Rediscovering a Medium

As you've likely noticed, I've been taking a bit of a break from my Etsy shops.  It was a tough decision for me to temporarily close them, but I'm glad I did, as it has given me a chance to focus on creating, and not worry about all of the other tasks associated with running a shop.  So what have I been creating?  Paintings!  I hadn't painted in years, but suddenly felt inspired to take it back up again.  Fortunately I still had some acrylic paints and brushes packed away, and after a quick trip to the craft store to get some canvases, I was ready to dive in.  Also fortunately, my daughter loves to paint too, so we have been spending quite a bit of time every day painting together, which has been wonderful.  Here's a little glimpse at some of the paintings I have been working on:

 

I have been thoroughly enjoying painting again, and can't for the life of me figure out why I ever stopped! I haven't yet decided for sure when I will reopen my Etsy shops, but I will keep you posted.  In the meantime, I'm planning to keep painting, and hopefully give silk painting a try again soon too!

Developing Drawing Skills

Being an artist myself, I find it so exciting to watch my daughter's drawing skills develop.  Over the past year, her drawings have evolved from just scribbles, to somewhat identifiable shapes, to quite detailed depictions of people and objects in her life.  For example, this portrait she recently drew of my husband:

While he does have more than two hairs on his head, I was pretty impressed with the fact that she included eyebrows and even his goatee!  Overall, I thought that was a pretty spectacular drawing until she drew this:

When I asked her what she had drawn, she replied, "A stroller with toes and hands and hair."