This week in The Pearl – and central Oregon


Started the week by doing a digital painting that has been on my mind. Long time followers of this blog will recall the many candid photographs I took while living in France, I don’t find as many here, but I took this one from our fourth floor window – I had to use Tricia’s camera…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday – September 30, 2025


For sixty-three years I’ve ground myself within this karmic mortar. Yesterday I washed it out and put it high on the pantry shelf. From Braided Creek, by Ted Kooser and Jim Harrison In art, and in life, we have plenty of past to beat ourselves up over – the hardest person to forgive and accept…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – for those who feel unartistic.


If you feel like you just aren’t artistic try just capturing the color of the moment. Years ago I started my “Yes! You can travelsketch!” workshops because so many people told me they were just not artistic, many who came found actually they could travelsketch. The purpose of travelsketching is to do something other than…

This week in The Pearl – September 19, 2025


Sorting through photos is one of the best ways to get pulled in a multitude of directions as old memories of places, people, and pets derail our thinking; in good ways for the most part. This week I was drawn again to some differences between France, Europe, and the US. Often these differences are subtle,…

This week in The Pearl – September 12, 2025


This week was quite different from our time in Colorado. We are back in The Pearl planning, of course, for our future excursions, bien sur – we have three in the works. However this week has been about friends and family – as well as some long anticipated medical stuff for Tricia.  Alexis and Joe…