Change Your Artwork for Fall ...Labor Day Flash Sale

'Glorious'          8x10          pastel          ©Karen Margulis
available in my etsy shop Labor Day Flash Sale

Wall space is limited in my home. I love to collect other artists work and well as display some of my own personal favorites. But I have run out of space. A solution occurred to me the other day. I was shopping and noticed that every store had their Autumn displays up. Every year there seems to be more and more autumn decor for the home.....wreaths, pillows, wall hangings and of course framed prints with a fall theme.  I was inspired.

I have some autumn paintings that would bring the fall season into my home. Why not just rotate the art on my walls for the season? Why purchase prints and cheap wooden plaques when I can display original art?  

I selected a few of my favorites and will hang them in a couple of weeks....as soon as I feel the first cool breeze!  I decided to offer the other fall themed paintings in my etsy shop at a discount of 30% off. For a limited time discover these original paintings in my shop and consider adding one to your collection. Click here to visit my shop and find the sale paintings in the Labor Day Flash Sale section. No coupon needed. Sale prices are marked.

Packing For Plein Air with Pastels

'French Meadow'         5x7      plein air pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $45

It's time to pack my supplies! I am teaching a plein air workshop with Marsha Savage this weekend in the North Georgia mountains. I am looking forward to sharing tips and techniques for plain air with pastels with our group.  As I was cleaning out my portfolios I came across some lost plein air studies from my trip to Normandy France with Stan Sperlak and the Painters Passport group. It was fun to find them!

Since I am packing plein air supplies I thought it was a good time to share this post on my set up from the blog archives. Enjoy!

'French Meadow ll'  $45

 It has to be compact and light. Everything has to fit in my backpack. Over the years I have continuously downsized my plein air set up. I remember the days of dragging a rolling cart filled to the top with painting supplies. Set up took forever. I could never find what I wanted in the cart full of unnecessary stuff.  It was discouraging and plein air wasn't something I enjoyed.

Until I downsized! Now I have several different downsized plein air set-ups. I keep them always ready. The type of painting situation helps me decide which set up to bring.  Today I will share my Compact Travel Light Set Up.

Travel Light Kit: Heilman double sketchbook pastel box, Heilman easel attachment,  Oben AT3400 tripod

Everything fits in my Orvis backpack with room to spare. I will always carry this on the plane. I have room for extra travel needs such as my toiletries and iPad mini.  I use an Oben AT3400 tripod which folds up to 16". It will fit in the backpack but sometimes I put it in my checked bag if I want extra room in the backpack.

Heidi checks out my set-up. Here you can see the inside of the Orvis backpack. I love this pack because it sits so well without flopping over. I used it to weigh down my tripod using a mini bungee cord. It also has plenty of outside pockets.

This is all of my gear. I am using a Heilman double sketchbook pastel box. I put the metal ease attachment into a small stuff sack to keep it protected. I have my backing board with bankers clips. This is actually a hard plastic board which will hold paper. It is called an Artworks Book from Easel Butler.  I have a pouch for baby wipes, a zippered pouch for miscellaneous supplies such as tape, watercolor set, alcohol, fixative. I also have 2 black portfolio folders by Itoya. I use these to store my paper and the finished paintings.

Here is the Heilman box open. I have an assortment of Terry Ludwig pastels on the left and Girault pastels on the right. I do vary the selection depending on my location.  I don't preselect my pastels before I start painting since my palette is already limited!

Here is the entire set up. I was asked about the stability of this set up. I did notice some shaking but I am a fairly aggressive plein air painter so I did hold onto the board to steady it some. If I was a kind and gentle painter it wouldn't be as noticeable. It really didn't bother me. I am trading size and weight for complete stability and to me it is well worth it!



If you'd like to see this set up in action watch my plein air demo video on YouTube click HERE

Resources:

Heilman Designs
Easel Butler Artworks Book
Itoya Original Art Portfolios
Orvis

Keep Those Plein Air Duds!

'Gentle Beauty'             9x12        pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $165

Texas is on my mind. As I putter around my studio packing for my weekend team workshop with Marsha Savage, my thoughts wander to the people of Texas. My prayers are with them as they go through Harvey and the aftermath.  I happened to come across one of my plein air studies from Texas as I was  packing my portfolio booklets. It somehow didn't get removed from the portfolio after my Texas workshop. I looked at it today and felt compelled to use it as inspiration form my daily painting.

