March 2026

Photos aren’t loading right now, so I’ll come back later to add them.

Action packed month! We completed the inaugural Drawing Fundamentals class in Decatur! It’s definitely a different vibe than Acworth, probably because many of the artists are coming to class after work. It’s hard to shake off that corporate energy and let yourself go, but the group did a great job. We also had a pastel workshop at Acworth and we have one more session of Drawing Fundamentals before we pick back up in June.

Around the house we’ve had some projects lately that have been stressful: car maintenance, alarm and air conditioning work which included minor construction. And we went to BR to help Scott’s parents with their transition to assisted living. I knew it was stressful for them, but I don’t think I realized just how overwhelmed they feel. Selling a home at any age is a huge undertaking, especially if you’re 80 years old. But it’s all going to work out and honestly, this move will be so good for them. 

TODD CASEY WORKSHOP

This was the main event for March. I felt a little rusty in oils and still lifes, so I painted several before heading up to Tennessee, and I read Todd’s book, “The Art of Still Life” - a must have book for any oil painter. Felt sure I would know at least one other artist in the workshop, but nope - all new folks. There was a crew from Shreveport and I instantly felt connection with them. We talked about gumbo, crawfish and LSU football. On Saturday night our class went to dinner and I sat next to Dixie, one of my favorites. Someone said, “We need to make a list of everybody’s name and phone number and share it with the group!” Dixie leaned into my ear and said, “I don’t want everybody’s name and number - I just want yours.” She’s so cute!

The workshop itself was great. Todd is easily one of the most knowledgeable painters I’ve ever met. He is a paint nerd, a materials nerd, an art history nerd and to top it all off, he’s nice, humble, hard working, kind, patient and so easy to talk to. We began each day with him explaining various things (process, techniques, Q&A, color, lighting, composition, etc) while demo-ing. After a quick lunch break we went to our stations and painted until around 5 o’clock. 

The bad news is that he only came by my spot twice. The good news is that he said that’s because I didn’t need help. I *do* need help but there were other people who needed the help more than I did. It’s OK, I still learned a ton. I bought one of his demos and another of his books on color. Just to give you some idea of price point, he sells his 6x8 paintings for $1800. I spent a fraction of that on his demo painting.

One of the biggest takeaways is how much I enjoy still life painting. As much as I’d like to be a contemporary, social justice, abstract artist, it’s not me (for now, at least). I love the classics and painting in a traditional way. I still want to paint landscapes and en plein air but there’s so much I want to explore in the still life genre. 

We just got back from a quick trip to Greenville / Spartanburg. I’ve wanted to visit The Johnson Collection for quite some time and we finally got around to it. We also enjoyed the Greenville County Museum of Art. They have a strong collection of Wyeth watercolors, but wouldn’t you know it … they packed them all up on Wednesday :( . Nevertheless we got to see a good bit of work by William Henry Johnson and Anne Goldthwaite. I’m a fan of both artists.

PAINTINGS

Things are going great at Palmetto Bluff, still selling a lot and trying to keep up with filling inventory. It’s a nice problem to have. 

One of my pastel abstracts was accepted into the Mississippi Pastel Society’s call for art. It was my first time submitting an abstract pastel, so that felt very validating.

I want to submit a few things to Metro Montage, but time is running out quickly :(

APRIL

April is going to be huge. I’m flying to Luxembourg on April 18, Brandi will pick me up and I’ll stay with her for a couple of days in Germany. Then we will hop in the car and drive to Saint Gervais Les Bains in the French Alps to paint with Antonin and his wife. It’s going to be a wild two weeks. I’m nervous, anxious and excited. Not sure how I’ll handle being away from Scott and my babies for 2 weeks, but I’m hoping I’ll be so engaged with painting, the scenery and my friends that I’ll manage :) Fingers crossed.

OTIS - WINSTON - LOUIS

It’s been a year since JuJu left us and it’s still hard to think about it. My eyes are tearing up right now. Ooof. We miss him. 

Otis is doing much better. He’s more social, less hissy. He’s still not 100% but it’s much, much better. Winnie is still licking my arms and fingers in the middle of the night. And he loves to sneak a sip or two of my coffee (!!!). He’s unbelievably sweet, a lot like JuJu. Lou is still buck wild. If he sees a reflection on the wall from our phones or watches, you better LOOK OUT. He’s so muscular and now that we have bookshelves he has to climb to the top. 

We took them to the vet for a one year check up and learned a few things! Our sweet little Winnie Bo Benny has another side to his personality! He hissed and spat at Dr Douglas!!! We were stunned. Apparently this is very orange kitty behavior? Lou, on the other hand, was a perfect gentleman. We had it all wrong. I thought for sure Lou would show his ass, but he was so good and sweet. They’re very close to 15 pounds, so it’s time for us to cut back a bit on the portions. We let them free feed, so I think we just need to dial it back a tad. Otherwise, we had a glowing report card :)