Did a sketch of the tulip gardens up in the Skagit Valley last weekend. It was past the peak season, but still lovely. Working to improve my landscape skills… #uplift #sketchbook #roosengaarde #tulips

April, whew. What a crazy busy month. Our new little cat, Rogue, has integrated very well with all the other pets; we now have 3 black cats. It can be startling when they all appear at once. Seeing friends and family has been great. #artbeco #uplifting #gratitudejournal

April 2026 calendar doodles. So much crazy bad out in the world it’s hard to breathe. Really trying to see and appreciate what I have here and now. #artbeco #gratitudejournal #uplift

I wonder when, if ever, she’s been on a lap before. Our wild little rescue kitty (was going to be put down as unhandle-able) came onto my lap today, purring and very happy to be petted, for over an hour. It’s been about 3 weeks since we adopted her. #artbeco #rescuecat #purring

We went to 2 ‘No Kings’ protest gatherings today: a street gathering in Snohomish, and Everett’s much more formal one, with speakers and such. So many awesome signs and people. Lots of honking and support. #artbeco #nokingsprotest #penzeys

Socialization of our rescue kitty Rogue is going well. She couldn’t be handled at all by the shelter and was ‘unadoptable’. She’s settled in well so far and we’re slowly socializing her to the other pets as well as us. #artbeco #rescuecat #uplift

A lovely little bit of time with Mai, our oldest and most dignified Empress cat. She saw my knitting on my lap and hurried over for some uninterrupted lap time and petting. I feel honored; she doesn’t do that often. #artbeco #blackcats #uplift

Well, the Cat Distribution System can be quite insistent. This little nugget is back with us, after a week in the shelter. Labeled unadoptable, we took her back. We’ll be socializing her gradually. Previous owner was unreachable by vet or shelter, so she is now ours. Goes by Rogue. #artbeco #rescue

February. Big and small stuff all going on at once, as always.

This, and the comments, made me laugh so hard today. Thanks, I needed that.

January has flown. It’s been filled with good news for our family, along with lots of protesting the horrific news in the country. Here’s hoping February brings better news nationally. #artbeco #gratitude #uplift

The river has gone back to more normal levels a few weeks after all the flooding here. There’s lots of debris stuck in high branches of the trees from where the flood waters were; where we are standing here was under water by at least 15 feet at the height of flooding. #artbeco #snohomish

Nine years ago I drew this in my sketchbook. I thought it was bad then… How much more frightening and awful things would become in this timeline is hard to believe, but we are in it. I keep hoping we can pull up out of this nightmare. #artbeco #resist #protest

If you look closely you can see Orion’s Belt above the trees. My favorite constellation. If I can see the night sky, I can find some peace and stability in my heart even in crazy times like these. #artbeco #uplift

Sunday’s Anti-Ice protest in front of the Everett Home Depot, in WA. The protesters went down the street for about a quarter mile. We talked to police officers there; they said they couldn’t take sides but were there to protect the protesters. #artbeco #antiiceprotest #resist

We went to the regular Friday protest yesterday, going to another impromptu protest tomorrow. I made some new signs. It all seems woefully inadequate, but it’s something. #artbeco #protests

Watched CBS news for the first time in awhile and it really made me mad, it was so biased, and not in a good way. Turned it off and started just drawing the pets to get some mental balance. It helped. #artbeco #sketchbook #pencildrawing

I made a year's group of my monthly calendar doodles. There's lots of ink doodles, some washi tape, some pencil etc. in there. I started doing these a few years ago as a way to see something good in each day. Seems to work for me. #artbeco #calendardoodles #gratitudejournal #uplift

December 2025. Last gratitude calendar of this past year. I’ll try to make a collection of all 12 together just to see what they look like together. It’s been… quite a year, hasn’t it? #artbeco #gratitudejournal #uplift

The mountains have more snow and some of the floodwaters are receding. The sun was out briefly! It’s raining again now, but sun was a nice break. #artbeco #snohomish

Last Thursday we were about the last people to drive on Marsh road (most other roads already flooded.) We drove through maybe a foot of water. Hours later the whole valley was flooded and the road vanished. The first fatality of all the WA flooding was found there this morning. #artbeco #snohomish

Whelp. Flooding is definitely happening in Snohomish; multiple roads closed in and out of town, fields flooded, Our house is on a high ridge so we are fine, but so many others are not. #artbeco #snohomishflooding

Well that’s crazy. November is gone. Whipped by in a blur, marked by doing things with family, prepping for winter, all that. Hope your month was good too, and the coming one is even better! #artbeco #novembergratitude #uplift

Today calls for a warm dry sweater, a good book or some knitting, and a hot mug of something- your choice. #artbeco #snohomishriver #rainyday #uplift

A messy pastel drawing from a bit ago; it’s to catch a memory moment, just a quick rough. The trumpeter swans and snow geese are here and passing through. I love seeing them. #artbeco #pastelsketch #uplift

