I have learned that as an artist, if you take commissions you have to be ready for an adventure along the way. And sometimes the adventure is epic, spanning a much longer timeline than you could ever imagine. Two years ago, in the spring of 2022, a man who lives in my community in Florida told me

Bruce and I at the Chagras National Park near Panama City, Panama. When I travel I usually bring a sketchbook and try to spend time trying to capture the feel of the place. It serves as a journal, reminding me later of special times in a more personal way. Before leaving on my last big trip I took

Laura Daluga AFID and Brian Skol, Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester, Michigan I have been surrounding myself with beautiful blooms as I work away at a series of paintings featuring orchids and post one botanical photo each day on my Facebook page. In line with this, I took a “floral

Laurie Tennant with the Belle Isle Conservatory in the background On an overcast Sunday morning a few weeks ago, I crossed the MacArthur bridge over the Detroit River to Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. I found my way to the glass-domed Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory and met up with a small

The Alchemist’s Garden, oil on linen canvas, 60″ W x 48″ H I have now had a second home in southeast Florida for nearly 3 years. What I notice in creating my living space there is that the heavier, darker, more traditional décor feels “wrong” in Florida, for lack of a better

As a child, before a predicted winter storm I would go to bed with visions of playing in deep blankets of snow and the excitement of staying home from school the next day. The so-called “snow day” was a longed-after respite from the drudgery of the school year. At least once per year the dream