Winter is here again. Oh no.

I love doing shows. Even when sales are down. People say the nicest things.

Buying gifts at a holiday show keeps your money in your community and supports a small business person. I hope you'll look for one in your community.

My garden is usually teeming with poppies in June but this year something went wrong. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe my chickens ate them. (Because that happens. I have to wrap my pretty garden in not-so-pretty chicken wire for most of the summer and since summer was late this year, so was I.) But I did get a few plants sprung up and one of them is very happy and not even in the usual garden. It jumped the walk and planted itself in the most inhospitable thing that could be a flower bed it could possibly find. It had been a volcanic-rock-covered, no-respectable-plant-would-grow-roots-here kind of spot, but I'm glad the poppies found a home there. The sun hits it from the opposite direction as the usual garden and the light can be very dramatic. As it is my custom, I wanted to get some poppies painted this summer and summer was slipping away. This one started out with grey background and red poppies placed with authority. Sometimes you have to boss a painting around. Then came the blues and yellows, which together, of course, made green. I scratched in some stems and splashed in some light. It must have worked because it sold the first time I showed it. (thanks to my buyer!) Selling a piece its first time out made me feel like I know what I'm doing at least some of the time. Note to artists afraid to show your work: hardly anyone ever says if they don't like something. Showing your work is the best experience to keep you showing. As Nike says, just do it.

Your average Tuesday in the studio

Okay, no days are average. Some days are very productive and some are frustrating. Some days I can sweep the dust off the floor or tend the garden outside the studio doors and talk to the chickens and watch the birds and fiddle with the music until lunch time.

Yesterday was productive. I finished a painting that I started a year and a half ago. (these things happen) I posted a pic on facebook.com/quintrall.

Today I've been stalling. The house needs cleaned. The chickens need fed. Maybe the afternoon will be better but there are no promises in the studio.

fun in the studio

My studio is a happy place. Good vibes only, please. I love to go there. It makes me happy. If I head to the studio in other than a happy mood, the silly things I keep there make me smirk. If you missed the tour in July, you'll be happy to know you can make an appointment to visit my studio. I'll probably make you a cup of tea. I love to hear about your relationship to art. Do you make it? Do you buy it? Do you love it like I do? But mostly, I hope we laugh.

How long have you been painting? She asked. I never know how to answer that question. Forever? I mean, does finger painting in grade school count? Kinda. How about watercolors in highschool? Maybe. How about the acrylics I played with in my 20's or the craft paint I fiddled with here and there? I don't know. I've been putting quality acrylic paint on quality canvas for just 4 years. But before that I struggled with watercolor (again) and of course, I sketched and did other creative things, dabbling in a long list of arts and crafts, really, forever. So, when I'm asked how long have I been painting, the easy answer is 4 years. But it doesn't give a hint to the real, lifelong longing to be an artist or the pursuits that have built the foundation for the work I'm doing now. So, for me, it's not an easy answer. And I still don't feel like I've answered it.

Sneak Peek

I've been working on expanding my price points before the summer festival season and the Studio Tour (www.skagitart.com) and this fun collection of 6x6 paintings on paper is part of my effort. The paintings tell the story of a life lived in a flower garden. I've also had my first prints made and continue to work on expanding my collection. To see more, please plan on visiting the studio July 16-17. Take the link for more information.

Now, I know people are reading this here bloggy thingy but as you can see, I'm sadly lacking in followers. Don't be scared, click "follow"!

Gearing up for summer shows is keeping me really busy and it seems like spring hasn't even sprung yet! I have 4 applications on my desk with stamps on them, ready to go out Tuesday and other opportunities are presenting themselves on a weekly basis.

I'm loading up on inventory, bought a good tent, looking at gridwall. I'm almost ready to go!

But formost on my mind and the minds of 31 other artists is the Skagit studio tour. Mark your calendars...July 16-17, you're invited to visit 23 studios including mine. For more information, go to skagitart.com, follow me here or on facebook, or sign up for email notices at maryquintrall.com