It’s not unusual for me to be absent from wordpress for a time, but now I have new incentive for returning. I’m going to start adding my watercolors. Drum beat: The time has come, the time is now.

Why now? We moved during the pandemic to Lafayette, LA to be close to our daughter. Several things happened as soon as we moved into our beautiful home. Firstly, my daughter had child #4. (My grands are amazing.) Secondly, I never thought I’d ever love another dog after Big Boy died in 2018. Surprise! Surprise! The little guy we got is a miniature of the big guy.

He’s mix of cocker spaniel and rat terrior. He looks like Big Boy in small form. Lastly, while we were still unpacking boxes two, nearly back-to-back hurricanes, hit. We were well and truly fine, though my daughter and her family moved in with us for a few days until their power came back on, both times. That was 2020, no hurricanes since. Now my daughter, her husband, and four littles have moved into a big sturdy home, safe from hurricanes and are now expecting child #5. Very exciting!

Back in 2020, during the lockdown and while we were still in Houston, I began watercoloring.

Forty years ago, I went to Texas Academy of Art art school, but didn’t learn watercolor there. My preferred mediums in those days were guache and pen & ink. So my present occupation is self-taught.

When we moved to LA, my son in Fort Worth asked, “What about me? Why didn’t you move here?” We said, if you have kids, we’ll cross that bridge. So, now he and his wife have two lovely boys. Bridge crossed, after three years in Louisiana, we decided to move back to Houston, Texas. Both because we missed our Houston friends and family (and restaurants), and because Houston sits perfectly four hours between both our children’s families.

We’ve been in our new Houston home a few months, and I am loving watercolor painting in a nice large room in our home, a studio. It’s 2024. In four years I’ve learned to get a bit more loose with my paintings. The first ones I did, which I’ll post here today, are definitely not loose. As time goes by, I hope you’ll notice a difference.

Feel free to comment. After writing and publishing novels, I can accept critism. Also, I’d love new painting subject suggestions.

Below is my first attempt at mixed media painting, something I’m also loving a lot.