The Blank Canvas

God’s incredible canvas outside my window!

We arrived in Santa Fe about ten days ago. The air feels different here—drier, thinner, expansive in a way that invites both deep breathing and deep thinking. It’s always a bit of a reset coming back. As usual, one of my first priorities was getting the studio set up.

The paints are out.
The palette is ready.
The easel stands tall, and the canvases lean against the wall, white and waiting.

And yet… nothing.

No spark. No vision. No clear direction for what comes next.

It’s not that I’m uninspired. If anything, Santa Fe is brimming with visual poetry. Outside my windows are soft golden hills, long shadows, the hush of desert light. This place is a living canvas. But as beautiful as it is, my heart doesn’t leap to capture it with paint. Not right now.

My mind keeps drifting—always—back to the figure. To faces, expressions, the soft weight of a shoulder turned slightly inward. I’m endlessly drawn to the silent stories that live inside a person’s gaze. That’s where I feel most at home as a painter.

But I’ve been wondering:
Can there be a story in a landscape, too?
Can a still-life hold emotion?

Of course they can. I believe that. I’ve seen that. But telling those stories in a way that still feels like me—that’s the part I’m turning over right now. The challenge isn’t just painting what I see; it’s painting what I feel, and somehow finding a way to translate that through light and texture and shape—whether I’m working with a human form or a pine tree bathed in late-afternoon glow.

I think this is the part of the creative process that often gets left out when we talk about “inspiration.” The quiet hovering before the first mark is made. The restlessness. The doubt. The push and pull between curiosity and uncertainty. The question of: what am I trying to say, and why now?

There’s no tidy answer yet. Just the gentle discipline of showing up. Looking. Listening. Trusting that something will come. That something always comes.

So for now, I sit with my blank canvas and ask it questions.
And I let it ask some of me in return.

Whether you're an artist, a collector, a dreamer, or someone figuring things out in your own quiet way—I'm glad you're here. If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s keep unfolding this together.

— Lynn

A new week….

Last week was a big one for me. I had been getting ready for two art shows that ended up being back to back, Thursday and Friday. Preparing for something like this is always a bigger deal than I think it will be and I end up sacrificing some things I’d rather not. (Usually that means long walks with Jimmy and the dogs!!😩) I’m still learning how to manage the business side of my art as well as the social side of putting myself out there when I need to; sometimes I feel really good about it and sometimes I feel like I’m dog-paddling in mud.

I must admit, however, I had the best time at both of them. The Thursday event was a combo meet me, the artist, and taste Lalo tequila. Not a bad set up, to say the least. I gave my first artist talk at this event and fortunately, I didn’t know I was going to do it until the night before so I didn’t have time to plan what to say and get all nervous. I think that sometimes it’s easier when we show up and just be ourselves and say what’s in our heart. It was a special evening and I’m so grateful for the Brumbaughs inviting me to do this.

Friday was the open studio with Fort Worth artists Maryann Brummer and Doug Clark. We completely filled my studio so it looked like an explosion of color and amazing art. (People were blown away with how amazing it looked.) The rain let up soon after it started and the people began arriving. I met so many new people and had the best conversations. And sold some art!!!

And then came Saturday and Sunday……I felt like I’d run a marathon!! I was completely wiped out and could hardly function. Do you ever get that way? I know that, for me, the being “on” can exhaust me so I”m sure that those two days of being center stage were enough to stop me in my tracks. And stop I did.🤗 Sort of, for two days anyway. There’s still the part of delivering paintings, shipping paintings, getting paperwork organized and filed, etc. But the big part has paused for a bit.

So for the next few weeks I’m going to slow down on painting a bit and begin to focus on what my summer art schedule will look like. We head to Santa Fe at the end of this month and will stay there until mid September so everything will shift a bit. I love to explore new ways to create in the summer and play with new tools. It’s always a slower time to reflect and enjoy family, friends, nature and whatever God has in His plans for me. I look forward to it! I’ll keep you posted on what it looks like as I go along.

That ‘s it for today. I hope your week is wonderful. tootles

a few random friday thoughts

This is Buddy System. It found a new home today, which makes me both happy and sad. There’s something about this painting that brings back the young girl in me. I think I’ll have to paint another version of this same idea!

It’s Friday, April 25, 2025. I’m continuing my journey on how to do the business side of my art world. And I’m continuing to have successes and failures. I’ve really no idea if this is going to show up in the “Blog” section of my website or not, but I thought I’d take a go at it and see what happens. So here I am and here I go.

I’ve been busy getting ready for two shows next week. One is usually plenty to deal with, but when the other opportunity came up I couldn’t say no. The first show is really not a typical art show. More of a “come taste a yummy tequila and meet one of our featured artists” show. But I still have to look the part, talk the art talk, and mingle with strangers. It’s the last part that’s always the hardest. The second show is an open studio at my studio with two other artists. Food, drinks, fun. But six hours worth of food, drinks, and fun is a long time for this artist. It’ll be great, I’m sure. (Can you tell I’m tired. 🥱 )

As an introvert, I’d much rather go to my studio and paint all day and then go home and be with Jimmy and our two golden doodles, Frida and Ruby. If, however, I’m going to have a legit business I know I have to crawl out from my comfort zone and share my art with others. Don’t get me wrong….I enjoy people…..But I really enjoy my quiet time!

Ok, back to a few thoughts this Friday. I’m kicking myself because earlier today I quoted a price on a painting having without looking at my records. And they bought the painting!! (That’s not the reason I’m kicking myself!). When I got back to my studio I looked up the price and I was completely off. By a lot less money!! Ugh. But I learned a big lesson through this unprofessional mistake today. Keep my mouth shut until I’m sure!

I think that’s it for today. I need to get back to the painting part now. Thanks for letting me try the blog thing with you again. Fingers crossed I figure all of this out!