The study which is below, is a quick 5x7 demo. It was done to illustrate my field study approach to a plein air outing. The goal for these studies is to work quickly and efficiently and to think of them as notes in a notebook. I want to capture the colors, values and mood I am experiencing. They don't always stand alone as a 'good' painting.  Most of the time they do not. Most of the time they could be considered DUDS.

5x7 plein air study

Today I looked at this dud and wondered what to do with it. It had decent bones so I could work on it to finish it. I hesitated. If I worked over it I would remove all of the good information that it contained. It was my response to the scene.....live and in person. Instead of covering up and trying to fix it I had a better idea.

using my thumbnail and study in the studio

I decided to use the study to inspire a larger painting done in the comfort of my studio. I happened to keep the value thumbnail so I would use both as the reference material for my painting. That and what is in my mind and my heart. I would not use any photos this time. I had enough information.

• I began by blocking in the big shapes using the thumbnail as my guide. I selected colors that I felt would work well with the greens and blues that would be dominant in the painting.
•  I used the same colors in the sky as in the study but changed the direction of marks to lead to the trees and flowers.
• In the study the bluebonnets were mere suggestions of color. In the larger painting I enhanced them with a bit more definition.

The first layer.Choosing colors that will work with the local colors

 Plein Air Advice:
The lesson in this exercise is that plein air paintings are extremely valuable....even if they are duds! It is important not to be frustrated with your plein air efforts. Think of them as notes. Use them in the studio. The notes are more authentic than any photo that you take!

How Much Detail is Enough?

'Imagine All the Poppies'            8x10          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $145

It was the perfect question for this painting. I pulled it out of my plein air travel book and tacked it to a board on my easel for a closer look. It was a plein air demo I had done for my workshop in Ireland. It wasn't meant to be finished really. It was my second demo of the morning and I started it to illustrate a few key points.  I put it away after the workshop in it's unfinished state.....or was it?

The unfinished demo as it looked when I took it out of my plein air portfolio

Perhaps. The bones were definitely there. I had established a base of strong simple shapes. I started to create a feeling of depth. I had placed my poppies in an interesting arrangement and I had hinted at some detail in the grasses.  It could very well be enough detail and I could have stopped.

 But on closer inspection I felt like I needed more detail in the foreground stems and grasses. I like to suggest detail and let the viewer participate and fill in the rest. But in this painting there wasn't quite enough information. The poppies looked as if they were floating on the grass. The foreground looked flat. There was no depth. I wanted to find a way to create a tangle of grasses and flowers that looked three dimensional. I needed more detail!

• To create the detail I sprayed the foreground with workable fixative. I used some lighter and cooler greens for the grasses in the back.
• I used chunky marks to suggest seed pods and leaves.
• I used linear marks to create the stems and grasses.
• I tried to weave my marks to create this tangle.
• I tried to use restraint so that I didn't paint every single blade of grass!

Friday Fun: Try Some 7 Minute Explorations

7 minute explorations are 5x7 pastel studies  available for $45 each

It has been awhile since I did this fun little exercise. It seemed like the perfect thing to share with my private class yesterday. Just what the doctor ordered! It is a great little exercise if you want to do the following:

• paint more
• paint faster
• paint looser
• paint with more passion and expression
• paint what you love without guilt
• add more miles of paper or practice without spending a lot of time
• overcome fear
• build confidence
• break out of a block 
• break free of a rut
• explore without fear of wasting good paper
• explore color
• explore mark making
• discover new approaches
• discover new compositions for familiar subjects

And I could go on but you get the idea. This is an exercise that I need to do more often. Many artists already do it and many instructors do some variation of the exercise in their classes. I call my version 7 Minute Explorations. They can be done as a warm up before painting or a wind down after painting. Or they can be done on their own during your studio time. Read on for the details.

The reference and painting that inspired my 7 minute explorations

• Choose a subject. Either a reference photo of a still life setup if you prefer. The photo should be one that you are really excited about and it doesn't have to be a perfect or even good photo. I MUST be your own photo....something you experienced!

• Tape up 4 pieces of scrap papers. I like to work on 5x7 scraps of my favorite pastel papers. 6x8 is also a good size for this exercise. I save my scraps from cutting down full sheets of pastel paper.

