It was a week of adventure and decadence.  I enjoyed lots of sunshine, hiking, and good food!  I lounged poolside.  We ate at a fantastic Ethiopian restaurant, a fantastic Greek restaurant, a fantastic vegan restaurant, and at my friend’s house we enjoyed ripe avocados, fresh-squeezed citrus juice, and dark chocolate!

I of course brought my 7-month-old with me, and carried him on my back for much of the time.

My friends and I had a wonderful visit to Sedona and hiked one of the Boynton Canyon trails to a “vortex,” or a spot where spiritual energy is believed to converge in a spiral, where this beautiful rock formation sits.

I climbed partway up the actual rock formation too!  In the picture below, the tiny figure waving at the bottom is me and the one at the top is my much more badass rock-climbing friend.

Enjoying the view:

Near this spot were dozens of little cairns (stacks of balanced rocks) left by people all over the place.  It is customary to build your own cairn, say any prayer you like, and leave it there.  I thought it was cool, and beautiful to see the physical representations of the prayers of many people who had passed through.

The mountains in Sedona are incredible!

I also really enjoyed browsing the Southwest-themed artwork in the Sedona galleries.

I’m glad to be back to work in the studio.  I’m currently working on a new Lotus triptych.  The Lotus series is popular as ever and I’m struggling to keep up–the good news is I’m still not tired of painting them!  Here you can see I’m just laying down the base colors in the first layer of oil paint.  Much more detail will be added as I add more layers.

A collector sent me this photo of one of my Lotus triptychs hanging in their home.  It looks beautiful with the colors of their bedroom!

I just received word that 3 of my Sunflower Heart paintings have sold from my NC gallery, and I have more of those in progress.  A fresh 40″ x 30″ canvas is sitting on my easel as well, with the design already sketched in for another tree painting.  So there’s a lot of action right now in my studio!  More news to come…

Yesterday I visited my gallery in Waynesville, which is a small town about a 40-minute drive west of Asheville.  The area is hopping with culture and tourism, and Twigs and Leaves has a great location on Main Street, which is a fun place to walk around and enjoy interesting shops and good restaurants.

I was at the gallery to touch up 7 of my 9 recent sunflower panels, which had been slightly scuffed around the edges during shipping.  The damage was completely my fault, as I was in such a hurry to get them shipped off that I didn’t wait long enough for the oil paint to set, and it was still tacky.  I should have let them dry for another week.  (Oil paint dries sooo slowly!)  Lesson learned.

So, after several hours of meticulous touch-up work involving color-matching and careful brushstrokes, the paintings were restored to perfect condition.  They look great and are hanging in the front window of the gallery:

Next was a visit to meet one of my collectors in person while I was in the area.  She purchased 9 different sunflower paintings earlier this year and has displayed them in her home in a grid just like the ones above.

Her home, which she and her husband had built to their specifications and just moved into this year, is built of gleaming wood.  It’s architecturally beautiful, with large open spaces, wraparound decks, and big windows facing incredible mountain views.

When you walk in the front door, the first thing you see is my paintings hanging on the wall of their foyer.

The foyer and kitchen are one large open room–this angle is from the kitchen:

Here’s from the top of the staircase:

And here are the happy collectors!

They are very sweet people, and were gracious hosts.  I brought my mom along for the visit and we spent a couple of hours enjoying their company.

That’s me on the left.

So, this week is off to a fantastic start for me, and I still have my baby shower to look forward to later in the week.  My mother and mother-in-law are arranging it, and I can’t wait!  Unlike a traditional baby shower, men will be included.  They are planning to serve great food and it should be a good party.

I probably won’t update again till I’m back home in Baltimore next week.  I’ll leave you with this picture of my 12-year-old brother’s new kitten, Daisy.  She is possibly the cutest kitten I’ve ever met, which is saying a lot since cuteness is one of the defining qualities of kittens.

I hope everyone has a safe and festive 4th of July!

I’ve found that most people feel they’re not qualified to be art collectors.  There is a common misconception that art is for an elite class of people—that you have to be extraordinarily knowledgeable, cultured and rich to be able to buy original works of art.

There is definitely an established stereotype of what an “art collector” might be like.  You may picture someone who was born into money, and lives in a large house with a butler.  You may imagine this person going to black tie events, sailing on a private yacht, or speaking with great eloquence about fine wines.  This person went to an Ivy League school, is well-read and probably speaks more than one language.  These are all lovely images, and while it’s true that knowledgeable, cultured, and rich people do tend to buy art, the average art collector does not fit that stereotype.

People get this image in their minds because it’s usually the only one they’re familiar with. Everybody hears about the Van Goghs and Picassos selling for millions at auction. Rarely do you hear a news story about a middle-class person buying a piece of art made by a living artist–but it happens every day.

The truth is all kinds of people from all economic classes and professions buy original art. The only thing art collectors all have in common is that they love art enough to buy it. If you would like start an art collection, but you don’t know where to start, click here for a few pieces of general advice.

I’ve launched a new page on my website to honor my collectors and give the rest of you a glimpse of what kind of people own my work.

Click here to see notes and photos from some of my collectors!

I just finished a new pet portrait.  I think this dog is so adorable.

Joey in the Sun

16 x 12″ Acrylic on Canvas

This was commissioned as a companion piece for my earlier painting, Rainy in the Sun.

I’m going to the Big Apple this weekend to visit my brother, and I’ve also got plans to spend Thanksgiving with family.  I hope you are all enjoying the season and staying warm!

So it’s always nice when local collectors buy my work.  This couple recently became collectors of my work, and I was lucky enough to get some photos of them with my art in their home.  Natalie & Scott–I hope you enjoy these paintings for many years.

My garden is going full-force, and we are now producing quite a bit of our own food.  It’s a good thing we like to eat vegetables around here.  In addition to edibles, we also have a variety of flowers in full bloom–my yard seems to be the most colorful one in the neighborhood.  Click here to see some pictures.

My family’s reunion in Tennessee was a smashing success.  The vacation involved a lot of hanging out, games, adventures, discussions, good food and laughter.

Now I’m back in the studio for about a week before I leave town again, this time to house-sit for my parents and get in some hiking time to gather reference material for future paintings.

Speaking of which, it is about the time of year when I try to switch into “fall mode” with my landscapes and tree paintings.  So you can expect more fall colors and themes in my artwork over the next couple of months.  Right now I’m working on some ideas and sketches.  Stay tuned…

Here’s Cleveland, my baby Cleveland Pear tree–this is his first autumn in my front yard. (Yes, I realize it’s silly to name a tree, and no, I’m not sure that he’s male, but I don’t think he minds what I call him in any case.)

My new castle wall bricks are finally installed around the beds and my yard is looking much nicer.

I have a wonderful new collector named Julie, who recently bought 11 of my paintings. She was kind enough to send me pictures to show me how she has chosen to display some of them in her home. Click here to see the pictures!

I have painted three more lotus flowers–symbols of spiritual awakening, and for me, personal hope. Life is good.

Lotus IV
Oil on Canvas 20 x 20″

Lotus V
Oil on Canvas 20 x 20″

Lotus VI
Oil on Canvas 20 x 20″

If you’re interested in buying any of these new paintings before Christmas, just contact me for prices. (Blog subscribers get a holiday discount!)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you will be enjoying the company of friends and family, eating good food, and celebrating the good things that you have, whatever they may be.