So much is happening...

I haven't posted in a while, not because I have nothing to show, but because there is too much going on. Just the thought about writing it all down, finding the photos, getting it all organized seems overwhelming. But here I am!

I've been painting a lot. These are just some of the paintings of the last month. I'm finishing a medium-sized commissioned painting, which is looking really fun. I can't wait to be able to share it with you.

These are all small paintings, which I love to do. I'm also working on three larger ones and I'm sure I'll get more in the works. The ideas just keep coming!

I've also been reading a lot, taking a bunch of online classes, knitting, crocheting, cooking and baking. My life is so full at the moment that I don't find the peace of mind to write it all down. I hope that'll change soon...

I will need to do a separate post for the crocheting and knitting projects I'm working on and have finished lately. They are so much fun!

I want to show you what's growing in our yard - spring has sprung in a big way in Savannah. I want to tell you about some books I've been reading and classes I've been taking.

I need to do a post about a beautiful charcoal drawing I did. As an aside - as much as I love color (and you can tell I do), my other serious love is charcoal. In a big way!  

I'm also always experimenting. Here with high-flow acrylics on watercolor paper.

And here I was playing with watercolor. It's so much softer than the acrylics. I'm not very good at it yet, but I love it!

Lately, I've also felt the nudge to try my hand at oils again. It's been a few years and I had such a good time with them!

In other words I feel so inspired at the moment! Everything seems to open up a new world for me, weather it's looking at a flower in the garden, crocheting a blanket one stitch at a time, reading a great book, baking bread, getting my hands black with charcoal or allowing color to permeate everything.

Life is so good! And I sincerely hope for you as well!!

With love and gratitude,

❧ Silke

Video & Lots of Art

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back with another video and a lot of art! In the video I'll show you a couple of my paintings and also tell you about a class I'm taking and a book I'm reading. So it's not strictly show & tell. If you just want to see my art, I'm showing it all below.

Since my last post, I've finished six little paintings. A chicken,

 a camel (just look at those eye lashes!),

 an otter (I was stunned by the number of whiskers),

 a hedgehog (the cutest!),

a rooster (Happy Chinese New Year),

and a young leopard.

The stag on the other hand is a large painting (24 x 30 inches), which took a while to finish. There's so much to see in all the layers that went into this painting. It looks like worlds within worlds...

In the video I'm talking about a class I'm taking with Jeanne Oliver, called Wild Awakening: Painting Big with Expressive Freedom. It's wonderful!! In one video she suggested we go out in nature to find alternative brushes like branches, leaves and in my case pine needles and cones.

I used them all for mark making and had the best time!

Just look at some of this gorgeous texture!

The result was a stunning and large (12 x 36 inches) emperor penguin!  Just look at that intense expression! They are magnificent creatures!!

I hope you have all been doing well. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've been up to these last few weeks!

I'm linking to Paint Party Friday where inspiration always abounds!

❧ Silke
P.S. The book Jeanne Oliver recommended, that I'm talking about in the video is called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. 

A Weekend Getaway

Last weekend, Daniel and I spent a couple of days on Amelia Island, one of our favorite places to visit. The island is just across the border in Florida and such a beautiful place.

We love the area around the pier on the Amelia River, especially around sunset! 

Some parts of it seemed quite unchanged and others are still not accessible because of damage sustained from hurricane Matthew.

The little town of Fernandina Beach was as pretty as ever. It is filled with small boutiques, galleries, cafés and restaurants.

We had dinner at the Amelia Tavern, which was excellent - followed by a little bit of yummy ice cream.

The next day, we walked around town for a good bit, looking at all the beautiful historic homes, which seem to be quite intact after the hurricane.

We saw this sweet old dog and had to stop to pet him. His face reminded us a lot of Winslow.

Look at this magnificent oak tree - the photo doesn't even come close to showing the size of it. After the hurricane, I am grateful for every old tree that is still standing!

Now, this is when you know you are close to the ocean - when someone's driveway is sporting sea shells instead of rocks.

I think this was my favorite photo - someone hadn't yet taken down their Florida-themed Christmas decorations. How fun is this?!

And, of course, we saw many cats. We especially loved the markings on this one!

The weather was perfect the whole weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there! On the way back we stopped for lunch on St. Simon's Island and completely forgot to take any photos...

Later this week, I'll be back with some more art to show you!

Lots of love,

❧ Silke

Video Post and New Art

I hope you enjoyed my short little video. In full disclosure, this was the second taping. I did the first one and then realized that I hadn't turned on the microphone...

I've included all of the paintings below that I showed you on the video plus the two commissioned pieces that I have mailed off already.

Tiny - acrylics on 6 x 6 inch gessobord

Take me Home - acrylics on 6 x 6 inch gessobord

Max - acrylics on 6 x 6 inch gessobord
(commissioned painting)

Nell - acrylics on 6 x 6 inch gessobord
(commissioned painting)

Standing Strong - transparent watercolor on 6 x 6 inch cold press watercolor paper

Looking Forward - transparent watercolor on 6 x 6 inch cold press watercolor paper

True Colors - acrylics on 6 x 6 inch cold press watercolor paper (NFS)

Sketch for watercolor painting 

New Horizons - acrylics on 10 x 30 inch wrapped canvas

Apple? - acrylics on 12 x 16 inch wrapped canvas

I'm linking to the always colorful and inspiring Paint Party Friday! Head on over to see more beautiful art.

In the meantime, I wish you happiness, peace and joy in 2017! I'm glad we get to be part of each other's journeys! Thank you for visiting today!!

❧ Silke