This Week’s Watercolor

When I was in New Orleans several years ago, I was invited to join a life drawing group by Sandra Burshell, a neighbor of the Airb&b where I stayed. The group met in the second floor over The Fair Grinds Coffee Shop that is a landmark in …

February birthday Flowers in my New Albuquerque Home

I may add a new page documenting my Pandemic Year in Gainesville before I totally revamp this site but, for now, I am writing a bit of history that should address my eighteen or so months of blog silence.

In early 2020, …

The casita garden

My little dog and I arrived back in our favorite city resting place in Coyoacan just before Christmas. Having planned this trip in October, I encountered several difficulties after Thanksgiving that made me question what I thought was a positive holiday travel decision; however I trusted my …

An unfulfilled goal of my trip to Mexico City last fall was to Xochimilco to see the man-made islands, the plant market, and the extensive system of canals where colorful boats carry revelers up and down the intricate waterways. We experienced Xochimilco yesterday. You may remember this place from a …

Sunday’s very sweet mass at my neighborhood parish, San Diego de Churubusco, is a celebration where food is a focal point. Vendors park themselves in front of the 16th century church entrance, some of which probably support the tiny parish. Their umbrellas give a festive, somewhat mundane tone to an …

At the end of the half-way point of my time in Mexico City, I reflect that I have been saving many of the sights, sounds, and feelings from this neighborhood where I spend time walking, shopping, eating, and reflecting. These small nearby colonias of Coyoacan are typically not for tourists: …

After mass on Sunday I took an Uber to the National Museum of Watercolors nearby in Coyoacan, the only Museum on the world entirely devoted to this medium. The collection is extraordinary, featuring works from around the world but focusing on the museum’s founder, Alfredo Gati Roja. A special gift …

Yesterday I embarked alone on a journey to the city”s center, to Chapultepec Park, where I met more than 20 Urban Sketchers with whom I had communicated by means of their Facebook page. These mostly young architectural students have bi-monthly gatherings at different sites around the city. Lucky for …

After catching up with a few pages in my journey daybook this morning, I set out by foot to find a few grocery items and to look for the nearest parish church.

I found both. The Churubusco Mercado is the local covered public market about 6 short blocks away. …

On Monday Mimi and I arrived in this beautiful district that has many interesting neighbors: the houses of both Leon Trotsky and Frida Kahlo, the University of Mexico, the School of Art Restoration, and several historical museums. Our home for the next month was created in a 16th century palazzo. …

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am working on a piece of art involving the Florida Scrub Jay. For me, the process of art making follows a method that is not dissimilar to the scientific method. I set a problem – in this case “Where have all the …

This week I bought myself a pair of birdwatching binoculars to use for my study of the Florida Scrub-Jay in Cedar Key. In an attempt to become adept at drawing while looking through these new optical devices, I have been searching out wildlife subjects around my home. The other day …

For several years I have studied, drawn, and painted scrub jays because a small colony or family resides near me in the Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve. In 2004 I spent several days with this group of birds but the jay territory has now changed and, sadly, the birds are …

Three days ago I arrived home after a thrilling week-long pilgrimage to Mexico City. I have yearned for a deeper Catholic spiritual experience and I decided last spring to embark on a tour of religious sites in and around the Mexican capital of both government, culture, and religion so that …

Mountain Road

I recently returned from a productive week – a road trip to North Carolina for the purpose of studying with one of my painting idols, Robert Johnson, who held a workshop at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. You can see more of Robert’s work on the …

Like many people, I am harboring a host of conflicted feelings on this day. My niece, Liz Pulis Mora, made a Facebook post yesterday that moved me and you can read here. Last night I  was with friends for dinner, discussing the potential difficulties that women friends may encounter …

For several years I have drawn in church. Because I carry my journey daybook with me most of the time, it is simple to pull it out from my purse to make random notes, recording thoughts or ideas now or then. Sometimes, I am inspired to draw when there is …

This year I cooked and entertained friends on Thanksgiving Day. This creative exercise was very rewarding, leaving me with feelings of thankfulness and deep gratitude for my friends, my home, and my tiny adopted home city, Cedar Key. I continue to bask in these wonderful, empowering feelings.

Yesterday on Black …

I arrived at London’s Liverpool Station on a Monday just as office workers were taking their lunch break. The station area was a maze of quick-moving humanity. Without hesitation, I hailed a taxi and was taken to my small hotel for the week – The Thanet in Bloomsbury, a small, …

For posting purposes, I have mentally separated my trip to England into 3 parts: the week in Manchester at the USk Symposium, about which I have already written, a week traveling by train, and a final week in London. This natural division is into 3 thirds. During the journey, I …

I will retrain from giving too many details about the symposium because there have been abundant posts on blogs and Facebook about this glorious international event that went from 27 – 30 July. There were slightly less than 500 attendees from 46 countries and during the four days of the …

Castlefield Sketch Crawl

On my fifth day in Manchester, sadly I began to encounter image posting difficulties. I had been using either my iPhone or my iPad to photograph my pages but suddenly they would not upload completely, leaving part of the images spaces blank. I tried and tried to …

Tuesday at the canal

Last night’s informal time with some Urban Sketchers energized and motivated me to do some landscape work here. This morning I walked up Oxford Street toward the city center. After passing many times over a tiny bridge adorned with lovers padlocks, I decided to investigate the …

In a big city, traveling solo does not have to feel lonely. Yesterday It afforded me luxury of time for errand-keeping, slow, deliberate walking and watching, and a little sketching. I have been collecting design patterns that are embedded everywhere in the “real” Victorian architecture that is the prevalent building …

Tampa Airport

Forty-eight hours ago I arrived at the Manchester Airport where I collected my luggage that had survived the three-flight trip from Tampa. With the help of two friendly locals, I negotiated the train trip from the airport to the Oxford Street station in Manchester and then the ten …

On a hot July 9th, three of us headed to The Treasure Camp, an old timely restaurant/ general store/ and boat rental dock about 15 miles upriver from the Gulf and a short drive from Cedar Key. We were hoping for coolness near the river but we couldn’t really …

Yesterday I left Cedar Key in mid morning for a journey to a quaint undiscovered (for me) fish house (Shelly’s Seafood) and a food trailer (Wild Sassa) where commercial fishermen dock their boats along the Homosassa River. I first discovered these establishments last Wednesday after I had my car serviced …

Today, I am celebrating this feast that is very important to me because I am distantly related to this saint. The following account and the image of the icon by Father Lawrence Lew, OP appears for sharing on Flickr –

St John Southworth came from a Lancashire family that chose …

Several weeks ago, a small group of Journey Daybook alums began gathering at my house on Sundays at 3 PM. We have painted at two restaurants on the dock in Cedar Key where we have bathed in the air conditioning and drawn for a few hours. 43 Degrees West …