The top painting was a bit of an experiment for me. I am going to crop it just above her nose, so you will not see her eyes. I loved the gesture of the way she is standing, her neck, and the ruffles of her blouse. The photo below is what my palette looked like after I let Eve paint (her painting is on the right). Everything was covered in paint including her...

So I ran into my neighbor at the grocery store and he said "I bet you are so worried about the economy, because nobody will be buying art. I wouldn't wait for it to trickle down, he said... you should figure out what you are going to do now." Jeesh! As if I am not already aware of the state of the economy. I am way to sensitive of a person not to be feeling the effects in my own life as well as all around me... but I will stay positive! Negativity kills creativity, and I cannot think of a more important time for people to be focusing on the positive. My work is created with the purpose of spreading light and beauty and somehow I will continue to be a creator. I heard something the other day that really struck me, it was "We are the artists as well as the art." There is so much implied in that simple statement, and I love it!

The last couple of months have been interesting for me. In December I decided to take a seasonal job at Bare Essential. Partly because I love makeup and women's faces are very inspiring to me as an artist, but also because I just needed to get out of the house and quit taking myself so seriously. Also my best friend just opened Dough Girl which I will blog more about in the future and have been working with her while she is getting started. The bottom line is I have hardly painted. I think I let the economy freak me out thinking why should I expect people to buy paintings at a time like this. Having the pressures of being a single mom has made me wonder at times why I chose to pursue such a tough career, (sometimes I don't feel like I really chose it as much as it chose me). I have been struggling trying to figure out how I can balance out the sporadic income with my regular bills. Ironically enough I have been selling lately and the demand for my work has returned but I haven't been painting and once again feel like I am behind and can't catch up. Not really sure what I am going to do. I haven't been writing much because I haven't known what to say. So this entry is for those of you who are also artists who go through similar times. I know that it could be easy to look at some of my success and not know that it is actually really tough being an artist. I know from talking to some of my artist friends that I am not the only one who experiences this and thought that maybe it would benefit those of you who also struggle to know that you are not alone. This entry is not meant to be negative, just honest and I hope that someone will relate.

Wow. I just realized that I haven't written for a month. Sorry for those of you who read my blog. Last weekend I took a body of work down to Bonner David Gallery in Scottsdale for my upcoming show on the 17th. I literally packed up all of my art in the middle of a blizzard. I was hoping for a few hours of warmth when arriving in Arizona but as rare as it is... it was cold! Just wanted to let you know that I have posted the new paintings that are a part of my show on my website. Also I am featured in an article in the January issue of American Art Collector. You can find it at Barnes and Noble or Borders under the Art section of the magazines.