About a month ago, I was standing in line at the grocery store, zoning out. A quick flash of light caught my attention and I looked up at one of the many tv screens that hang above each check-out lane. There was a blurb about summer produce and a cute little watercolor illustration of an asparagus spear. I always think about drawing vegetables and fruit, to maybe hang in our kitchen, but I never get to it. Maybe this time I would. Of course I didn’t. I’ve been struggling wi

Lately I’ve been thinking about my “why.” Meaning, what is the purpose for your career, your values, your beliefs for WHY do you do the things that you do? Why does it matter? It’s something that kept popping up when I worked at the university. I thought about this when I stopped interpreting. When I paused playing music. And when I took a step back from making art. All of these things that I’ve dedicated so much of my time and effort, often facing failure and criticism; WHY?

Starting the month off strong, Alex and I went on a short trip to Arizona for a few days. We hadn’t had a proper vacation since 2024. While there were a lot of beautiful things to see, there’s one thing we hadn’t really expected: COLD weather. Yes, we were up in the mountains, but the wind was absolutely relentless. Which put a bit of a damper on a lot of our plans (see: sitting outside whilst drinking beer). We both agreed that we would visit Arizona again, only during a dif

Another difficult month. Work continued to kick my ass as spring travel season started. I still didn’t feel fully recovered from fall travel. But that’s the thing with this particular job: it doesn’t wait for you to catch up. I felt…weary. Always. Then, tragically, a family member fell ill. As with most things, it happened slowly. Then all at once. Since time couldn’t and wouldn’t wait, I felt like I was trying to claw my way through everything. The weight of grief. The stre

At the beginning of the month, I attempted to make one digital landscape each week. As with most projects lately, I did not get very far. I really enjoyed this rough piece. It would be fun to translate this into a traditional painting. February truly felt like it went on and on and on. I’ve been trying to get out of this funk. There are things that I need in order to make that happen: warmer weather, more time with friends, and making the time to be creative. I did manage to

January 2026 I think we can all agree that January, typically, is about 43 years long. The dark nights, the blustery snow days, the lack of motivation after a socializing marathon. This year, however, January felt very different. In my head, it’s still the first week. But here I am, typing away already in February, wondering where the hell time is going. I have a theory as to why, but that’s for another day. For now, I want to chat about what I’ve been up to. Despite the pac

Winter has already been a bit of a wild ride so far and we’re just getting started. As always, I’m feeling incredibly motivated by the New Year. 2026 is already looking like a big year…the obvious is that I will be turning 40. Which, if I’m being honest, doesn’t seem like a big deal only because I’ve felt like 40 for like 15 years at this point. I think the most exciting bit of the year is the fact that I will be celebrating 20 years of art-making. I’m planning on writing a

Autumn always feels like such a gift. Each year I think, “it can’t get any better than this.” But every year, it truly does get better and better. But 2025? I was skeptical. This new job of mine apparently is absolutely insane from August until November. And all of my coworkers have said the same thing: “October is the WORST.” As someone who has very nearly built an entire religion dedicated to October, I almost quit. (Not really, but…for maybe a split second, I had my doubts

I sat down to start working on a nearly-too-late autumn blog and realized that I had a draft collecting dust from back in the summer. Honestly, I barely remember writing it, but...I find it fascinating how much has changed in a few months. So...please feel free to go back in time with me and see what was happening in August. Now let's just hope I not only write about autumn, but actually publish it in a timely manner! (*No guarantees, just making things up as I go...) Enjoy!

I think I say it every year, but this has got to be the most stunning spring I have ever seen. For the last few years, it always seems...