Today is Veteran's Day. I'm choosing to remember my dad, who served in the Pacific during WWII. He survived action in Leyte Gulf, among other places, and came back to the states missing part of his lung, a rib, and with other damage as well. (cont. in comments.) #artbeco #veteransday

The sun was out today! It was beautiful driving around. The leaves won’t last much longer but for right now the colors are pretty glorious. #artbeco #uplift #snohomish

Water levels at the rivers are high with all the recent rain. The snow geese have appeared, landing in nearby open fields. I’m not sure if they’ll winter here are continue south, but they’ll be here a few weeks at least. #artbeco #snohomish #uplift

Rainy day walk in the woods with Amalthea the dog. She wasn’t a big fan of the rain and tried to turn back three times along our walk. After the third try I gave in, after all I had boots and a raincoat, she didn’t. #artbeco #uplift

The month of October has gone by. The leaves turned, and with storms most of them are already gone- might be a harsher winter coming. Small good things help keep me sane despite the state of the country. #artbeco #gratitudejournal #uplift

Quick sketch/study of Elizabeth Warren. I’m choosing to focus on positives, and to me, she’s a force for good. She keeps trying, speaking up, trying to protect regular folks. Plain old pencil on paper. #artbeco #persist #elizabethwarren #sketchbook #resist

The heartbreaking destruction of the East Wing of the White House made me find my portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, a smart, gracious person who made the East Wing where First Ladies had their offices. May we rise beyond these monsters trying to destroy everything. #artbeco #artsky #uplift #resist

RIP Drew Struzan. I had him as a teacher for a semester in art school, and learned a ton from him. He was generous with his knowledge. He had so much experience as a pro; taught us to streamline our art process, composition, use of reference, etc. So much. Condolences to his family. #drewstruzan

After reading The Oatmeal's take on AI, I went on to read his thoughts about Creativity. So good. SO spot-on. And awfully funny. theoatmeal.com/comics/creat...

September. What a crazy month. I swam just under 15 miles this month, raised over $300 for the American Cancer Society. Reached out to the local art community and went to a life drawing session, went on art studios walkabout and met a bunch of cool local artists. #artbeco #gratitudejournal #uplift

Sketchbook sketches from the live cams of the bears hunting salmon in Katmai National Park. It's Fat Bear Week! I watched one fellow catch a salmon, eat it, catch another and eat it very casually in the span of less than 5 minutes. He made it look easy. #artbeco #fatbearweek #sketchbook #ink #uplift

It’s the end of August already, so I’m putting up my calendar of daily doodles: things that made up my days. #artbeco #uplift #gratitudejournal #bskysketchbook

Scenes from the last few days. TJ Burnside Clapp’s hands and 12 string guitar while playing one of her songs. Such a treat. #Worldcon2025 #artbeco #filkers #filk #musician

Beautiful textile art.

BWAHAHA!! Anyone who's used Muybridge's photo series of people and animals for animation and drawing will appreciate this! (Also, prints are available on Jaunty Art's site.) So awesome.

United in fun. #grickledoodle #cats #dogs #pets #mice #trampoline #cartoon #art #drawing #funny

A small painted cry for the White House Rose Garden as it used to be. This administration has/is doing countless awful things, and this is just one small example, but the blow is deliberate, hurtful and shows their intent to cause harm. #artbeco #resist #artsky #sketchbook

My July gratitude calendar grid. Quite a nice life going on, despite the wider world burning in flames. I feel both grateful and guilty, but I'm savoring the good bits; the alternative is constant anger and stress and that's not a good thing. #artbeco #uplift #artsky #gratitude

Posted a little time-lapse of painting this a few days back. One of my portraits of personal heroes. He's still reporting the truth, even when it's unpopular or downright dangerous. His Steady newsletter and Substack is always worth reading. #artbeco #DanRather #Steady #artsky #protestart

Did a little time-lapse of drawing/painting Dan Rather, another in my sporadic painting series of heroes. A life-long journalist, Rather has stood up for the truth for many decades, and continues even now, with his Steady newsletter and website. #artbeco #DanRather #timelapseart #artsky #steady

A sketchbook doodle for a page that I painted with Higgins shimmery blue ink awhile ago. I had no clear idea of how to use the ink and just covered a page to see how it worked. You can’t tell here, but it sparkles and shimmers when you move the page. #artbeco #uplift #sketchbook #fountainpenink

I kind of wish I was one of these stuffed critters, just for the night...

Well goodbye, June, you went by too quickly. Long days with lots of light and sun, plants flowering like crazy. Trolls, graduation (Riley’s 2nd baccalaureate), and the sad passing of Paul’s beloved Uncle Jim. #artbeco #gratitude

So today was 'draw a terrible comic day'. I don't draw comics, though I've tried. Why not try today, I thought. It's a terrible comic, drawn in haste, just thoughts in my head today. How do I reconcile my good life with all the bad stuff happening? #artsky #artbeco #terriblecomicday2025 #resist

The protest today at University of Washington- big crowd that kept growing. Started in Red Square and later marched through nearby streets. You can see us and some of our posters in the foreground about midway through. #nokings #artbeco #protest