Got my new iPhone and happy to say the pictures I've taken with it have turned out nicely ... well, here ...
judge for yourself. It has been a pretty smooth transition although I have to say I was having a bit of withdrawal not having my phone for a few days (I recycled it, getting a really good deal through our carrier).
Thinking about the difference between last year, this time, and this year I am reminded we really didn't have a spring last year. It seemed that we went straight from winter into summer. This year has been just gorgeous and although anyone from New Mexico can attest to the fact that usually spring sucks as far as blowing wind and dirt goes, we have had a wonderful winter and a cooler spring this year and even expecting monsoons to return this summer. I love living in New Mexico with it's slower pace of life, natural beauty, cultural history and appreciation and an abundance of artists and art venues to both challenge and grow me as an artist.
Here is a colored pencil drawing I did recently and a mixed media piece just to keep those creative juices flowing. I just today finished painting a birdhouse for an upcoming raffle and can now move on into more serious painting. I'm so looking forward to a beautiful summer of painting and enjoying living, seeing new and beautiful areas of New Mexico.
Here are some pictures from a drive we took before Memorial Day. It was a beautiful day and great to get out into nature and gain some inspiration and peace of mind. I love exploring with my husband, he is always so willing to see new places or revisit places we've seen but not for awhile.
The original oil painting "Quieting the Mind, Releasing the Spirit" was painted last night. I dedicate this painting to the memory of two people from my past that I just discovered recently passed away last year. Although I thought I had grieved the loss of the relationships with both quite a few years ago, I realized in the midst of this painting that what I had not grieved was the sadness of the mental illness that was present in both and I was unaware of during the years we interacted. They were instrumental in my finding that deep part of myself that is strong, loving, compassionate, non judgmental and independent.
Taking a short break from technology this weekend and for a few days. Thought while absent I'd post an older oil painting I did back in 1999. It started out as a portrait of a native lady though we'd just been through the hospitalization and death of my mother-in-law after a car accident and my own lumpectomy. I was pleasantly surprised on finishing it that my husband said to me, "Oh wow, do you know you whose face that is? It looks like my mom and grandmother." Funny how all my emotion comes out sometimes as I paint and, hence, the name of this oil painting became "Grandmother Serrano".
Next are a couple of pictures of some young dancers. I asked the parents permission first and then the dancers themselves and they were happy to pose for the pictures. The first had her eyes "squinched closed" but after some prompting I got the picture and right after a very big smile -- oh well, too late for the picture though I thought they both turned out well. 