• Choose pastels for the painting. If this is a warm up you will use the same pastels for the rest of your painting session. If this is a cool down....use the pastels you were working with. Choosing the palette in advance saves precious time!

• Set your timer for 7 minutes and get painting! You will allow 7 minutes for each painting. The goal is to interpret the photo in a different way for each 7 minute block. When the timer goes off you must stop. You may not be finished but the more you do the exercise the more efficient you will be.

This timed exercise will force you to think and react quickly and you will be relying more on your memory, imagination and intuition rather than the analytical part of your brain. You will only be putting down what is most important to YOU. You will not have time to noodle or overwork or overthink! You may or may not end up with a painting worthy of a frame but you will gain valuable knowledge if you embrace the challenge!

My 7 minute explorations are based on the dune painting I finished yesterday. They are 5x7 on various papers.

'Seabreeze I'      5x7      $45

'Seabreeze II'        $45

'Seabreeze III'          $45

'Dune Flowers'         $45

Do You Paint with a Plan?

'Over the Dunes'            8x10         pastel           ©Karen Margulis
available $145

I've been told that I am fast and loose. A fast and loose painter that is! It may certainly appear that way but the truth is I am not so much a fast painter as I am an efficient painter. My paintings progress rapidly because I spend time BEFORE picking up a pastel making an action plan for the painting. Armed with a concept, value map and color palette I can approach the paper and simply paint with passion.

A plan allows me to let go and explore without fear of getting totally lost. A plan is my map or my GPS.  Will I get there without a map? Sure, but it may take me a lot longer and may not be as enjoyable. A plan can save many hours of frustration and brushing off paintings. 

Everyone has their own way of approaching a painting. Some enjoy detailed planning and some of us would rather wing it. I am somewhere in the middle with my planning. But there are some 'must do' items.

The finished painting with my plans attached 

 There are three simple parts to my plan. I may spend anywhere from 5-30 minutes planning.

• What is my Concept?  I always like to begin the plan with asking myself what I want my message to be. What do I want the viewer to see or experience when looking at my painting?

• SIMPLIFY. Next I do a small 3-4 value thumbnail. I simplify my photo or scene if painting plein air into a few simple shapes and assign each shape a value.

• Decide on Color Palette and SELECT MY PASTELS. I pull the pastels I want to use and put them together in a butcher tray. This way I can see if there is color harmony. I like to take an additional step in my planning process to paint a small color study. I like to see if the colors I selected work together. I like to use a 2.5 x 3.5 inch format for the color studies. 

Using the small thumbnail to start the painting

Starting the painting with a value block in.

This is just a brief overview of my planning process. I have written more detailed blog posts on these ideas. There is a search box on my blog which allows you to search for more on this subject. Try searching for the word 'planning' to get started. If you get my posts by email I invite you to visit my blog directly to search for more planning articles. www.karenmargulis.com

My Favorite Tool for Finishing a Painting

'Beyond the Storm'             11x14          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $165

 It's the age old question. How do we know when a painting is finished.  Leonardo Da Vinci said that art is never finished, only abandoned. So how do we know when it is time to abandon them? When is it time to be satisfied and move on to the next painting?

The advice I have frequently heard that it is time to stop when you have nothing more to say. That may be good advice but it is important to know if what you have said can be understood! Have you clarified your concept?  Sometimes it is hard to tell. Sometimes you need to look at the painting with a fresh eye or in another way.

My favorite tool for giving me a fresh eye is to use a mat around the painting. I know this isn't a new or earth shattering idea and maybe you already do this. But quite frankly I forgot how effective it really is until I pulled out this mat today for a private class. I had stopped using mats for myself but no more! I am making them an important part of my painting process and here's why.

Adding a mat to check for doneness

•  Putting a mat around a painting eliminates the clutter of a busy support board. Sometimes the tape or clips or pastel marks create distracting elements. The painting feels unfinished because the tools of creation are still in place. It is like having the scaffolding on a building. The building looks like it is under construction. Remove the scaffolding and voila.....it looks complete and finished.

