The Sketchbook Challenge Blog Hop- Houses and Hideaways, creating your own Hideaway

Hi everyone! For the Sketchbook Challenge we decided to have a blog hop! I know, fun right. Many of the contributing artists have gotten together to share their expertise and show you some really great examples of houses and hideaways. Some have posted videos, some tutorials and many are giving away goodies so make sure you check them out this month. I am having a giveaway, I will tell you all about it soon.

I wanted to share more about my hideaway, which is in reality my backyard and gardens. I love to be outside and often love to have my breakfast or coffee outside in the morning, soaking up the sun and sketching before I even start my day. When our daughter Jennifer was hurt we knew that our traveling was going to be limited and that if we wanted her to be able to share in family events we needed to create a place that was handicap friendly. We created our shangri-la, that can be shared but it is also my hideaway on a daily basis. Do you have a special spot you can get lost in, a place you love to go and just write or read or sketch? If not you can easily designate a spot to call your own, and it can move as needed based on weather or other factors.

Here are some tips to help you find your own space.

1. Are there a few areas that you just love, that bring you instant peace and allow you to unwind and just enjoy your surroundings? That would be the best place to start. I could be under the shade of a tree, in a big, overstuffed chair, it can be anywhere you choose. I just think it should be away from anything that causes you stress and it should give you a change of scenery.

2. Claim this area and get acquainted with the surrounding areas, make sure you can go there to escape the outside pressures and demands that are placed on you. A hideaway doesn't need to be a vacation spot or a elaborate set up although it could be, a hideaway that is close allows you to visit more often!

3. Add comfort, have a blanket within reach, maybe a pillow or have them ready to go out with you when you visit your hideaway. Do you remember when you were a kid and you made a fort, we are making adult hideaway forts again. Somewhere that offers you something special and you can't wait to go there and just play.

4. Stock your hideaway with things you might want to do while there. A good book, sketchbooks, notebooks for writing etc. If your hideaway is outside maybe keep a basket full of your supplies next to the door so when you go out you can just grab it and go, no running around trying to gather things. Being ready to go sketch or journal is half the battle. If your time is limited and busy the thought of having to gather supplies might cause you not to go at all.

My quilts are often inspired by my garden and my home and all of my sketches.

 5. Before you begin, start off by just taking notice of everything in and around your area and take on a attitude of gratefulness. By seeing the blessings that surround you, you open yourself up to the wonders and the intimate relationship an artist has with their subject matter. How is the light reflecting off the surface, what colors are the clouds in the sky actually, how many colors of green can you find in those leaves. How do the shadows make the lighter areas pop. This is learning to see your surroundings. Artists learn to really see.

 6. Make a date with yourself, a time when you will allow yourself to sneak away and grab some coffee, tea or a glass of wine and just get lost in your sketchbook. By saying you're important enough to make time for can be a big step but you wont regret it. That coffee in the morning, alone with my sketchbook, is very special. Sometimes I grab a glass of wine and go out to sketch around dusk. I love the way the warm sunlight dances off the trees as the wind blows through and begins to cool down the heat of the day.

 7. Take the time to capture a scene or an object that is near you. I love to walk the yard, searching for something that is begging me to be painted. Some days it may be the reflections of light, other days a flower or bee. It doesn't matter what it is if it speaks to you just paint it.

My girlfriend Pat came up and painted with me in my hideaway! Hideaways are fun to share too.

 8. Journaling is an important part of my sketchbook. I like to not only paint the scene or object but I like to say something about it, or how I am feeling or what it means to me. By taking the time to journal you turn a pretty sketch into a personal memory that you will have recorded for all time. I want to share my thoughts, a special moment when a child said something profound, I want to document it forever.

A little butterfly house quilt that was inspired by Matilla poppies I grow and butterflies we raised for the grandkids.

9. By taking time to enjoy some reflective time and the beauty that surrounds you you are better able to give back to those who need you. These wonderful adventures you have in your hideaway will translate into other areas of you life. Often my art quilts are a sketch I have done and then translated into fabric. 

Hollyhocks, I have cut pierce work into the leaves of the quilt showing the damage I have the snails that year.

