On the third floor of my old house I have a studio.

I use the word fairly loosely these days as it's become another room where I play with my little 17 month old whipper-snapper. I don't feel I get to paint as much these days. But I think I have a skewed perception. I need to clarify. I don't get to paint in large blocks of time anymore. Sometimes that still makes me pretty sad. Then I feel guilty for being sad I can't paint because I have this little toddler at me feet. Forgive me God, forgive me friends for my bad attitude of late.

I'm still painting lots of sheep. Creating something very cool for Christmas - a long time dream come true. (I'll tell you more later when the work is done.) But I have to say, I do get a smile when Daisy, my whipper-snapper, looks at my paintings and says, "Bah Bah." I figure I've done two things right. I've taught her the noises of all the animals and she recognizes what I've done. Phew...

She sure loves animals and I think come the new year I'm going to paint a bunch of animal paintings for her bedroom. Oh another project. But some are worth it even if it's only for myself.

It's so easy to get into that paint to sell mode. I'm always thrilled and humbled when I sell my work. But, I think it does an artist good to remember why they painted in the first place. For me, one reason was to have beautiful things for myself to enjoy in my home.