In & Out of the Studio
I spent the better part of 2021 and 2022 creating the paintings for Morning Leaves: Reflections on Loss, Grief, and Connection by Laing F. Rikkers.
Morning Leaves is a book of poetry inspired by the loss of Laing’s sister. The writing and the artwork encourage us to connect more deeply to nature, one another, and ourselves.
The book is a secret garden filled with reminders of our humanity and the shared life-force that links us and the natural world. The lush descriptions and exquisite artwork will resonate with something deep and true as you explore and discover your own path.
Illustrations for the book were painted by Kelly Leahy Radding, an artist and student of nature. Kelly was able to bring visuals to the words in a way that enhances the reader’s experience and makes the book uniquely beautiful.
Morning Leaves will be published in May 2023 by The Collective Book Studio
Available for pre-purchase at Amazon here.
What did I do when a mega-rare bird from Siberia, a Steller’s Sea-Eagle, was visiting Maine? Why, I ‘flew’ up there to see it, of course! Actually, the very same bird was there last winter, but I was unable to go then. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity this year. I was able to see it last weekend and right in time to be the perfect subject to test Daniel Smith’s new gouache paints in my sketchbook. To read about this amazing eagle and my thoughts and conclusions about the new gouache (hint: I loved them!), visit my blog post all about the amazing Stella, the Steller’s Sea-Eagle and the new gouache paints.
And watch out for that HUGE beak, Gram the Studio Cat!
Sketches from Nature blog
Be Kinder, Be Bolder, Be Braver and…
…don’t take any sh*t. I said goodbye to my beloved cat Emmylou yesterday, on the last day of 2019. Emmy was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of mouth cancer at the beginning of December. I had two other cats pass from the exact same cancer, so I knew we didn’t...
Winnie-the-Pooh, Part Too!
"So he sat down on the stone in the middle of the stream." – A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends were pretty much my all-time favorite books as a child along with anything about a certain black horse, and a pony from Chincoteague. The...
Inspiration… My word for 2019
Inspiration: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions. An artist seeks inspiration for their work both consciously and unconsciously. We must nurture our creativity with our own particular muse. Obviously my muse is nature and all of her...