Pumpkins and Fall Colors
The featured painting is one I painted after a wonderful trip to Maine in 2006. I took a marvelous creative photography course with John Paul Caponigro and the painting is from several of my photographs. John Paul Caponigro is one of the most creative visual artists working today and his classes are a wonderful journey in themselves. We started with what has become one of my favorite books, The Way of the Traveler, by Joseph Dispenza. I still go back to that book before starting any new adventures and I am using it during my travels through healing from the car accident in 2014. It is appropriate for this blog as it has been almost a year since I posted due to therapy and a lot of healing. But the journey is still in progress, although I 
am painting again, playing with my new camera, and learning new ways of doing things that were second nature to me before.
Dispenza says, ” The dream of travel announces that each of us has the power to transform our lives in a fundamental way. And it promises that if we pluck up our courage and agree to undertake the journey, the road upon which we travel will lead to self-discovery. It is no small promise. Every time we leave home and go to another place, we open up the possibility of having something wonderful happen to us.” This is true of the healing journey as well. A wonderful group of women in my Boardroom Group with Norma Rist gave me the courage and support to start my journaling again. I can’t wait to see where this adventure will lead!
This painting of my neighbor’s pumpkins begged to be painted in a virtual watercolor. I posted this in the last blog I did, but thought it was worth posting again as a coming home. Enjoy!
Dr. Grant’s Golden Retriever Painting
In May I finished my first commissioned painting since the accident and it looked gorgeous in a wide weathered light brown frame. It is a virtual watercolor. The Golden Retrievers turned out delightful and I really enjoyed painting again. The painting was done from the original photo on the right. I felt privileged to be able to be a part of Dr. Grant’s birthday this year as she has given me back so much. I now have enough depth and peripheral vision to be able to paint again and the therapy continues.
JHS Connected United 4 Change
These paintings were for my granddaughter, Abby and her organization, JHS Connected United 4 Change. I did three virtual watercolors for her to sell for their nonprofit o
rganization. They are improving sustainability in our communities one connection at a time. The girls in Bumpe are helping them in their efforts to buy them solar panels. They made 200 beautiful bracelets to sell. This is to help these girls in Bumpe have the means to study and stay in school! The organization raised money for solar lanterns and now they are asking for help after major flooding has devastated the area in Bumpe, Sierra Leone. Please help the make this possible by donating to gofund.me/cu4cissn !
Let me know what you think of my paintings. Take time to enjoy the beauty around you. You can always find one thing of beauty in each day if you look. Let your creativity flow. Safe journeys, I’ll see you in the coming weeks. The wine bottle painting has been finished and I will post it next week along with the beginnings of a horse portrait I am doing for a friend.
