Asheville, North Carolina

We went on vacation to the beautiful asheville North Carolina. It's been 4 years since we've had a vacation actually going somewhere, staying in a hotel room and all. Long time coming. We chose Asheville because of the arts, culture and nature. It's always been recommended to us that we check it out since we are both artists. And I've never been, the Husband went when he was a child.

We had a spectacular time!

We climbed Chimney Rock and looked upon beautiful scenery. So beautiful, it looked fake ... like it was painted on, happy little trees. It was a feat for me to climb, so when we reached the top, it was such a triumphant event. It was totally worth it. We climbed to Exclamation Point ... and that is exactly how it felt.

Downtown Asheville was so ... COOL, for lack of a better word! It felt so right. It was so "me". I could spend hours just walking or people watching or going to all the cool shops or hanging in Malaprops, an awesome bookstore.

The River Arts District was a very artsy place! So many different artists doing different things ... it was very inspiring. I have a new favorite artist. His name is Jonas Gerard, and his work was fantastic!! Check him out!

http://jonasgerard.com/

The food was amazing! We tried different, all local restaurants. The Husband tried all kinds of local beers. We probably gained some weight, but it was worth it!

We went whitewater rafting!! I was scared to death ... mainly of falling out of the boat which is a definite possibility. Signing the waiver that mentioned "death" didn't help. But it was SO MUCH FUN! We both got soaking wet, but it was a lot of fun, and I'd definitely do it again.

Leaving was sad, but I know we will be back. Asheville was a great place!

Downtown Asheville's Friday night drum circle

Art show time - GET INSPIRED ALREADY!!

So, it is 3 weeks before an art show and I am struggling with inspiration. A friend recently told me I should get out of my comfort zone and paint things I've never painted before. She said, "no trees, plants, swirls, thick lines and textures, black outlines, bright colors, and no mirror."

Yeah, right!! There would be NOTHING left of me if I didn't have those things. They are who I am as an artist. My "style" is thick texture, bright colors, swirls, plants, and definitely the MIRROR!

So I looked around on the web at some cool art. My favorite website I came across was www.ipaintfish.com

Fantastic stuff! Very inspiring.

Another way I try to inspire myself is to buy new supplies. Kind of silly, but new supplies makes me wanna play! New toys! Today I bought LOTS of different size canvas, spray paint, round mirrors, and a new bottle of black paint. I love AC Moore and Michaels! Now I wanna play!

I am super excited about the upcoming art show. This year, they are having a whole week FULL of art related events, through theatre, dance, poetry, parade and art. Sounds like it will be an awesome thing to be a part of and I am proud to say that I am.

http://www.artblastwilmington.com

The 9th Annual Downtown Wilmington ArtWalk is

September 11th, 2010, from 10-5

CoolWilmington.Com in sponsorship by the Downtown Business Alliance of Wilmington presents the 9th Annual Downtown Wilmington ArtWalk. We close down Front St.(which is the main street thru downtown Wilmington) and set up the artists down the middle of the street, for 6 blocks. Pedestrians stroll down thru the area to explore all of the wonderful items on display. In the past, this event has drawn over 10,000 people throughout the day.

It's going to be an awesome event. I hope you can come see me. I'll be the artist with the "trees, plants, swirls, thick lines and textures, black outlines, bright colors, and mirror."