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Like many of you I am sure,  it is hard to believe that 2016 is quickly coming to a close.   For me it has been another year full of activities that all revolve around my life as an artist.   This is unusual for me in that for the first half of my life my activities were formed around the life of my family.  But they moved on and it was either sit around wondering what to do next or actually doing something.    I chose to do something.  For me that was returning to watercolor, something I was introduced to 30 years ago at a community class.   I wish I could say I had a burning passion to create beautiful watercolors but the fact of the matter was that I just wanted to get out of the house.  I was a stay at home mom with three kids under the age of six.  Need I say more?   When I took this class I knew absolutely nothing about painting.  When I bought my supplies I had no clue what I was asking the clerk to help me find.   But I had a list with materials and went to my first class.  I can honestly say that instantly I felt at home with the brush in my hand and worked feverishly trying to get a grasp on this very difficult medium.  I can also honestly say that from the beginning watercolor came quite naturally to me.  But I had to learn how to do it.  And I knew nothing, nothing about art.  What happened during that six week class period and immediately after was something that I did not expect.   I could not find balance between this new love and my first love (s)....my family.  I became increasing frustrated that these people needed things like dinner, clean clothes and rides to and from their various activities.   I realized that I was irritated that I had to stop painting to take care of these little kids.   So I made a choice to stop painting and focus on raising the family.   You may think that I made an odd choice but you have to know that we moved from state to state 17 times in 21 years.  These were very difficult years and my primary focus was the sanity of the children through all this.  But the dust settled and the last one moved out in 2008.  He was gone less than 24 hours when I converted his bedroom into a studio and pulled out my painting supplies.

I painted my heart out for almost a year, studying locally with a community group but my art was not looking the way I imagined it should look.  I am sure you all know that feeling...you hope for more but somehow there is a disconnect.   In 2009 I was given the gift of a workshop with Janet Rogers and Steve Rogers by my husband Keith for my 50th birthday.  This was life changing.   I watched Janet paint and immediately saw what I was not doing and how watercolor could be alive and full of energy.   I remember walking out of one of the sessions with a painting that was 100% professional quality art.  Immediately I went home and applied what I had learned to my own composition on a full sheet.  It was miraculous.  I felt as if another hand had painted it.  Watercolor became so much fun from that moment on.  I will always be grateful to Janet that she shared her gift and talents with me.

From here the story becomes interesting.   I could not stop painting.  It never felt like work to me.  I mentioned that I had no formal art education but this is one of the things I did to learn.   I studied Janet and from there studied her mentor,  Mr. Charles Reid.  I studied him via DVD for a solid year, every day.   I also began researching John Singer Sargent because he was inspirational to Charles Reid.  And then via different readings I became aware of Andrew Wyeth, Windslow Homer, and names like Church, Turner and many more began enriching my life further.  Along with these DVDs of Charles Reid I read Watercolor Artist Magazine.  Becoming familiar with current masters as well.  I added Joseph Zbukvic to my repertoire of DVD instructors.  And I painted every day.  I became aware of Keiko Tanabe via Watercolor Artist Magazine and studied her works.   With fear and trepidation I made my first long distance workshop all the way to Minnesota to study with Keiko.   My world as a painter changed again as I watched with fascination this quiet, humble, adorable and incredibly talented lady paint beautiful atmospheric watercolors.   I studied with her later en plein air in Spain and Italy.   And I painted every day.  In my third year of painting I had the privilege of painting with Keiko's mentor,  Alvaro Castagnet in New York.  He had a huge impact on my life as a painter.  And I painted every day.   

After studying with Alvaro I felt I had taken my last workshop.   I realized from speaking with both Alvaro and Keiko that I had the instruction that I needed.   I also had talent.  What I needed to do was paint.  And find myself and my own way of recording the things I found inspiring.  So I painted.  And painted and painted.   Along with this in my third year of painting, I began social networking and marketing via facebook.  I painted daily and I posted daily,  what I was working on and what I was thinking about.   In 2011 I had 345 friends.   Today, 5 years later, I have 5000 friends and almost 11,000 followers on my facebook page.   This is unimaginable to me.  But maybe it should not be.  I have invested most of my time to painting and blogging via facebook.  What shocks me are the opportunities I have had because of my intense amount of study and also time marketing and networking world wide.

Since I began painting remarkable things have happened to me professionally.   In just seven years I have managed to paint, exhibit, teach and travel around the world.  I have been awarded my own brush line by Rosemary & Company.  I have been published in "The Art of Watercolour",  and  "Plein Air Artist" magazines.  I have received top honors in the Michigan Watercolor Society exhibitions the past few years.  I have taught workshops all around the United States, Bulgaria and Italy.  I have sponsored two artists who have not the opportunities that I have had.  I will be published in hardcover for the first time, May 2017 and recently jurored an exhibition at Spring Arbor University in Michigan.  These accomplishments astound me.  Because I feel so inadequate.  Which leads me to the most important part of this blog.  Fear.

I can honestly say that almost every step of this journey has been preceded by fear and insecurity.  I remember taking that first workshop with Janet Rogers.  I was sick with anxiety before I went.  But I went.  I remember the first time I took my work to a venue that wanted to sell it, I was sick with anxiety.  But I took it.  I remember the first time I was asked to teach a small workshop.  I was sick with anxiety.  But I taught it.  (This lasted a long time for me,  teaching was very very stressful until just this past year....so five years of serious anxiety while teaching....but I  did it).......Agreeing to put my name on brushes,  was acutely stressful...who would want to buy anything that I endorsed?  How embarrassing if the brush company had to take back their offer because nobody cared about what I had to say about brushes?......but I agreed.  Now I have sold many many sets of brushes and just this year actually worked to develop a new brush custom to my specifications.  Amazing!   I remember painting for six months in the studio with a plein air palette in my hand so that I could study with Keiko en plein air in Spain.  I trained hard so that I could learn more while in Barcelona with Keiko.    Which leads me to my first trip to Europe.  I was scared to death to cross the Atlantic, so much so that my poor husband had to take me there.  But I went...now I travel extensively in Europe, alone.  I guess my point in all of this is that every step of growth in my artistic journey has been preceded by fear.  Even posting my paintings online,  very scary.  But at some point, maybe my age had something to do with it,  I just decided to acknowledge the fear but push past it.  Every accomplishment is begun with the question "But what if I fail?"...and the answer is always this....."But what if I don't?".    I always encourage my students to not let fear stop them from trying.   I have been afraid almost daily in this journey.  It's my nature.  But I like living on the edge.  (smile)

I am frequently told  "I want to paint just like you".....and my first thought is this,  "how hard are you willing to work?"  Nothing comes easy, there is no secret to success,  it is simply tenacity and hard work.

This year has flown by.   I have traveled to East Michigan, Washington DC, New York (twice), Bulgaria, Italy, Minnesota, Colorado, Battle Creek, Michigan~ California and now my schedule is slow for around six weeks.   If I only blog twice a year it's because I am too busy traveling and painting to write.  I am asked frequently to write a book, make a DVD, print calendars and other things but there is only so much time in a day.  This is the life of a professional artist.  It's busy, crazy, full of interesting opportunities and in the middle of all this I must still be creating beautiful works of art!  I would not have it any other way.  This is the life I have carved out.   I can't wait to see what 2017 holds in store.  I have five workshops perking with more in the works.  I will also travel once again to Bulgaria where I have painted in residence for the past three years.  I am becoming know for saying the words  "Let's Paint" daily to my friends on the internet...and I say them now with great affection to you...."Let's Paint" in 2017!