A few weeks ago, a friend on Instagram, @theplussizemermaid posted a beautiful photo of an unfurling sunflower partially filled with water. She lives in New Zealand, and her garden is currently in bloom.

I asked her permission to paint her photo and she granted it.Here’s my progress.

And the finished painting!

It was a big challenge. First of all, yellow is such a challenge in watercolor. It’s so easy for the shadows to take on a green tinge, and I wanted to preserve the beautiful maroon shades of the original flower. Also, because the flower was in filtered light, it was a bigger trick to make the water look wet, if that makes sense. But whenever I am lost and don’t know what to do in a painting, I just slow down and work on recreating exactly what I see.

I feel good about how this turned out, which I really needed because I just received notification that none of my pieces were selected for the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies. For this year. That was really disappointing and discouraging. So much so that My nerve has failed me and I don’t think I’ll apply for the city traffic box art program after all. I’ve been rejected from that several years in a row, and it’s really tough.

I think I’ll just focus on making great art and not worry about entering it into any jury situations for a while. My Instagram supporters on my art page are so supportive, they can help me heal my rejection wounds and help me repair my certainty that I should continue making art.

Follow me over there if you don’t already! @henandchickart

This summer has been full of time in my garden, roadtrips, and long, leisurely naps. My health has been better, and my heart is so full of gratitude for that. Time with my husband and son has been so sweet, too.

And along with feeling better, I've had more energy for creating as well.

With one more trip on the horizon, we're going to make the most of the remaining season! what joys have you been enjoying this summer?

it was a difficult winter, seeming to last forever, but here we are, and it's really and truly Spring!

I've even started a few seeds, and I'm working diligently, bit by bit, to clear the grass out of my overgrown strawberry bed.

Easter was lovely, how was yours?

I've had some fun doll orders lately.

And I've been painting.

Check out new prints and cards at HenAndChickArt.etsy.com

I'm also looking forward to an art show which will show 10 of my pieces! Stay tuned for details on that.

I just started my first dresden plates quilt! I'm using all vintage sheets. Here's the first plate.

Also, Abby recently quoted me about my experience using craft as an escape from my chronic illness in this great
blog post. I'm working on expanding my words into a blog post, so watch for that, too. Happy Spring!

This time of year is always the busiest for custom dolls. I always try to squeeze in a batch of ready-made dolls, too. Here's what I've been up to.

I also tried my hand at some painted wooden spoon girls.

And I submitted work and was excepted in an art show with this piece.

I want to wish all of my readers, fans, customers, and friends a peaceful winter season!