I haven't been super productive this week. I've been feeling super tired and not very motivated. I did finish this wolf painting. It measures 8x10" and is painted using gouache paint on Arches Cover Cream paper.

I got this painting on Mt Hood finished too. I almost scrapped this at the beginning stages. I really wasn't happy with the sky or the tree line. I kept at it and I ended up really like it in the end. This one also measures 8x10" and I've used gouache paint on Arches Cover Cream paper. 

Thursday I spent the afternoon hanging out with some fellow illustrators up at The Portland International Rose Test Garden. Marika Paz, Nicole Gustafsson of NimaSprout, Cate Anevski of Bees Knees Industries, Zoe Keller and Alissa Thiele have been meeting up at least once a month for the past year. We talk mostly about business but our conversations also include politics, babies (Marika is expecting and Cate regularly brings her little with her) and life in general. 

It's been a great way to get out of the house and talk to other women about problems we're having with work, or tips on new products and upcoming craft fairs. We're still trying to think of a name for our group, but we haven't landed on a great one yet.

Thursday was really great. The weather was perfect for wandering around the rose garden taking photos and talking about work. The roses were out in full force looking beautiful in bloom. When I lived in Northwest I'd head up here to go for a run. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

We walked over the Burnside bridge as the sun was setting on Saturday. It was such a lovely summer night and we found ourselves in the SE Industrial area. I originally wanted to walk along the waterfront, but we ended up near the bridge, so we opted for that instead. 

Once we got over the bridge we headed to Shanghai Tunnel, an old dive bar we used to go to quite regularly. They used to sell Olly Stubbies there and that was one of my favorite beer options ever. I don't really like Olympia Beer, but when it came in a small, stubby, bottle, I loved it.

We were surrounded by tourists and people reading Yelp reviews about it on their phones. It's not the nicest bar in Portland, but I've always liked how cozy it feels. Now that they have a smoking ban in bars, you can actually breathe in there too. We sipped on whiskey and wondered if the noodles were still as good as they used to be.

We walked back over the bridge after the sun had set and I was reminded of  all the times I rode mini bikes up to Rocco's Pizza (not there anymore) with friends. We'd meet there and head up to the zoo to go Zoo Bomb.  

I remember it seemed quieter then. It felt like we owned a part of the city. I felt like I belonged. 

That was a long time ago. I still love parts of Portland. The picture above is a reminder of those parts. 

I'm done with holiday cards! Yay!

I've sent the proofs over to the printer and hopefully I can see what they'll look like as cards soon.

So, my calendar is done and all of my holiday cards are done.

It's a really good feeling. It only took me 5 years to get this down. 

Also, for the the first time since designing holiday cards, I'm really happy with what I've made. Designing holiday specific cards has never been exciting for me, and I think it shows in my past designs. 

I don't know how I tapped into this new inspiration for these designs, but I did it. I think I approached it through not focusing on what I think should be holiday cards, but what I want to find in a holiday card. Cats, pugs, coziness and my city. Those are things that I really like and speak to me, so I went with it. 

Hopefully, others enjoy them too.

Have a great weekend, everyone :) 

I launched my 2018 Year of Women Artists Calendar on Friday and I was so, so excited to do so. It was a bit of a challenge, but I learned a lot and I'm already starting to think about a 2019 calendar. I can't wait for the next 3 and half years to go by.

Yesterday we hiked the Eagle Creek Trail. It was a bit hot, and fairly crowded for the first 2-3 miles. It's a holiday weekend, so we were kind of expecting it to be crowded. We've been noticing something while hiking this year that I don't ever recall happening previous years - people are listening to music on their phones, through their speakers. I don't know if it's just me, but it's really obnoxious. 

Maybe I'm just getting old. The older I get the more I completely understand the mindset of people who live a secluded, hermit, life. It honestly sounds amazing to me after hiking with so many people yesterday and being subjected to hearing their music.

I like to go hiking so that I can tune everything out. I like hearing the birds and waterfalls. I feel like hearing other peoples music is really distracting from all that. It's hard to take things in when you can hear Three Doors Down blasting from someone's backpack speakers.

We passed at least five people doing this yesterday. One group was behind us for about a mile.  Go to the woods. Have fun. But please leave your mid 90's bro-rock behind, or at least wear headphones. Not everyone wants to hear your music, dudes. 

That being said, after we hiked another 3 miles, we found this very beautiful, very quiet spot. It was the perfect place to stick our tired, hot feet, into. There was a light breeze and the scent of cedar. Birds were chirping and it felt like we were the only people in the world. We hug out here for quite awhile. 

We ended up hiking a little over 9.5 miles yesterday. We were tired and thirsty and sweaty. I think that's how you know you had a good hike. I want to go back and camp for a couple of days and swim in that sweet swimming hole.

It's back to work today. Nate is working and I am too. I've never really been into the Fourth of July. I'm feeling a lot less patriotic this year so I'm skipping it. I'll be eating a salad and watching a movie later. Maybe I'll catch up on The Great British Baking Show. Who knows? 

Hope everyone else has a fun and safe holiday :)