It’s raining out this evening after an exuberant past few days of sun. It’s been near impossible to stay indoors and I’ve been cycling, running, and painting. On Saturday I had the pleasure of hosting an artist group I’m part of in Seattle and five women came over to share work and sketch. It was great fun and I feel inspired by seeing others’ art and received some great feedback.

I’m making an effort to look at my work with a more critical eye to see my habitual patterns. A wonderful book I’m reading was recommended to me by wonderful Seattle artist Tom Hoffman: Finding and Improving your Painting Style by Carl Schmalz. It’s targeted towards watercolor, but applies to any medium. Considering my paintings, I gravitate to open landscapes that are stark and simple with strong horizontals such as hot and cold deserts (and the ocean). As I often say, in places where there is so little, what is there becomes all the more important. To challenge myself, I’m tackling some different perspectives and sketching things like houses, trees and the like… I have much to explore.