• A mat allows for separation and space around the painting. It isolates the painting and forces us to look at what is inside the mat. Often we can then better focus on the parts of the painting that have clarity. All of the sudden the parts of the painting that we may have thought were unfinished now look right. It becomes easier to see that we don't necessarily need clarity and detail everywhere! We may just decide that the painting is done long before we thought it should be. Many an overworked painting can be saved with the use of a mat!

TIP:  Step up your game!  Try a fancy mat! I found this mat with a silver liner in an old frame in a thrift store. I took the mat and donated the frame and print. You need mats in the sizes that you paint the most. I also use clips to hold the mat over my painting so I can step back and evaluate for doneness!

Breaking Free of Color Ruts

'Listen to Your Heart'             9x12        pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $195

 Do you find yourself returning to your favorite color combinations over and over again?  I tend to  have favorite colors that seem to find their way into my paintings when I am not paying attention. Do you have favorites? You can tell by just looking in your pastel box. Those tiny nibblets of pastel are most likely your personal favorites. There really isn't anything wrong with having preferred color schemes. In fact it can often be part of your unique personal style. But sometimes it is fun to mix it up! Get out of your color rut by deliberately choosing a different color scheme.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed earlier today when a painting caught my eye. I loved the limited palette the artist used and the soft muted colors in their palette.  I pulled out a piece of paper and quickly jotted down some color notes of the main colors in the painting. ( Unfortunately I was distracted by something else and when I returned to Facebook I couldn't find the painting to credit the artist. I am still looking!) But I did have the color notes so I decided to use them for a new marsh painting.

Inspired Color Notes

Choosing a simple limited palette based on my color notes

• Using the color notes as my guide I selected pastels I would use for my painting. I made sure to have a range of values within the color scheme. The results are in the butcher tray above. I started the painting using a few Nupastels in similar but bolder colors in my  tray.

• I often like to start a painting darker and bolder than I ultimately want. It is much easier to lighten and tone down a painting than it is to punch it up!

• I continued building the painting using only the few pastels in my tray. The result was a quiet and simple color scheme that was inspired by making a strip of color notes and sticking to them!

The first layer or block in of my extremes...
darkest dark,lightest light and most intense color.

TRY THIS:
Scroll through Facebook or Instagram or Pinterest looking at art that inspires you. In particular look at the artists use of color. Pick a painting whose color scheme interests you and make some notes with pastel of the colors you see. Now choose pastels in this color scheme for your next painting. This exercise can be repeated many times using the same reference but different color inspirations!

Note: today's painting is 9x12 on Wallis Warm mist seconds.

Painting During the Eclipse....An Interesting Thing Happened

'Changing Meadows'            8x10       pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $145

I stayed home for the eclipse and had a very  interesting afternoon.  I spent the morning making several eclipse viewers. (I wanted to make sure at least one worked!) We were expecting a 98% eclipse here in Marietta Georgia with the peak at 2:36. I decided to start my daily painting while I waited. 

As the eclipse started I would step outside of my studio to check on the progress. Then I would work in the painting. A funny thing happened to the evolution of the painting during the eclipse. 

It seemed to change the same way the sky was changing. I didn't do this on purpose but it is interesting how it unfolded. It was if the mood and light in the sky changed in my painting as it changed in my backyard! Have a look at the photos I took of the painting's progress.

My eclipse viewers

Beginning with a notan underpainting

First steps completed before the start of the eclipse

Eclipse started. Excited and anticipating the darkening of the sky
Took a break from my painting to go back outside.

Just after the peak when the sky was a deep blue violet in my backyard

The eclipse about finished with the sky becoming brighter again.
 I noticed I was drawn to brightening the sky in my painting.

The finish. A brighter and sunnier mood than how it began!
And I decided I didn't like the little path.

I took a lot of photos of the cool shadows

Just before peak the sky got deep blue violet.
I live in the land of trees and this is my view of the sky.

Tips for Painting The Night Sky

'Nightfall'            11x14         pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $165

Eclipse fever is reaching a peak. In Marietta Georgia we are within an hour or so drive to the path of TOTALITY. I have family in this area and my plans were to take a drive and experience the total eclipse. Traffic is predicted to be terrible so I may just stay put and experience the partial eclipse at home. I wasn't able to get glasses either.  But with all the hype I decided to paint the sky today.

I started this beach sunset painting a few weeks ago but didn't quite finish. It needed a few stars and brighter light at the horizon. This was a sunset I shared with good friends several years ago in South Carolina. The sky was amazing!

