in the iceboat I painted. I was pleased and proudly brought home my work to show David who claimed to be pleased and impressed too.

I'd paint more but have this national conference to run next week.

Ugh! What a time to turn 50 and start to explore new ground!

Work has been mixed-blessing slow but I have this conference coming up next week which has been keeping me busy. Still, in the early morning hours after David heads to work, I managed to squeeze in an hour and try a couple of “lessons” from these books I have managed to accumulate over the recent past. A couple are from the Goodwill and two were from a visit to David's home country, England, and reminded me I was dishonest here in my post the other day and apologize sincerely.

You see, I actually did try my hand at painting as an adult once. David and I were visiting his family in Reading, England (BERKS), and spending time with his lovely sister Sally and her family. I managed to let slip that I had always wanted to learn to paint. Coincidentally, her daughter, Kym, was studying art, so we all went to Kew Gardens, took tons of photos, and came back and painted.

I sucked, I mean, REALLY REALLY BAD, but enjoyed the collaborative atmosphere of being huddled around her dining room table with watercolor paints, brushes, cans of water and paper strewn about. Sally is an amazing artist, paints fabulous huge murals and such, and if I could paint just 1/10th as well as her… After that joyous day, we went shopping in town and I picked up a starter paint kit and a few books on watercolor painting. Unfortunately, as often happens when I go on one of these creative tangents, when I got home, I unpacked this stuff, stowed it up in a closet and forgot about it. For like five years. Seriously... It's been five years since that first fledgeling attempt at painting. So, can you forgive my lapse in memory?

In the first photo above this post, you can see the books I've accumulated and have been working from. The second is something I did from one of the books that uses watercolor pencils. It was a lovely scene, and kind of sweet. I'm showing this one because the trial paintings I did using the traditional watercolors are ugly looking. I think I am using way too much water and paint and they look like globs of ugly color.

I'm 50 and I can do what I want! (Like, take up painting!)

It’s my birthday today and I have promised myself this would be a year to remember and accomplish something amazing. Incredible. And something I'd do alone. Linda, my Tennessee BFF urged me to create my bucket list, something that hadn’t occurred to me before she dragged my unwilling, warm, cozy tush to the county’s outdoor pool to ring in the new year at the annual polar bear plunge.

It was then I started giving thought to my bucket list. I’d seen the movie, my first introduction to the concept. And from January to today, I’ve been giving the idea tremendous thought and consideration. I explained to Linda on that frigid day that I was fortunate to have lived some very cool experiences already. I celebrated my 30th Birthday being wined and dined on the beach under the stars in Cannes, music from string instruments wafting into the air with the scent of the fragrant centerpieces and smoke from candles providing the only light, other than stars on that magical night. (That it was a business event did little to detract from it in my eyes). I spent time in a few – not enough – European countries, on beaches in the Caribbean and strolled through New York City on lazy summer Sunday afternoons. I’ve met a few music and entertainment celebrities and spoke at a caucus of a presidential political convention and attended an inaugural ball.

Other than backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, a dream I’ve had since my teen years, I couldn’t think of anything to go on my bucket list when Linda first mentioned it. And the A.T. dream is still alive – more real then ever given my two sons’ survival skills from serving in the U.S. military. It’s up to me to get fit and name the date and time to head out and we’re going, so they say. The rest of the list is still a work in progress. With one exception.

As my boys were growing up, there must have been a frustrated hands-on artist inside waiting to express itself because every gift-giving opportunity I could find, I'd sneak in an art gift among the requested GI Joes, Tonka Trucks, or XMen figurines that were on my sons’ lists. Rock Tumbler, Pottery Wheel Kit, paint-by-numbers... It never worked, with the two of them preferring more active pursuits like rugby and hockey. The quality time I had hoped for, with the three of us exploring color, texture, theme, expression, morphed into colorful conversations during drive time to and fro practice and games, and me honing my hockey mom (and coach) skills.

So I’m thinking it was fate when, this past summer, we cleared out our sunroom of furniture, donating it to Pete, the younger son, for his first apartment. At the nexus of my 50th birthday was this beautiful, sunny, light, 16 x 20 space beckoning to be appreciated. Where once a massive wraparound sofa sat, lazy boy and coffee table sat, there were blank walls and expansive windows. I don’t know how it started, but I decided it would be the perfect craft room.

First out was this great drafting table I had picked up at a yard sale for ten bucks a couple of years ago. Scraping off dust bunnies and dirt from its former garage corner storage area, I moved it, an old book case, and a vast collection of cookbooks, home decorating and craft books in first, along with a pair of patio chairs we'd intended to toss the next time the city had a junk collection. Next came the craft and sewing supplies I kept tucked away.

It is amazing how a large, empty space can fill so quickly! I was fortunate to score another great and wide bookshelf off a family who had to move their great uncle Sal into an assisted living facility. At $10, I figure the storage offered by this massive, 4 foot wide x 4 shelf unit was well worth the ignomy of driving through town with it strapped to my SUV’s roof rack.

And so it is that today, Sept. 13, 2009, I present, rather than my bucket list, my “fifty-year plan.” A life-changing scheme, I have decided to put my craft room to use as often as possible, in an endeavor to learn to paint. Like my expulsion from piano lessons as a child because after 18 months I never learned to read notes, I imagine it will be tough. You see, when I was a child, I couldn't draw for beans, except maybe trees. My goal, in this my 50th year, is to learn to paint. Well enough to be able to illustrate a children’s book series I have thought about for a while.

It might not sound like much, but believe me, I was never even a doodler either, preferring to make poems and express myself through words. My lifelong BFF Bindy is the artist. In fact, she studied at Parsons and makes a living designing and creating larger-than-life party sets. She who knows me better than anyone else, she who bemoaned my inability to color inside the lines in Miss Hoss’ Kindergarten Class at Alps Road School, she knows what a feat this will be and to her I dedicate this journal. Well, her and my hubby David, the most supportive and kind-hearted and sensitive wonderful husband in the world, and my sons, without who, I may have discovered my inner artist decades ago, but who joined me on a journey I will never regret, smelly hockey gear and all! (And whose guide services are eagerly appreciated in advance, once I am ready to hit the Appalachian Trail for serious trekking.)

I have to go now. There’s organizing to accomplish and library books to borrow!