One of My Favorite Moments of the Whole Year

My son dutifully holds onto his littlest sister's hand. (She's fast!)

In Norfolk, VA we're fortunate to have The Chrysler Museum. This is not a particularly large art museum, but it has a stellar collection, inventive, thoughtful exhibits, and awesome staff. I LOVE this place. I would live there if I could. I would go every single day and just sit, or draw, or paint, or study. I don't go very often because the bulk of my life right now is taken up by raising these three little monsters. (I say that with the utmost love - I'm blessed to have such great kids, but now with No. 3, my husband and I are officially outnumbered and exhausted!)

Chiaroscuro and a Drawing Dictionary

One of the things I take for granted when I talk about art is terminology. I've been around it so long that it feels like I absorbed it by osmosis rather than someone actually explaining anything. I'm the kind of person that gets the gist of most things simply from context, which is not a good thing when you want to teach others. And I often feel like proclaiming to the world, "I'm an artist! If I wanted to have to explain everything with words I'd have been a writer!" However, my husband, a music teacher, has said to me on more than one occasion that if I can clearly explain a concept to someone, then I'll have a solid understanding of that concept. The stubborn, lazy side of me has always hated that saying but it's absolutely true.

Spa Day

As I made my way toward the exit of the Chrysler Museum this afternoon, I had a nice chat with one of the employees. He laughingly called this my spa day because I'd mentioned having three kids and rarely getting to come to the museum to enjoy a long, uninterrupted drawing session. How right he was! I'd never thought of it that way before because as relaxing as it is, make no mistake that this was work!

Wayne, 40 Minute Drawing

I recently made a vow to myself to dedicate more time to my art. Having three kids and a husband with a chronic illness makes it hard to find time to draw. For years, the only chance I've had to even be around art is when I teach, and if I'm not actively walking around assisting my students, then I'm taking care of administrative stuff.

But as pretty much any full time mother can tell you, not having something to call your own - to remind yourself of who you were before having a family - can make you feel crazy. My littlest is now 1, and I've spent the bulk of the last nine years focused on parenting. Obviously, I have many more years to go before my kids are off on their own, but I'm trying to find that balance of being a present and engaged parent, and being an artist.

Assessing Student Ability: You're Assessing Me Too!

Whenever I have a new student join my class, I start off with very basic exercises.

Step 1: Get to know your pencils.

Step 2: Values chart.

Step 3: Draw a simple 3D shape.

These activities are important for me because they help me gauge your level of experience, get a feel for your natural style, and quickly assess what your biggest challenges might be. It also helps you, the student, get a better idea of what my drawing class is like and if this is something you really want.