Saturday I leave for the Island.

One solid week...no children...no TV.  Cells phones don't work there. I will even forgo the news...the world will survive, and I will be one with the earth.

The sun on my back, the wind in my face, paint brush in hand.

I get to do.

My passion. Paint the landscape from sunrise to sunset.

Yes. this retreat includes time for catching up with old friends and meeting new ones painting all day... stories, great food and wine at night.

I am so looking forward to this...it is... all encompassing and it will nurture my creativity for a year.

To a tiny island in Lake Michigan. Where I speak to the creator... and get answers...where all five senses are filled at once, and I get the chance to interpret this…in  paintings!

No news next week I will be...gone painting!

Last night, at the University Club in downtown Chicago, Lisa Carter had a show opening — showcasing her works of the human form — from mixed-media quick studies to tight realism. This is a show to see!

It was a beautiful evening; the opening was on the top floor of the University Club. The crowd spilled out onto a terrace facing Millennium Park, which offered me a new view of the city. It was an all-encompassing splendid night honoring a truly talented lady.

Self Portrait by Lisa Carter

If you can't make it, you can always go the First Fridays at the Flat Iron Building in Chicago. when artists' open their studios to the public.

This past weekend I was in California attending the funeral service of a dear friend. It was her final wish to have her ashes scattered in the California Forest and the Ocean.

On Saturday, a boat was hired to take us out of Long Beach Harbor, past the breakwater, to where the brief service would take place.

As we were approaching the site, a pod of White Bellied Dolphins swam around the boat, as if to guide us.

The handmade paper box containing the ashes was gently dropped into the water and a wreath made out of twigs, decorated with red roses was dropped on top. The boat circled three times, and by the end of the 3rd circling... the box had disintegrated, depositing my friend to her final resting place... and a single rose had detached itself from the wreath and was floating off on it's own.

 

Friends. Embrace them, cherish them...thank you for reading my site.