The heat may be waning...

 ...outdoors, but it's still heating up the studio.  I'm auditioning some papers for another Arcturus painting,

and I've finished a floral playtime in my journal.  It looks a lot different from the start of last week, doesn't it?

I had intended to leave it like the photo below, but saw that it needed just one more flower at the top right - strange what a difference one element can make, right?

The birthday boy's painting is coming along - it's even sporting his name now.

Meanwhile the large painting languishes against the wall until I can hoist it back onto a table and tear into it again.

How's your week been going?  Are you losing your summer heat?  If true, it means you're not on the other side of the planet, where you'll be warming up.  I'm looking forward to the autumn colours, and sweater weather.  

It seems I am . . .

 . . . just a bit fixated on flowers right now, even though I'm supposed to be doing other things.  I worked on this journal spread,

started this one,

and finished another.

I did manage to do some testing on ideas for spider webs,

and now need to determine whether any of them will actually work in Owen's upcoming birthday painting.

We'll have to see about that, won't we?  Hope your week has been a good one, and for those readers who are dealing with the horrendous climate change fires around the world, know that you are not alone.  Keep safe - and creative - in the midst of chaos.  

It's been a busy week again...

 ...as I continue to play catch-up on my life.  Snatching moments in the studio is a delight, though.

I've been working sporadically on a journal page about the brain, given that John is experiencing deepening dementia.  

There are so many types and fragmented areas to this disease that one can hardly imagine 

how someone can go from capable in every area 

to losing cognitive knowledge, words and essential abilities.

I suspect there will be several more layers on this spread as we go through the sped-up process of this disease .  

Also in the works is a birthday painting for a grandson who is turning three in September.  I bet you can't guess what it might portray?  Let me know in your comments, please. 😉

Happy creative week to you - may your remaining summer be filled with light and joy!

S...L...O...W...L...Y...

 ...getting back into the studio after a month and a half of the summer busy-ness.  You have to love those long, light days and the family visits that brighten the summer, especially when we're smack dab in the middle of pretty much nowhere. That means we get little in the way of winter company.  😉

The challenge of leaving the studio empty for so long means that there's not much in the way of progress being made on any projects.  To get back into the groove, I've been working on small bits of things including the start on a journal page,

a birthday card,

a sketch for a grandson's birthday painting,

and an August prompt (creating poetry from a torn book page).  It makes me laugh that the favourite part of this is the torn edge of the page.

As things settle back into a routine, I'll be back to working on the large painting.  I'm going to pop over to your pages now to see what you've been up to while I'm away - feeling the excitement!