September is often a time of reflection for me - maybe for you, too? This year, I'm reminded of the old Aesop fable we learned in school, The Ants and the Grasshopper.

If you remember, the ants worked hard all summer to gather food while the grasshopper played music. Come fall, the grasshopper was starving, but the ants were well off (and pretty smug about it).

I'm looking back at summer, when I was lucky enough to get to travel to a few different places and have fun doing it! I'm also looking towards fall and winter, which are going to be pretty busy with exhibits and open studios.

And as I'm working hard preparing for these shows, I'm finding that the inspiration I gained in my summer travels is REALLY paying off on the paintings I'm occupied with now, even though it felt like relaxing at the time.

It's *because* I was able to take some time to play then that I'm thriving now, not despite of it!

Did you get to travel or do other exciting things this summer? I hope your experiences are still feeding your soul as we move into fall.

Work in progress

Since I'm gearing up for fall, I've been spending a lot of time in the studio this month! I'm in the middle of a few larger paintings, including this one above, which is 24x48". I'm enjoying finessing the delicate color palette.

My studio neighbor Josh Coffy is also collaborating with me on a series of small works we're really excited about - these will be ready for Open Studios, November 11-12, so please save the date! Here's a peek of the first one:

And lastly, I'm finishing up several little Sutro in Fog paintings to have on offer for Open Studios and holiday shows. I'll let you know when they're ready to go!