I hope you will grab your sketchbook and join me by taking the time to sketch and journal the things in your life in your favorite hideaway.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and my companion post on the Sketchbook Challenge. I hope you will sign up to follow my blog and get my Newsletter(top right column). It comes out once a month and is full of wonderful art things, tutorials, my fabric lines and other artsy things I am doing and classes I am offering. I also will be offering some sketch classes online so sign up so you don't miss out!

 So my give away to thank you for taking the time to visit me and the Sketchbook Challenge is a sketchbook and mechanical pencil and a brush. I always have at least those things with me where ever I go. I may even include a sketch for you from me.

Here's a little sketching video I did for you!


I want to encourage you to make that special hideaway to record your life! All you have to do is leave me a comment and maybe tell me a bit about your hideaway. The opportunity drawing will be open until Saturday, September 28, 5:00 pm PST. I will then do a random drawing from the comments posted. I will post the winner that day and will need you to email me your information.

For some more tips on how to make journaling a daily event visit my previous blog post, blueberries for breakfast.

To see more of my artwork, art quilts etc visit my website! If you interested in purchasing anything feel free to contact me via my website.

To see more of my hideaway and gardens visit my garden tour post, all about opening up our home to raise money for the children's hospital.

Thanks for visiting!!

A favorite place to just reflect and appreciate things

 I know that most of us live a very busy life these days, filled with kids, grand kids, work, chores, jobs, activities etc. Who would of known that with all these modern conveniences we would end up even busier and more stressed out. I think being able to see how fast things are moving all the time reminds us how fast we might be falling behind. To keep up with all the social media and technology coming out daily is daunting and can be overwhelming.

For me, being able to get away from the technology is critical so I have to go for a walk, run, gardening, anything that takes me outside and helps me refocused. Since I work from home I have to get out of the house so I have an area that I love in my backyard. A mini retreat area that I can go to anytime to just enjoy the breeze and paint or sketch, read, write, pray or nap. When we designed and built the backyard we wanted to create a place where our family could gather together for holidays and special events to assure Jennifer would always be able to attend since not every ones house is wheelchair accessible.  It is an outdoor room that is open and we get a breeze in the summer that cools the area in the late afternoon and a fireplace to warm it in the winter. We did a lot of the work ourselves, Randy and I burned and distressed the wooden beams that support the structure and stained the under side of the roof red to mimic the old tile roofs. We have had many, many parties, holidays and just gatherings here in the 7 years its been since we finished the project. We even had an owl try to take up residence there last year and we have a few bunnies that pass through on their way to different areas of our lawn. There is a ramp so Jennifer can access it anytime she likes and she can watch swimmers in the pool during the summer in the shade. I have always made a special place in each house we have lived that I could just take it all in and thank God for all we had, its never about the money, its always about the relationships, the family and beauty of the things we grew, we are rich in so many ways.

A favorite place doesn't have to be fancy or elaborate, it can be as simple as a chair under the shade of a tree. It is a place to sit and take a deep breath and remind ourselves of how blessed we are to live where we live. A place where I can be quiet and reflect, gathering my thoughts, reminding me to appreciate all that we have created together. I have sketched my yard many times over the years, here is another sketch of my backyard, sitting in my space, watching the dappled sunlight dancing off of the stone floor caused by the wind blowing through the leaves.

I love to come out at dusk and watch the sun go down, the light filters through the trees, casting shadows that dance on the stone floor. It bathes everything in an orange glow in the fall.

Theres nothing like taking a bath and looking out at this!!

Sketching and painting some succulents I am growing

I love keeping my garden journal where I journal and sketch about things in my garden.

Another day, with my coffee and writing pad, writing down my thoughts and ideas.

 Do you have a special area that you call your own? A place where you can escape the rat race and find some peace and quiet. A place where you can journal your thoughts and escape for a moment. It doesn't have to be outside, in many areas of the country these favorite places are overstuffed chairs next to a fireplace with all of your favorite things next to you and your blanket. How about your bathtub, with bubbles and music playing. It could be a reading area where you can find some quiet time to just get lost in a book. I leave my studio so that I don't have any projects or deadlines nagging at me. I go to my favorite place and listen to the wind whispering in my ear and watch as the leaves dancing across the floor. Tell me about your space! If you have sketched it please post a link to your blog so I can see it!