Congratulations to Lauren and Christian!

My husband and I were thrilled to attend the wedding last month of his nephew Christian, and his beautiful bride Lauren.   They were married at The Monastery in Cincinnati, Ohio!  I had never been to Ohio before and loved this historic city, it's active waterfront of parks and ballfields, old historic churches and of course spending time with our family!!   

"The Monastery" was originally built as an observatory in 1843, it eventually closed (due to air pollution, even then!) and was leased to the Catholic Church to serve as the Holy Cross Monastery and Church from 1873 until 1977.   After sitting empty for nearly three decades, it was purchased and remodeled, opening as this beautiful event venue just last year.  Oh, if walls could talk!!

I hope that his sketch, will serve as a reminder of their special day and beginning of their new life together!  

Best wishes to Lauren and Christian 

for a happy and joyous life!

Congratulations to Julie and Marc!

I love the sketches that celebrate special occasions in ones life, and this is no exception!!  

My good friends Julie and Marc got married last month!  I wanted to give them a one-of-a-kind gift, so I sketched Bistro Chat Noir in NYC, where they got engaged the previous October!  I received the photo below in a text the following morning that said..."so this happened last night!!"  

Congratulation Julie and Marc!

Wishing you a lifetime of joy and happiness!!

Pine Grove House

I was thrilled to do this sketch of the Pine Grove House, located in Pinehurst, North Carolina and 

built in 1894.

I did my best to capture the feeling of the photo's my client sent me to work from, but the pen and ink just didn't do it justice... so I went at it from a different angle and added watercolor.   

Yes, I'd like a mint julep now please!!  

Kates Family Tree

Congratulations to Laura and Curt Kates, who recently celebrated their 40th Anniversary!  

I love sketching Family Tree's, but this one was especially fun for me since I've known the Kates family since our kids were in Pre-K together!  What a treat to have watched them grow into such great young adults and start families of their own.  

Our Viking River Cruise!

Ver Welkoming, Guten Tag, Szia, Hello!

I'm back from what really was a "trip of a lifetime!"

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite photo's before getting back to the business of posting my sketches!!

Our trip began in Amsterdam!  We had two and a half days to explore this historic city and recover from jet lag!  I was inspired in the Van Gogh and Richtsmuseum, intrigued by the the maze of canals throughout this charming city and entertained by the "window dressing" in it's famous Red Light district!

The first few days were spent drifting down the Rhine River, visiting the windmills in Kinderdijk, Holland, exploring Marksburg Castle near Koblenz, Germany and along the way passing quaint little towns with their tall steepled churches and ancient castles towering above.

One of my favorite stops was in the town of Miltenburg.  This view was from Mildenburg Castle, overlooking the arched bridges over the Rhine River, the half-timbered houses and it's famous pubs!

Along the Rhine-Main-Danube rivers, this was a familiar site, along with about a million beautiful swans!  I'm pretty sure this one will become a painting!

Saturday, May 27th was our 11th anniversary and we spent the day in Salzburg, Austria!  We visited countless cathedrals on our trip, but this one St. Peter's Cathedral, was my favorite.  

This view in Salzburg is from the Catacombs where early Christian Monks lived in 775 a.d.  We enjoyed lunch nearby in the oldest restaurant in Europe (some web searching said the oldest in the world!) that began serving (the monks, I assume!) in 803 a.d.  

Our last day was spent in Budapest, Hungary!  

After dinner, we cruised the Danube to experience the breathtaking view of the city lights!

A Change of Focus

Art comes in many forms....  on canvas, with my pen and ink, and through the lens of a camera.

I've been blessed to be able to travel to some amazing places... and loved taking photo's of the beauty of this world.  Just last year, these three..... 

spotting a "local" on the streets of Antiqua, Guatemala following our church mission trip...

The peace and tranquility of a sunset in Cabo San Jose...

And the majesty of a sunrise over the Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

It was in Wyoming, on my third pre-dawn wake up of the week to find the perfect location to capture the first light on the mountains I found myself surrounded by photographers with tripods and long lenses, I decided it was time to upgrade from my iPhone camera.  So I did, and although I've a lot to learn, I am looking forward to practicing this new "art!"    And I have a great opportunity!  Next week, my husband and I leave on a "bucket-list-trip" across the rivers of Europe on a Viking River Cruise.  

I won't have the ability to update my blog while I'm gone, but you're welcome to follow my journey on Instagram @accentsinart.

"And where we love is "home"

"And where we love is home

Home that our feet may leave, but not our heart."

 - Oliver Wendell Homes

Moving is hard.  Under the best of circumstances or the most challenging, it's exhausting physically and emotionally.   My sweet friend, and co-leader in our Beth Moore Bible Studies at TWUMC is moving to Midland, after 10 years in this home.   Their first home as newlyweds and where both of their girls came home as newborns.  So many cherished memories!

Our "small group" shared a brunch with her and celebrated these memories and the friendships that we've all been blessed to have.   

We love you Ellen, and we wish you joy and happiness... and hopefully lots of frequent visits back to The Woodlands!