"What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Therein lies the key to your earthly pursuits." -- Carl Jung

Still true for me today at age 50+: CREATING makes the time fly by and erases all worries and anxieties from my head. Which is why I say that Art Heals, because I know it's what calms me from any dis-ease.

I so enjoy painting these little girls and ladies, that they just started piling up around my home and I realized I needed to open a store so hopefully some of them could float out the door!

Most of them tell me what word or phrase they want to convey while I am painting them. It feels like a very organic process to me and usually those words come about the time their facial features are getting refined. I may "plan" a painting in advance...what I think I want her to look like and what words she's going to say...but inevitably when she makes her way onto the canvas, she usually has different plans and I definitely honor whatever she tells me.

I paint on any surface, and often scour thrift stores for items that can be recycled by painting over a portion of what is already there...why not if the "bones" are good and the hanging apparatus is intact? I also paint on wood, tile, rocks, tree bark, and oh even brand new canvas (ho-hum). :)

My painting canvas (whatever it is) is prepared for paint using an all-purpose gesso and then sealed using either a matte or glossy acrylic sealer, so that the painting will be protected from scratches, water, dust, and will not fade.