I enjoy painting the night sky. The challenge is to give the sky a sense of air and depth even though it might be very dark. I have a few tips for painting successful night skies.

• Observe the sky in the evening. Spend time just watching from twilight until total darkness. Make notes about the colors and values you see. How do they change? Soak it all in. These observations will help you when having to work from photos.

• Take night photos at twilight. When the sun has set there is still some light in the sky. These deep dark and rich blues of early evening make for the most interesting night scenes. Even better is when the lights begin to come on. These little lights add even more interest to the night sky.

• Avoid using BLACK pastel. We tend to think that at night the sky is black.  Even when the sky appears very dark painting it with black will make it look flat and heavy and dull.  Choose dark value blues for a more believable night sky.

• There is often a gradation of color seen in the night sky. I like to use my darkest cool blues for the zenith (top) of the sky and gradually transition to rich warmer turquoisey blues closer to the horizon. Scroll down to see samples.

Black vs. Deep Blue. Which do you prefer for a night sky?

Starry Sky a sliver of the night  11x4 

A selection of beautiful deep blue pastels perfect for the night sky

 The next time you are inspired to paint the night sky see how beautiful it can be with blues!

More advice for New Painters and Anyone Else Who wants to be a Better Painter

'Roadside Treasure'          8x10         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $145

Becoming a good painter is simple. All it takes is some good pastels and paper and knowing how to use them. Right? Not exactly. Yesterday I shared some advice for new painters. Advice I wish I had heard when I was new to painting. But there is more to it than just having good materials. Read on for more advice.

Just a few of my favorite art books. I have three shelves FULL of books

• Make time to study the basic concepts of painting. Whether you take classes, watch dvds or read books,  find a way to learn more about what makes a good painting. Understanding the concepts of composition, value, color, edges, perspective are all important to making good paintings.  Pick one per month. Study all you can. You won't be able to master it all right away but you need to make time to study.  Some concepts elude us until we are truly ready to understand, process and use them. I didn't really 'get' value until I had been painting for three years. Then I had an AHA moment and value became simple. Be patient. You will have the AHA moments when you are ready but you must expose yourself to these concepts.

A few of my hundreds of daily painting....many many miles of paper!

A good friend of mine would often say "I can talk the talk but not walk the walk" She was often frustrated with her paintings. She had all of the best materials and a deep and solid understanding of what makes a successful painting. She had great technical skill with her pastels....but yet she was still frustrated and unhappy with her paintings.

Good materials won't make you a good painter. Having good technique is a start but not enough to create paintings that are compelling or interesting or successful. Study and knowing and understanding art concepts is important. But it isn't enough to talk the talk....you want to be able to walk the walk.

"A Painting a Day Keeps Frustration at Bay" 

• PRACTICE is the key that unlocks the mystery behind successful painters.  I often hear a common complaint ..... "I can't paint like you. How come mine doesn't look like yours? How do you just seem to know what to do? You make it look so easy!"   My answer is PRACTICE! Painting is like any other discipline. It takes time and commitment to improve.  Even if it is a short amount of time done with frequency...time at the easel is key to feeling confident and at ease. Practice (if done right which is a topic for another day) unites your knowledge, skills and materials  so that you see progress and experience improvement.  To become an intuitive confident painter you need to partner study with practice.

Some parting advice. Be patient with yourself. It takes time and effort but getting to the place where you can paint with passion and intuition without overwhelming struggle is well worth it.

Painting notes: Today's painting was a demo for yesterday's private class. It is 8x10 on Canson Mi-Teintes unsanded paper.

Advice for New Painters

'Summer Bounty'             10x8          pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $145

I had a very wise student today. She wanted to try pastels and had purchased a few supplies. She quickly discovered that what she was painting was not what she had in her head. Instead of giving up or going out and buying more supplies in hopes of making things better....she decided to seek help. She told me she didn't want to develop bad habits so it was time to take a class.

I was very happy to have her come to my studio and share some of the things I have learned along the way that have helped me become a better painter. We chatted.  We test drove some pastels and paper...Terry Ludwig and Diane Townsend seemed to be favorites! We did thumbnails and talked about easy ways to start a painting. After my demo we painted together following the steps I had shared. It was wonderful to share pastels with an enthusiastic artist!

