I hope everyone had a productive summer and, just like me, is eager for the hot weather to break. These endless hot days are brutal, and we haven't seen significant rain in two months. Despite the heat, I have stayed glued to my brushes, aside from a brief detour creating some ATCs.

I've spent the last year painting the tools my family has carried across generations. A hand drill from 1975. A wooden-handled wrench with a weathered, fractured grip. Pliers shaped like curves I recognize in my own hands. These aren't museum pieces. They've been used. They bear witness.  

When I began this series, I was thinking about what we inherit and what we choose to keep. My Chahta heritage isn't something I display. It's something I live into, quietly, through the work I do and the choices I make. These paintings are part of that work. They're my way of saying: I see you. I honor you. And I'm building something new with what you've given me.  

The series spans from 1903 to now because that's how long these tools have been in my family's hands. Over a hundred years of labor, survival, endurance. But this isn't a story about victimhood or loss. It's a story about what remains when you refuse to be diminished. It's about the lines we draw to protect ourselves. It's about staying rooted while bearing the marks of what we've survived.  

I paint objects because objects don't demand explanation. They just exist, scarred and quiet and true. And that feels right for work that comes from a place inside me that doesn't need to be loud to be heard.  

I hope you get the opportunity to see these paintings. The Lines We Draw: A Generational Toolbox (1903-present). The series encompasses four paintings: the first three establish the narrative, while the final piece serves as a figurative reclaiming of that story. In a departure from my usual technique, I used all my opaque watercolors, but in an entirely transparent manner, of course. Exploring untried color combinations with paints I rarely use was quite stimulating, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Like chapters in a book, the full story becomes clear once they are all seen, but to me they can stand alone as beautifully rendered truths. Back to my brushes.  

"It took me time to understand my water lillies... And then, all of a sudden, I had a revelation of the enchantment of my pond.  I picked up my palette.  Since then, I've hardly had another model."  - Claude Monet

Shout out to all the artists who showed up for the Artist Trading Card Event at the Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin last weekend! (You can see more pics on their Facebook page.) I met some terrific people, and the atmosphere was energetic and enjoyable. The age range of the participants was fantastic, proving that art is truly a lifelong passion. Emaline (age 3) was a very popular trading partner, so keep them coming Emaline!  

A massive thank you to these amazing artists for sharing their work with me:  
Isabel - How much do I love this astronaut? The hand of the artist-top notch.
Brenda Hayes - I know you hated giving it up, but this owl has a good home. Naoni  - A double-sided card? Wow!
Cat - Officially on my TBR (To Be Read) list now!
Elliot - Love your pink highlights -  JARONA!
SK1TT3RR - the kittens are extraordinary and fresh.
Jade Henning - Tree in acrylics.  Great color choices!
Darla Hare - Fish out of water, yeah I feel that sometimes - nice!

Hope to see you all again next year, that was great fun. Back to my brushes.  

"Every artist was once an amateur."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

​There is an Artist Trading Card Event in Joplin at the Spiva Center for the Arts on August 9th from 3-4 pm (or 1 -2:45 pm if you want to make cards on site). This sounded like too much fun to pass up.  I used to trade “inchies” a long time ago and this size is much easier. I spent 80 hours painting one small watercolor piece, which I split up to make nine cards. If you get all nine you have a complete painting, but no worries, they look fine individually as well. Can’t wait to see everyone’s creativity on this small platform! Back to my brushes. 
 
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh

​I was asked about some symbols in one of my paintings recently, and honestly, I was surprised. Why, yes, I do use some Chahta iconography in my paintings if it suits the subject. I save those symbols for my nature-inspired pieces, like my rock paintings. The Chahta symbol for nature is one I've used many times, and it's easy to spot. No matter the size of the painting, it really pops.

Another one I use often is a stylized form of the crossed kapucha sticks. To clarify: it's not a cross; it's an "X". I recently used rocks from my collection to make a stylized nature symbol titled "It's in My Nature", (17" x 17"), which I'm sharing here.

I likely won't enter this into an exhibition, so please just enjoy it here. There are other symbols I use as well, but those are meanings I only share in person. Back to my brushes.

"Nature is the source of all true knowledge."  - Leonardo da Vinci

I am so gratified to be included as a finalist in this year's The Best of Watercolor: Splash 27 presented by Artists Magazine and American Artist (Golden Peak Media). As you can see here, the cover is just stunning showcasing the work Life Is Beautiful by Kathleen Giles. You can find my painting in the Land and Sea section and I can attest that it took way too long to complete, but I am very pleased with the result. Both the digital version and the print edition are available now, both online at Artists Network and at your local bookstore. Pick up your copy soon!  Back to my brushes.  

