I intended to share more on the blog over the last couple of weeks, but my days have been busy!  On top of a full plate at work, we’ve had to fit car shopping into the schedule.  (If you missed why, you can read about it HERE.)  I wish I could say car shopping was super fun, but it’s depressing how much a five-year-old minivan with 90k miles costs.  We ended up getting a Honda Pilot (SUV), but we hit a bit of a snag with that.  It’s all working out in the end.  The issue is being resolved, and we’ll pick up the car later this week.  It’s just been disruptive, and my last couple of weeks have felt a little clunky.  As I rush to get everything done, it’s not lost on me that I am in the thick of promoting a book titled Move Slow & Make Things.  Yep, I’m making things, but the “moving slow” part isn’t happening in this season.  Fortunately, I recognized this while working on the book and wrote about seasons and the ebb and flow of life’s pace.  Busy seasons don’t last forever, just as the hours required to maintain a garden during the booming summer months don’t last forever.  Eventually, things slow down, some things fall away, and the quiet of winter settles on us.  To lean into the growing/gardening analogy, I’m making hay while the sun shines.  It requires a lot of me, but I know that slower seasons are always around the corner, even if I don’t have a glimpse of them yet.

This busyness means I haven’t been able to post as much on the blog as I usually do.  I fully intend to post, but the day gets away from me, then the week, and I realize I’ve only posted once.  Since I was so quiet here on the blog last week, I thought I would share what I’ve been working on.

I’ve been at the easel every day, working on commissioned pet portraits for clients.  When I first started toying with the idea of painting pet portraits, I thought it would be a side gig.  It has now become a primary part of my business and income.  Looking back on my business journey, I can see how small shifts led me in surprising directions.  Murals gave way to furniture, furniture was quickly accompanied by antiques, and then both took a back seat to writing and paint; paint morphed into fine art…  It’s been a meandering path and, I must say, I’m enjoying where I’ve ended up even if it’s been unexpected and I’m still figuring out my rhythms.

While working through my commission queue, I’ve also mixed in paintings to bring to the Lucketts Fall Market.  That isn’t until October 16, but I have to account for the drying time of oils, so I need to have all the paintings I’m bringing finished about 10 days before the event.  When I sold antiques and furniture, I’d sometimes shop at early yard sales on my drive down to the event.  That just isn’t possible with oils, so it’s crunch time.

I also need to frame each piece, which usually involves cleaning, repairs, oiling, touch-ups, and installing hanging hardware.

I hope to bring 10-11 original oil paintings with me to Lucketts, along with some prints and books.  I’ll share a preview before the event as usual.  I hope to have another online art sale, too, but it depends on how many pieces sell at Lucketts.

Between commissions and pieces for Lucketts, I’ve been working on a few Christmas/winter-specific paintings.  I’m actually going to bring this one to Lucketts, so it’s a twofer.  I thought it was so perfect in this frame.

The Christmas paintings were originally created for my Cotswold Christmas collection with Iron Orchid Designs, but I’m finishing off a few of them that can work as standalone paintings.  I’ll put the originals up for sale, but I’m guessing they’ll be more popular as prints and cards.  I might even try making some papers with them, but we’ll see how that works.

I’ve also been rehabbing some larger frames and testing out gold-leafing products and techniques.  As I did with furniture, I’d like to have the ability and knowledge to make old frames look their best, so I can use them for my art.

Behind the scenes, I’ve been packing for the online shop and wholesale orders, getting ready for my trip to the Country Living Fair, chipping away at my next book for a 2028 release, and developing a new online art class. Yeah, this isn’t a slow season, but I’ve learned to juggle multiple projects one day at a time.  If I devote a small chunk of time each day to these bigger projects, it isn’t overwhelming, and the finish line is in view soon.

I’ll share more about some of these projects soon…