Calistoga and the Little Lavender Girl

The Elms - Calistoga, CA

Little Lavender Girl

2 new woodcuts I've started this week... actually Calistoga (the house) I did the drawing this morning! The lavender one is going to take a long time because of all the lines and little buds to be carved. Not quite sure how successful it'll be but, I wanted to try. It is really a lovely image if I can just translate it into wood :)

The house is from way back when my hubby and I used to vacation Napa and Sonoma with friends (on this trip) and sometimes alone. I love the house - it reminds me of my fave Hopper painting. This is a B&B we stayed in called The Elms - absolutely enchanting! I highly recommend it if you're staying in the wine country. Brings back such great memories of our salad days together.

Sketchbook Thursday...

U-pick strawberries

Lavender farm... Grandma and Sadie

Grandmas are the greatest!

Probably my fave late summer bloom.... Purple Cone flower.

It's not official... merely an idea but I'm thinking about doing more in my sketchbook and posting about it on Thursdays. (oh, but that would be a structured, planned thing... which is really not me...not sure I could handle it! :) We'll see if I can keep up with it. Feels good to paint summer scenes and flowers in the dead of winter! I'm off the clean up the house like a demon - we're having a little dinner party with 4 kids and 4 grownups this weekend :). But, what to cook? Any ideas??