"It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop." - Confucius

Again, I do occasionally paint other genres besides still life. My parents commissioned charcoal portraits done of both me and my sibling when I was young, so I relate to these requests; but can't always fit it into my self imposed schedule. Portraits can be quite entertaining, and I will wander in that direction only if it feels intriguing. So again, not a one-trick pony, I just have a solid preference. The pic above was taken while I was painting an in-progress piece of a girl looking at her phone. An accurate portrayal to be sure. And yes, sometimes I paint upside down; it can help you see things differently. But what I really enjoyed was doing the hair. You can see the beginning of the texture in the hair on the left. (Just zoom in if you are on your phone.) Unique, not just hair but a wet on dry abstraction. In fact the entire painting exploits texture. That made it fun for me. It was painting that detail that I enjoyed the most, otherwise...meh. Back to my brushes.  

"Life is a great tapestry.  The individual is only an insignificant thread in an immense and miraculous pattern."  - Albert Einstein

A while back, my eldest requested some flower paintings for their home. As you well know, flowers aren’t really my area of interest (except conceptually, of course). When my grandmother died, I went to her home and dug up some of her iris bulbs to put in my garden. Along with echinacea, daylilies, and hollyhocks (my personal favorite), I had plenty of flowers in my backyard from which to choose. I only own a couple of other items that were Grammy’s, but her birdbath sits outside my studio window and provides great entertainment for me while I paint.
 
My eldest’s only requirement was that the paintings had to be a certain size, which was quite small—perfect, because I didn’t want to spend much time on them. I thought they turned out all right and she loves them. Win-win.
 
I share this to point out that artists paint all kinds of things that you never expect or know about. Oscar Wilde said “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” I believe every subject painted is a portrait of the artist, but some are more accurate than others.
 
P.S. I climbed the fence at Grammy’s house and lost my balance, cutting the back of my leg open from the back of my knee to my ankle on the chain link. I also found out I was allergic to the tetanus vaccine. That was some day. Back to my brushes.

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"I believe that life is chaotic, a jumble of accidents, ambitions, misconceptions, bold intentions, lazy happenstances, and unintended consequences."  - Steve Jobs

I'm pleased to share that my painting Remnants of Enchantment has been awarded the Celia Clark Memorial Award at Watercolor USA 2026.  My thanks to the judges, George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, the Watercolor Honor Society, the Springfield Art Museum and all those that make this exhibition possible.  (You can also see this in The Best of Watercolor: Splash 27 by Artists Magazine and American Artist at bookstores in July!) 

I'll spend a moment sharing some insights about this work. If you saw my article in the spring issue of Watercolor Artist, or saw the painting Ekman's Enchantment in Kenosha or an earlier blog post, you might recognize the composition. Yes, the proof of concept for this painting was Ekman's Enchantment. And after seeing this I believe you will understand why I needed a POC. I think this painting is enjoyable on its own, but its inspiration might surprise you because really it is about... fluid mechanics. Although after reading the narrative at WUSA, you will understand the ghostly quality of the water and its movement and how this childhood experience hit my every nerve. (I'll add the narrative at some point). I've stated in the documentary section of my blog some time ago about how, as a child, I would copy my uncle's chemistry book formulas for fun because I thought they were lyrical and beautiful. (Yeah, my cousins weren't too happy about that at the time.) I admit those experiences have stayed with me. So when I want to put formulas to paper now, this is how I do it. I feel it is a form easily experienced and understood; and in this particular painting it encompasses the cold calculations of fluid mechanics and the warm, ghostly presence of kindred spirits all in a single frame.  

Again, the brutal pain to my arm left me in no way capable of lifting a brush for the following four months after completing it, which is the same experience I had with Twenty Thousand Stones.  I will have to paint something else for a while and continue this series another time. Or not. Back to my brushes.  

"Be water, my friend." - Bruce Lee

My painting titled Seeking Balance received the Marsha Pratt Memorial Award at the Mid-Southern Watercolorists 56th Annual Juried Exhibition on display til May 1st, 2026 at the William F. Laman Library in North Little Rock. My thanks to the jurist, Nan Rumpf, the volunteers and board of the Mid Southern Watercolorists, and the Laman Library staff.  

At a young age my father introduced me to the writings of Martin Gardner which embedded in me an appreciation of probabilities, symbols, and yes - magic.  Not unlike the game hide-and-seek, I endeavor to integrate magic into all my paintings, but especially this series of maps that would have intrigued my father. He was a mathematician and military man who enjoyed both puzzles and spy novels.  Naturally I seek an artistic bond he would appreciate.  I am confident that he would have enthusiastically deciphered the arrangements and symbols in this map and found enjoyment in ascertaining the hidden destination. Back to my brushes.  

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."  - William Shakespeare