Tom and I finally made it to Albuquerque this week, and I must say we have driven through some amazing countryside! We love the big skies, the beautiful clouds, and dramatic sunsets, not to mention the many nice people we’ve met in our travels. We arrived in Albuquerque on Sunday night, though my workshops didn’t start until Wednesday. Five years ago, the last time I attended the IAPS conference for pastel artists, I visited the Los Poblanos lavender farm and took some fantastic photographs from their property. This piece was inspired by that visit. I spent about three hours getting…

I’m writing to you from the road as Tom and I are traveling out west for a painting trip. Instead of just flying into Albuquerque, we decided to make it a long-overdue official road trip! Our first stop was Chicago and the Navy Pier. We arrived just in time to watch a spectacular sunset over this amazing city. Chicago, I never realized how beautiful your skyscrapers are… I’d better not stay too long, or I just might have to paint you! Preparing for our journey, I spent a couple weeks getting all my supplies together for the pastel conference in…