I like to have special days and memories in my sketch journal, and it was my birthday last week. My friend Melissa Bridgman left these lovely flowers on my doorstep in one of her handmade vases (I love polka dots!), and they were so lovely I had to draw them. I also had cake at Muddy's (my very favorite) with a marvelous friend, and it was fun to have both of those occasions in here. Plus I get to enjoy cake again later without the calories if it's in my sketchbook. I get a great deal of pleasure from dessert sketches. There was a creme brulee in Asheville years ago that lives on my in my memory and my journal because I was so pleased with the sketch.

I made it! Only because I had two different stints in waiting rooms last week. The #oneweek100people challenge could not have been better timed for me. Quite often I'm working at home by myself and see a couple of people, tops. But this particular week I was up and out, and I added in a park trip and a little sketching in the passenger seat one evening to make sure I got my quota, since I was so close. It was fun to have a challenge to mix up my sketching a bit.

I kept them all pretty small and quick, but I did one longer one to celebrate #100. I figured it would be right to end with "my" special person...

I’ve been working for two days on stuff to be published (a cover for my Mr. Darcy book plus an album cover, my first ever), so I don’t have a lot to post. But I did do one double page in my sketchbook over the last few days. It just kind of happened that way, but cupcakes and my favorite tree together make up one exceedingly happy journal page.

I also realized that I hadn’t posted a couple of sketches from my last trip to Concrete. The feather and penny were both found on one of my walks, and I ended up really liking that sketch. The other is my Coronation teacup. I had seen it over the summer, but it was pricey. Then when I was there after Christmas, the antique mall was closing down and having a major sale. I went in to see if it was, by any chance, still there. I was so delighted that it was. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying The Crown, and it’s fun to have a teacup from the actual celebration.

sketched her own bees and also a honeycomb design. One of the things I love about Melissa is that she doesn't do the same patterns or shapes over and over again. Everything is fresh. So this teacup is unique, and I love its old fashioned delicacy as well as the generous saucer I can use for my tea spoon or perhaps a cookie. I'm old fashioned in always wanting a saucer, since I use milk (that creamer is the tiny one I found in Paris this summer with a bird on it, and it's gorgeous) and want to stir in the milk and have somewhere to put my spoon. Tea is a ritual with me, a small bit of daily pause and happiness in the midst of my usual busy. I love everything about sitting and having a small pot of tea in the day somewhere.

I'm also trying to make the most of Inktober this year, which I'm usually too busy to really celebrate. I cleaned out a fountain pen I've had and put new grey ink in it that I've been wanting to try, and I also broke out a blue marker for the top sketch. I used markers a bunch several years ago and have gotten completely away from them in favor of watercolor, but they have their own fun, graphic feel, so I'm going to work on reclaiming a bit of marker work this month as well.

It's that time again! Calendars are going to the printer this week. I'll have them in time for the Pink Palace Crafts Fair, as well as all my fall shows. They'll be at Burke's Books, of course, and likely other places through the fall. I'll keep you posted here.

The easiest way to get one, of course, is to order it off my website and have it come right to your mailbox. You can order one right now for $18 in my online store (operated by Square) at https://squareup.com/market/martha-kelly-art/

If you're in Memphis and can pick one up at one of my fall shows (Pink Palace, my Friday, November 3rd opening at Eclectic Eye, or my holiday open house Dec. 15-16th) or from me sometime in midtown, choose the pick up option to avoid shipping. Otherwise, I'll be so happy to send it right to you.

I had a couple of quiet days on my own at the end of my Paris trip. Some of that, of course, was packing madly, because I acquired too many art books plus a framed print plus a little bit of breakable tea crockery, so it was more challenging than usual.

I knew I would be coming home to working hard on my fall shows, so I gave myself permission to really have a little bit of vacation --- sleeping in and lingering over tea in the beautiful apartment I stay in and going to the Musee d'Orsay to sit with my favorite pieces. I also had tea a couple of afternoons in Le Lithographe, the cafe just across from my building there. I'd been wanting to paint inside (usually I would sit out on the sidewalk to watch Paris go by) where there was a lovely tiled Art Deco piece next to the bar. I painted it small the first day, and since I'm thinking about Art Deco ornamentation a good bit at the moment (thanks to one of the art books I bought), I went back and painted a second time with more detail.

I also did a couple of more sketches in the Orsay. They move their paintings around a lot and swap things out. One of my favorite Odilon Redon pieces was gone (one of my favorite pieces period there), but this double panel was new to me this year, so I sketched it. As was the Vuillard, who painted a woman sketching with that hallmark "sketch face," as a friend of mine calls it.

One other thing I did was got myself one last cup of Angelina's hot chocolate and carried it into the Tuileries to sit and drink and (apparently) sketch. It was a lovely send off from a city I love and hope to return to next year.

I've had rotating house guests lately, plus my sister has been in town, mostly for our annual dance weekend (which explains my recent silence here). I managed a hat trick of teas/chai out being festive with people and sketched all three. It's nice to have happy memories in my journal.

The trees at Rockport State Park in Washington State have been calling to me. I came back out this time with a set of oil paints, a portable easel, and other on site painting equipment. I've done pastel and watercolor plein air painting for years, and all of my work begins with at least a sketch from life, but I haven't done oils on site since I was in college. The richness of the forest, though, made me decide to try. I set up and did two quick ones this afternoon from the easy trail next to the ranger station.

They're both quite small. 10x11" paper or so. I'm hoping I can get them back home with me on the airplane. I'll be leaving all the gear, however, for my longer trip this spring, once I get my show done and seminary work in a good place.

Here's my set up as I was cleaning up. The brushes are back in their holder already, but you can see the rest. I was sitting on the ground because my lightweight travel easel isn't tall enough for me to stand. I'll try to bring the French box back with me later, but it's too heavy to hike terribly far with. It would be nice to have options though.