Pinwheels and Peonies, Detail
12X16, Oil on Panel

Pinwheels and Peonies is the newest painting in the studio. I arrived home after four days of teaching in Illinois to find fresh peonies still blooming in the studio vase! These brave flowers waited patiently for their moment on the canvas and then shattered, one by one, into a million fragrant petals on the work table.

It’s been a scary few weeks with my little studio director, AnnieBee. Last Monday, smack dab in the middle of a tornado and windstorm, I got a call from my vet saying to get Annie to the clinic the instant I received her message. Annie’s blood work from the week before had shown some dangerous levels, and the vet wanted to see her right away. This was my first time driving in a tornado, and I have to say, it was frightening. The sirens were blaring, hail was pounding, and the truck was rocking back and forth. As you might have guessed, I hadn’t checked the weather channel before taking off for the vet’s office.  

When I arrived at the clinic, everyone in the building was in the central room—cats, dogs, and people too—all residing together quite peacefully side by side, waiting out the storm. Tomorrow we get Annie’s ultrasound results, so please send good thoughts her way. I’m not quite sure how I’d get anything done without my number-one supervisor lending a paw!

We’ll be painting peonies at my workshop in Tennessee coming up soon, and you’re invited to join me April 29 to May 1. I love teaching the Tennessee ladies, and our lovely hostess Gail owes me dessert—so I’m especially excited about this trip!

Studio Director Anniebee

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