First Blog Post!

Well, hello there! This is my first blog post and I must say, I am so proud of myself for getting to this point! For those of you who know me and those who don't know me, here is what this blog is all about.

I am a recent empty nester who has spent the last 25 years of my life being a Wife and Mother, and I use capital letters there to show how important those jobs are and always have been to me. When I was young, I knew I would "grow up" and become an artist. What I did not know then is that it wouldn't really happen until I was half a century old! I have always been the creative one and always done creative types of things and hobbies. I have spent many years sewing (heirloom and otherwise), quilting, smocking, scrapbooking (both paper and now digital), stamping, and many other things that could keep my creative juices flowing while I spent time with my hubby (or the Hubs as he will be known from now on...took that from my daughter's blog!) and my two wonderful children. All the while, I knew that when the last one left (not including the Hubs!), I would get back to my first love of painting.

So, for the last year or so, I have been back to painting. What I used to like and what I like now as far as style of painting and subject matter has changed somewhat. But from what I understand from those artists I have met so far along the way, that is pretty common. Also for the recent past, I have been taking workshops from artists whose work I admire and who I think I can learn from. I will post work from these workshops and talk about them so look forward to that. I also have several workshops planned for the upcoming year and expect to continue learning as I paint. I will share some of the highlights of these workshops and trips on here also. I travel with a very good artist and friend of mine, Judy Nocifora, and you can see her wonderful work (along with many others!) on the blog roll on the lower right side of my blog. There is a wonderful communtiy of artists on the internet and "out there" who have been nothing but helpful to me in my journey so far. I will be adding new artists to this blog roll along the way also so look forward to that too!

And finally, I will share work of mine that is for sale here. I currently have work showing at a couple of local places, so if I share a work that is at a show or location, I will include that information in case you are interested in purchasing. I will also post buying information for those pieces that are for sale here on the blog, so look forward to that too! It is my opinion that everyone should own some original art. There is a time and a place for prints, but original art is just so special and makes a wonderful treat for yourself and for gifts for others!

Thanks for reading my blog and please leave comments for me if you will along the way!