Home again

We have returned from La Jolla with no major VW van mishaps.  I do not have any more scheduled shows or exhibits for the next two months, and I must admit that I am looking forward to a little reprieve.  My studio calls to me, and once I manage to put away everything that was simply dumped in there upon returning home, I will be back to painting once again.  I have already gotten the beginnings of two more Joshua Tree paintings started, and I am so excited to have a chance to finish them.

Despite climbing temperatures, the desert flora and fauna outside our window continue to entertain and capture my attention.  We currently have the pencil cholla, opuntia arbuscula, dazzling us with small salmon-red blooms. 

Those of you who are more regular readers of this blog may notice that I am not posting as frequently as usual.  Yes, I have been busy with various art festivals.  Yes, I have been painting a lot.  Yes, I have been part of a new co-op gallery.  And yes, I am teaching a drawing class. In addition to these commitments, I am also volunteering for the local arts council.  The MBCAC, or Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council, is the local non-profit arts organization here in the high desert of Southern California.  Each year in October, the MBCAC sponsors an Open Studio Art Tours.  This year, I have volunteered to write a blog for the Art Tours.  I am blogging about the artists who are on the Tours, and other artists who have been a part of the Arts Council in years past.  If you are interested in seeing some of the wonderful talent we have here in the high desert, you can visit this other blog by clicking this link.  I volunteered for this position before my husband was laid off, and I have to admit that I nearly backed out after he lost his job.  However, after thinking about it I realized that I really DID want to help the local arts organization.  I really DID want to write a blog about the amazing artists in our area.  I also really DID want to have an excuse to visit some of the artists I haven't met here yet.  So I have persevered.  I have three other people who will be helping me contribute to the Hi-Desert Art Beat, and they will be credited with the posts they write.  I feel that it is important to honor commitments I have made, and this commitment is one that I intend to honor.

I hope to once again catch up with all of you fellow bloggers!  I am back in the blog-o-sphere more regularly now, dear readers, and I hope to have more tantalizing desert offerings for you soon.