As I prepared for this class I wanted to give my student some good advice....something that would be helpful and encouraging. I came up with four things that helped me when I was new to painting. I'll share two today and two in tomorrow's blog post.

• Get to know your medium.  Research and purchase the best materials you can afford. Learn all you can about pastels and the available brands. Artist quality materials really do make a difference. So often artists tell me they don't want to spend money on the expensive or 'good' pastels and paper until they know they will like it ...or are good enough. It's a catch-22. It is harder to have good results with cheap materials. It can be downright frustrating to paint with cheap hard mid value pastels on unsanded or regular drawing paper. I've met artists who gave up on pastels because they were not having success ...it wasn't their skills....it was their materials.

          ***Before investing in good supplies try them first! See if you can find another pastelist or

                instructor in your area and ask to try out the 'good' pastels. And if you do choose to invest

                in better materials and change your mind...Ebay is your friend.***

• Get Comfortable with your medium. Once you have good supplies you need to get comfortable with them. Use them! Pastels can make a variety of marks. Learn how to hold them so that you can get wide marks, thin linear marks, light strokes, heavy strokes and so on. The best way to get familiar with them is to use them.... a lot!  Make marks. Experiment and play.

         ***A great way to learn how to make marks is to paint without trying to make a good painting.

               Paint skies or simple objects...something that allows you to just make marks and 

               get comfortable with your pastels.

Not sure which brand of pastels or paper to buy? Take them for a test run with a sampler set from Dakota Pastels. Click here for details.

Painting Notes: Today's painting is on Uart 400 grit sanded paper with Terry Ludwig pastels. This was one of the demos painted in my class.

Transformation from a Bad Quick Draw Painting

'Dancers By the Sea'          10x8        pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $155 

It's been a wonderful week in the studio! There is nothing better than returning from a trip to an empty calendar....a week of no obligations and no plans. In fact I didn't even leave my house for 7 days!! I had a week to enjoy the glow of a wonderful visit to Ireland and paint and write to my heart's content. 

I have a couple more installments to my travelog. Today I am sharing one of the last events of Art in the Open....the Quick Draw.  This event was open to any artist and the requirement was to paint one of the storefronts in Wexford in a specified area. The time limit was two hours. Everyone painted at the same time and then displayed their paintings for all to see and perhaps purchase.

If you would like a great look at the Quick Draw event have a look at this video done by one of the AITO artists Alvin Mark Tan. Here is a link to the video on YouTube. Alvin Mark Tan is a wonderful artist and great guy who conducted an Urban Sketching session at the festival. He was seen everywhere with his paints, sketchbook and video camera! I also recommend following him on Instagram @alvinmark

Now for my experience at the Quick Draw and how I transformed one of my quick draw paintings into today's Queen Anne's Lace paintings.

Painting Suki!

I have to admit I was a little concerned about the Quick Draw. I'm not really a painter of buildings and while the streets of Wexford are certainly picturesque I know I couldn't do them justice. My wheels were turning. What would I paint??....then while in the Wexford Silver shop the morning of the event it hit me. I knew exactly what I would paint....or who that is. Suki....the adorable little shop dog. Suki liked to hang out at the door and greet everyone. She would be the perfect model!

I set up in front of Wexford Silver at the appointed time. The horn blew and I started to paint Suki. Until the band started up. Suzi didn't like that and started fussing. The shop owner came out and to my dismay took her inside. A plein air painter's nightmare! Actually it wasn't all bad. Suzi returned when the band left and I managed to finish one small painting and start on a larger one. About that larger one.......it was bad. Very bad.

brushed down and ready for some alcohol

The painting actually started life as some buildings. I tried to paint the storefront when Suki went inside but I wasn't having fun with it. So I brushed off the buildings and tried for a close up of Suki. Short on time I didn't finish and wasn't at all happy with my composition.

Not wanting to waste a good board (Pastel Premier panel) I took it all the way home and did an alcohol wash. It now became the underpainting for my Queen Anne's Lace at Rosslare beach. Definitely a painting with an interesting journey!

After the alcohol wash

Yes it's true, everyone stopped to say hello to Suki

'Everyone Loves Suki'             5x7         pastel        available $75

As a final note to this story....I treated myself to a beautiful silver necklace and earrings from Wexford Silver. :)