Category: Art

January 26th: Spend the Day Photographing Downtown

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We got snow in Denver! I thought it would be a perfect day to go photograph downtown. I started just aimlessly driving around and got my first decent shot at Union Station.

Union Station, Denver

After a while, everything started to look dirty and dreary and I didn’t feel like I was getting good shots so I decided to go explore some of Denver’s great parks. I hit Washington Park first.

My Favorite from Washington Park, Denver

Then City Park.

City Park, Denver

And then Curtis Park.

Curtis Park, Denver

And finally, Globeville Landing.

Globeville Landing

I took other photos but these were my favorite.

It was a nice day. I love the snow and hitting all the different parks was a nice change of pace from staying around downtown all day, even though that was the goal.

January 21st: Read “The Art Spirit”

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Well, my book reading is off to a great start. I finished “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” and have to say, it was a GREAT, easy and thrilling read.

As I browse through my list of other things to do this year I came upon, “Read ‘The Art Spirit’”. It was actually a book introduced to me by my art teacher back in high school… that I have to admit was 20 years ago 😮 oh how time flies!

I remember being assigned to read certain passages or sections of the book and always felt inspired. But it was high school and I had a seven class work load, so I didn’t often read for pleasure.

The book has been sitting on my bookshelf, untouched, since then!

I often see if and try to remind myself to read it. Many times I think, that book could build some inspiration to be more artistic on a regular basis. Maybe it is just what I need to inspire myself, artistically.

January 21st: Make New Business Cards

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About a month ago I decided I wanted to start my own company. It has been a process that has been in my mind for over a decade. Over the past ten years I have had jobs but always tried to keep my photography and graphic design going. Recently I have put myself out there more for graphic jobs and have snagged a few. I need these cards to push that forward. People ask me often about services and I always write my name and number down… always seemed unprofessional.

So I made these today (super simple design from VistaPrint) and ordered them!

I should have them in hand by the beginning of February. I cannot wait to start passing them out and hopefully drum up more business. Eventually, I will make my design but just wanted to keep it simple for now.

February 7th: Start a New Photo Project

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I do not even know if I talked about it often in this blog but I have a BFA in Photography. It has been far too long since I did a photo project or really focused on photography. A few years ago I did a 365 day project and have always wanted to try to get back into that.

So today I start a new photo project, this time with a twist.

I found this app called Mission: Pic. It gives you a theme or really just a word everyday to post a picture about or pertaining to that word.

I’m excited for this project because it is not just shooting to shoot. There is more to it. It gives you something to look for in your daily life.

I think sometimes I will post photos that I might have taken in the past, like today. The word was shiny. This is my photo:

Other days I will search out and post new photos. Hoping I can keep this project going for 365 days!

On other notes:

1. I am doing well on not using credit cards.

2. I woke up on time today and took the dogs to the dog park again.

Hope to keep these good trends going!

August 6th: Paint All Day

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I had a very different idea of what this meant when I put this on the list for the year. I anticipated that it would mean fine art painting. But after buying a house that is simply not the case. 

I spent today painting my kitchen. I am overjoyed with how the house is coming along.

Here are photos of my kitchen on move in day:


Now I have taken down some of the cabinets, painted the walls and painted the cabinets. Take a look:


The next exciting step is building these cool shelves to put up in place of the cabinets:


And, I have already picked out a color for the bathroom.

Owning a house is so fun!

June 15th: Make a Door Wreath

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This year is full of so much adventure, creating, eating and relaxation. Some days I need to remind myself to make these things happen.

Today was simple. Make a little door wreath. 

I started with a wood stick wreath and wrapped some green leaves around it.


Then I took some flowers. I picked these ones because I feel like it can kind of encompass all the seasons.


I glued them on using a hot glue gun.


And that was that. Hopefully it stays together.

May 19th: Do a Craft from Pinterest

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I have been looking forward to getting crafty this year and was super excited to find this little project: Mason Jar Herb Garden. There are a ton of different ways to do it, and a ton of different examples on Pinterest… I kind of just looked at a lot and did it my own way. 

I’m really happy with how it turned out! Now let’s just hope I get some greens!

I bought mason jars at the grocery store! 12 for just $8.99!


I had some hemp left over from other projects. So took a hot glue gun and got to work.




Then I took a sharpie (blue was all I had) and wrote the names of the herbs I was planting on the jars.


Add some river rocks and potting soil, the seeds, and then another thin layer of soil.



I didn’t really like that the names didn’t pop off the jar once the soil was in so I went out and got an acrylic paint sharpie in white. It blended with the sharpie color (which I didn’t expect but really love!)


And viola! I have some herbs hanging!


Happy gardener!

April 28th: Watch a Documentary

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Who knew that there was a whole website out there with HUNDREDS OF FREE DOCUMENTARIES?!

Top Documentary Films
It has films on basically everything. It was actually really hard to choose, even just a category. But I went with the environment because it is such a large concern these days. And then just choose a random one: Planet Ocean.

It had beautiful imagery and some great information. 


All screen shots from the film.

Sometimes it felt a little off topic, but they pulled it all together pretty well in the end. 

April 6th: Read Some Art History

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Impressionism is my absolute favorite art movement. Although I know much about it, it was nice to read a little more indepthly about it.

I love the texture of the paintings, the near abstract quality they have, the colors and the basically everything.

I was fortunate to actually see Claude Monet‘s “Water Lilies” in person and it was magical. I just sat in front of it for probably far too long… but it was amazing. Seeing a print cannot even been to compare but if it is all you can get it is still worth taking a glance. 


Then of course there is Degas and his series of dancers… so good.


Ahhh. It just feels great to look at art and read about it! 

March 26th: Apply for a Job That Seems Out of Reach

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So far this year I have done some great things! A few of them get me closer to completing other tasks. For example, earlier this year I updated my resume. 

So toady, that makes it a little easier for me to apply for a new job that seems out of reach.
I am not necessarily looking for a new job but I do believe it is always good to keep options open. Plus, it is always good practice to apply for jobs to keep those skills alive.

So I happened to come across a job listing for a Marketing Coordinator for a brewery in Colorado. For the most part, the job description is what I do now, minus bartending 40 hours a week… so it could not hurt to try. And it is pretty much what I dream about doing. How can I not go for this?!?

And just so you all know, I did not win the lottery a few weeks ago when I bought a ticket… 😂

March 11th: Discover a New Artist

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Well, I have slightly fallen behind on my blog posting… so just trying to catch up. 

One thing I added to the list for a very specific purpose was Discover a New Artist. This can mean so many things to different people… discover new music, new paintings, new famous works… but for me it is about discovering new local, small business artists that are trying to make a life from their art. 

I have had various jobs in the art world. I have a degree in Photography and in Arts Management but far too often it falls by the wayside and I concentrate too much of my life on making money than making art. I am positive many artists fall victim to this and that is why I find it so important to support artists. 

Anyway, enough of the rant… I have discussed this before, particularly with my post earlier in the year when I answered questions that will free your mind. Because as awesome as that list of questions was and truly did open up my mind, it also showed me how I close myself off to things that I truly want. But there I go again, continuing the rant…

So let me just get to the point at hand- discovering a new artist. 

I found this local photographer, Wilsonapxe Photography. I am stunned by the night images and just blown away by the colors.

Interestingly I just stumbled upon this photography but when I got into the page I discovered that Westword Magazine just named the photographer one of the top “instagrammers” in Denver. Now I have to follow! Maybe you should too… Instagram handle, @wilsonaxpe !