HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLY!

(Holly and I on our Alaska cruise)

Hello!

Today is a very special day. 

Not only is it the first day of Fall but it also is the day that the good Lord brought my dear SIL (Sister in Law..we say Sister in Love) Holly to the earth to bless us all.  Happy Birthday Holly!!!  I can't think of a better day than today for Holly's birthday to be on because she loves Fall more than almost anyone I know.  You should see her love of decorating and how good she is at it.  She also grows amazing pumpkins and puts them all around their house.  It is so festive.  For the last several years they have hosted a pumpking carving contest at their house for the family.  The gloves come off and it is real serious pumpkin carving.  I love ya Holly and hope that today was a lot of fun for you.

(The beginnings of Holly's amazing pumpkins)

(Such a beautiful view from Holly's house)

Happy Birthday!

Your SIL,

Meg

Another New Painting...

Hello Blogger Friends,

Thanks for the sweet comments of encouragement.  They mean so much.  I thought I would share the most recent of my fall series of paintings that I have done.  I call this one "Autumn Afternoon".  I hope your Sunday is a lovely one.  The weather is so beautiful here today.  I must get out to enjoy it!

Blessings,

Meagan

Thanks Lynda...

Hello Blog Friends,

Do you ever put your whole heart into something and think it's gonna work out so great only to find out ...not so much. Well...I hate to be a downer but this has sort of been one of those weeks. I've had several "possibilities" come my way recently and none of them seem to be amounting to anything. When will I learn to not get my hopes up on possibilities? There have been countless good things that have happened and that is where I need to put my focus. But anyway, tonight I thought I would check out my blog to see if anybody was out there and Lynda had left the sweetest comment. She probably had no idea what it meant to me at that particular time...as they say, timing is everything. This week I had tried to jury into a gallery that I really like and was turned away because they are going with a more contemporary look. They had such nice things to say about my paintings and style but the "no" was all I seem to remember. So Lynda...thanks so much for the sweet comments. I'm sure the fog will clear soon and I will be able to see clearly the direction I need to take. Until then I need to stop feeling sorry for myself!

Blah...Blah...Blah, sorry to put a downer on the evening...

Talk to you soon,

Meagan

A Fall Drive...

Hello blog friends,

Today was a lovely day spent exploring in the car. We drove and stopped to look at beautiful beaches, barns, old boats and so on. The fall colors are really starting to show. We also stopped at a salmon hatchery and got a good look at the baby salmon along side of the spawning salmon that were getting ready to lay their eggs and then say farewell. It seemed like a comparison to fall...the leaves looking so lovely right before the say goodbye and take their last dance to the ground below but leaving behind small buds waiting to showcase their beautiful new growth in the spring. Everything has it's own time...it's own season. It gives me hope. Here is another fall painting I recently finished called Autumn Harvest.

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend,

Meagan

Fall paintings

Hi Bloggers,

I've been busy painting again and wanted to share some of the images that I have created. So for the next few posts I will show you my new work. Hope you are enjoying the first signs of fall. It is always exciting to me to see it. The other day I was getting out of my car and I looked down to the street before I stepped out and there, sitting on the pavement, was a beautiful bright red maple leaf! I'm pretty sure it was there just for me because it put a huge smile on my face.

This new painting is called Autumn Rest. I am really enjoying painting with the fall pallet and the warmth I get from these colors. Makes me want to read a good book and drink some hot cider. Hope you enjoy it.

Talk soon,

Meagan

Indian Summer

Hi!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. In the Northwest it was a spectacular Indian Summer type of weekend. We better enjoy it now because you know what's coming....RAIN. That's why everything is so lush and green here...rain...that drippy, droppy, drizzly stuff that makes you want to crawl into a cup of coffee. Yes the addiction to caffeine runs deep in the Northwest and you can blame it on the rain. But not this weekend! Yesterday our little family divided up and got to experience some beautiful landscape. One in the mountains and one on the water. It is so amazing that in less than 2 hours you can be at one or the other. So I thought I would share some photos.

Enjoy!

Meagan

WOOLY GOODNESS

Hello!

