BIG NEWS!

me + Pam at the Do What You Love retreat, England 2011. photo by Navyblur

i can hardly stop from smiling! and, well, if you're a regular reader of this little blog you know that last week i sent out a special envelope with a teaching proposal...

me at the Do What You Love retreat, England 2011. photo by Navyblur

and guess what? i was accepted and will officially be teaching my HOW TO PAINT AN OWL workshop at ARTFEST 2012! i can hardly, hardly believe it!!!

Registration starts in August, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on all of the details! i would LOVE to meet you all there!

kind of incredible!!!

well, i have been waiting for months to share this issue of somerset studio gallery with you! i just can't say thank you enough to the wonderful editors at somerset studio for featuring my art along with pages and pages of other artists' beautiful work!

she sings like the flowers (left) and autumn (right)

i was so excited to find two of my original paintings... 

and to see this lovely spread of some of my wood mounted prints...

and my little original handmade notecards too!

and to top it all off, as if that all couldn't have been incredible enough, while i was in england i was lucky enough to get an invitation from the always inspiring teesha moore to submit a teaching proposal to teach at ARTFEST 2012!

can you tell i was just a little bit excited?

so i've been working to put together my best workshop proposals and submitted everything in this little envelope last week....i can hardly believe it! and i am just so incredibly excited about it all!!!

THANK YOU so much for all of your amazing support and encouragement! i am so grateful grateful grateful! AND i have another bt of good news to share with you in FRIDAY's post too!

THANK YOU!

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ps. thank you so much for all of your amazing comments from monday's start to finish post for my latest painting, THIS IS YOUR LIFE! i'm so happy you enjoy seeing the painting process! i've been working on many new paintings too that i can't wait to share with you!

Bloom True With Flora Bowley!

when i was asked to assist the lovely  flora bowley in her bloom true workshop at the do what you love retreat in england...what could i say but YES!

i just couldn't believe we got to paint in this gorgeous landscape!

and i felt so at home painting on these large canvases...

especially when it was warm enough to take them outside and paint in the grass!

i learned so much about painting, teaching and creative business from flora!

she's originally from green bay, wisconsin (not too far from where i grew up) so it was especially sweet to share stories from the midwest.

and i cannot wait to try out some of the translucent paints she uses!

it was really amazing to have this time to play and learn from everyone else in the class too!

and i really did try to keep this painting just like it is when i went to york to paint in my hotel room after the retreat. 

but, of course, an owl just started to appear! 

i can't wait to share the finished piece with you on monday...along with the entire painting and her story from start to finish!

have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

the do what you love retreat!

do what you love retreat, england

it's hard to imagine that i was lucky enough to spend five days in this beautiful place for the do what you love retreat! 

i knew it would be amazing... i mean, i was to be assisting the lovely flora bowley with her Bloom True painting workshop! but not only was the painting time incredible AND the scenery gorgeous...but the people attending the retreat were simply amazing! 

it all seemed to fall into place in one of those moments where you say you'd love to have something come into your life, and then two seconds later it actually does!

as i mentioned in monday's post, i was really quite nervous about my trip to england. i'd already been feeling like life had been keeping me overly busy and i was dreaming of spending warm days lounging in my backyard garden. 

but i love to travel. and this trip made me feel renewed and so inspired! there's something about traveling on your own and meeting people you never would otherwise and staying in places so different from your home that seems so completely necessary...especially when i'm at a place where i may not want to wander.   

this trip taught me so much, especially about myself. and although i did not want to leave, being surrounded by so much beauty and so many wonderful, amazing people and stories has made me appreciate all of the rest of my life even more! and really renewed my passion for doing what i love and sharing it with the world!

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photos from my class with flora bowley on friday!

travels to york, england

when i left for my 10 day trip to england, i had butterflies in my stomach. i wasn't even feeling like taking a trip (which is completely unlike me). 

but what i've realized is whenever i travel, i need to take a lot of time for myself. so before heading to the do what you love retreat, i booked a day before and a few days after for myself in york, england!

i made sure to travel light...

and had so much fun wandering these amazing cobblestone streets!

the first day i arrived, i'd been awake for almost 24 hours. i couldn't check in to my hotel right away, so i wandered York.

i felt like i was living in a wonderful movie!

i walked along the river...

stopped at the sweetest cafes...

and sipped one of the best cappuccinos i think i've ever had...topped with shaved chocolate and served with a little dipping biscuit.

i stopped and enjoyed ice cream...

then wandered some more, admiring the colorful doorways...

sweet cottages,

and architecture....

and before i headed off to the retreat, i simply had to have another lovely cappuccino! i think this one was even sweeter...

then when i got back to york from the retreat, i had all of this paint i simply had to use up!

so i set up a little studio in my hotel room and finished a few paintings i'd been working on in flora bowley's class! 

and as much as i loved painting in my room, i couldn't stay inside the entire time. so i rode in this amazing elevator...

enjoyed this most amazing hotel lounge...

hopped on the train...

 admired the countryside,

ate so much good food...

and wandered and painted some more until it was time for me to return home.

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later this week...i've got so many more photos and stories i can't wait to share from the do what you love retreat and class with flora bowley! 

AND some really good news to share too!