I started out February with a fun day of celebrating my friend Kalisha’s 40th birthday. We indulged in a truly “wild west” activity of horseback riding in the desert at Saguaro Lake Ranch and then had a little “far east” sushi lunch. The weather was perfect and the company was pretty sweet, too!

I got some great news early in the month, learning I had been selected to exhibit in the 21st Artlink Phoenix Juried Exhibition. The show includes 85 inspired works from over 725 that were submitted for consideration. My painting Quarantine Queen is enjoying her stay at FOUND:RE Contemporary (a dream venue for any artist!). The exhibition opened to the public on February 20 and runs through July 11, 2021.

I finally made it to Sky Harbor Airport on March 20 to see my painting Midcentury Magnate on display at the Phoenix Airport Museum. I was pretty excited to see it in such an incredible venue, but even more excited for the reason that brought me to the place – being able to finally welcome a visit from my mother after fourteen months apart.

Mom and I had a wonderful time around the Phoenix area. We visited Bartlett Lake, Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and Boyce Thompson Arboretum; went to FOUND:RE to see the exhibition; and even did a little rock hounding out in Tonopah. I think we both enjoyed every minute of it!

Aaron and I spent most every Saturday and Sunday of February and March out rockhounding in the desert, knowing that the desert will soon heat up to inhospitable levels for several months. We searched for (and found) fire agates, banded agates, Payson “diamonds” (double-terminated quartz crystals), Apache tears, beautiful colors of jasper and chert, and fossils.

I put many of those finds to good use, embarking upon a rock garden installation in the backyard. I am still working to complete the display, but so far I think it’s a fun way to enjoy our treasures and enhance our abode. I also added a little raised bed garden which has provided us with kale, spinach, arugula, and tomatoes.

I created some larger artworks during February and March, and the overarching theme seemed to be portraits - portraits of cacti, canines, and a couple of winged creatures. I enjoyed indulging my penchant for details in many of these pieces. It seems no matter how much I tell myself I will “keep it simple,” it’s just really hard for me to do so. Regardless, I think I stretched my artistic muscles a bit on these pieces and tried some new approaches. Check them out at the bottom of this blog post!

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