I'm sure all of you artists/crafters have this dilemma... there's too many good things to grab at our attention. For a long time I struggled with a wavering heart that wanted to do all things crafty and wonderful...I still do. Scrapbooking took up many years of my life which was wonderful and my family enjoys looking at our scrapbooks so much. If you ever feel like you're having a bad day or that you and your family never do anything fun, there is no better way to brighten your day than to go down memory lane by looking at scrapbooks that you have created which document all of the good times and fun memories you and your family have had together. Before you know it you will be saying..."wow...we are such a fun group of people!" I love my family...wouldn't trade them for the world! It's true...I promise. And besides all of that good therapy there is the process you go through of making it and playing with all of the wonderful papers and stickers and shapes you can cut with funky scissors. So much fun...

But then there is the world of fabric and sewing and quilting... I spent 2 years creating a quilt that now lives on our bed and it is such a treasure. I hope it lasts forever and will grace the home of my grandchildren some day. My Mom spent hours teaching my Sister and I how to sew. We would have a ball going fabric shopping together and picking out patterns. I am so thankful to my Mom for teaching us that skill.

All along though I knew that I wanted to be an artist of some sort. But what sort...so MANY good things to do... Just how does one choose? Or do you have to? The last few years I have spent learning very minimal knitting skills. My dear friend and neighbor in Illinois (Hi Colleen!...yes I'm talking about you!) taught me how to knit. Everyone got a scarf for Christmas. Then when we moved I took a class on knitting felted wool slippers. Wow... a little more concentration was taken with that than scarves. I have knitted and felted wool purses too. I LOVE felting wool. There is something so great about the feel of it in your hands. Well last spring I was listening to a podcast on Craftsanity, which by the way you must listen to if you haven't. Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood is the host and she interviews some amazing artists and crafters. You can get the podcast on itunes and it's free. Anyway... I heard an interview with a wonderful felted wool artist named Laurie Sharp. She has a newer book out called Wool Pets, which is also the name of her business.

You can check out her blog here. Turns out she lives really close to me...so... me not being very shy called her up and got to meet her. She and her Husband Kevin, who is an amazing photographer, are this incredible team that run their business of needle felted kits and creating cool books on the art of how to needle felt. Needle felting is so much fun and relatively quick. It is a great craft for young kids and you can make anything your imagination can dream up as long as you can find the supplies to make it. But that shouldn't be a problem because Laurie sells them on her Etsy shop. It's such a portable craft too...soccer Moms...I'm talking to you! Anyway... if you haven't been too overwhelmed by the possibilities in the craft world, needle felting is another great option!

( My first attempt at needle felting... I took a class from Laurie. )

( All the supplies you need to needle felt - and also the wool.)

( curly wool that makes great hair and curly sheep)

Currently I've been concentrating on my painting. But every now and then you need a good distraction. And needless to say, there are plenty of options out there. Hope you all have a great weekend and I'll talk to you soon.
Blessings,
Meagan

WHERE IT ALL STARTED...

Hi bloggers,

I was thinking the other day about the reason I paint on a black background and where I got the idea to do that. It all started back in 2006 with a painting that I did for our church we attended for 16 years when we lived in Illinois. It was a painting for the Easter season and I decided to paint it on a black background. I think because I was trying to capture the feeling of night and darkness. I ended up enjoying the way the color played off of the black so much that I now start my paintings on black all of the time. It seems to allow me to create a depth to my paintings that I can't achieve on a white background. It's fun to look back at this painting...it was so different from what I do now because it was very loose and free form. I think I painted it in less than 2 hours. I struggle with not painting from a photo and relying on my own ability to draw what I want to portray. I also paint with a lot of detail which you can't attain in 2 hours! Well...maybe you can, but I can't. I'm working on a new series of paintings right now for fall and hope to be done soon.

Take care,

Meagan

First Day of School...

Hi everyone!
So like most areas of the country, this week marks the first week back to school. Our schools started up on Wednesday. We have a tradition, like most families, to take the back to school pictures just before they leave for their first day of school. It's so much fun to look back through the years and see how much they have grown. The only problem is...I know that we have taken the pictures but I can't seem to find them. My organizational skills at their best! I know for sure I have this years!!

Last night was a beautiful night. Hubby and I went out for a walk and picked blackberries and then stopped at this dock to soak in the sunset. I got some great pictures of boats and the suns reflection on the water. It was such a peaceful setting and I just kept thinking about the craziness of life and how we just have to slow down and take these moments in and relax. God's creation never ceases to amaze me. It puts everything into perspective for me. I'm just one small little person that He created and yet look at the mountains and the oceans, they are so massive, and yet He still cared enough to create me and you. It gets me every time. It makes me feel pretty blessed.

Take care,

Meagan