Big Sur

I went to Big Sur for a camping trip with a couple friends last weekend, and though I had been camping in some small ways before, this felt like the first time I had truly experienced camping. We told stories, drank wine, ran in the ocean, made flower crowns, explored caves, painted the landscape, painted each other, met new people, got our feet dirty, and ate bacon. A lot of bacon. Being outside is such an important thing to me, and I can't wait for another trip immersed in nature.

Most of these pictures were taken by the lovely Megan Hart <3 You can see her artwork here.

Journal Cover

I've always kept sketchbooks, but it wasn't until I met Barron Storey that I began to take them seriously. He brought in some of his hundreds of "journals" and told us what that meant, and it changed my life as an artist. They are a personal and spiritual practice, which require much more intention than a place to do studies, and now I can't stand being without one. I use my journals to explore and document my life in a visual way, and as a safe-haven to exercise my creative muscles. Music plays a very large part in their development, and I like to think of them as visual albums. It is important to me that their content goes largely unseen until I finish one, at which point I like to choose a few pages to share here. Barron also encouraged us to decorate the outside, and make it our own, which has become my favorite part! So I thought I'd share the process of making my 5th journal cover. =) 

Davenport

Exploring and Painting in Santa Cruz County

Living in Santa Cruz County has been one of the best adventures of my life, and has acted a great resuscitation of my creative process. The Husband and I have made a habit of driving up and down the coast seeking out great spots to set up and paint, draw, and photograph. He's the film-maker so he's the one who's always behind a camera, I stick to my paints and pencils.

As much as plein air Painting is an amazing (and essential) practice for working artists, it is also a very meditative experience, and a truly humanizing one. Lately the higher cliff I can get to, the better.  :)

Moments on the Coast