Catching up...and enjoying the journey.

Wow..July FLEW by! Things have been super busy and I've been on the go, August promises even more of the same...so for day to day updates, you are always welcome to visit or join my Facebook ALF Studio Fan Page. I've been trying to live a more balanced life this summer which means not working ALL the time which has been my m.o. for about as long as I can remember. This means getting home from the studio at a reasonable hour on the nights that Rich has free, committing Sundays to our tandem bike excursions on weekends that I don't have art fairs, visiting and catching up with friends, just doing what is most necessary in the studio, no more 'super anne'...why has it taken me so long to learn that I'm never going to get to the end of my to do list, and that any goal I reach will only be replace with another? There truly is no destination, so it's time to focus on the journey. If I ever get brave enough to get a tattoo this would probably be a good theme to work with. I've been here before and always get side tracked...no more...time to start living in the present (feel free to remind me!). 

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks...

Top one: Sparta - Elroy Bike Trail...Rich and I took a beautiful ride to Wilton on the 4th of July, the tunnels were even better than I remember (Sparta is the town that I grew up in). Made some fun new little paintings for the Geneva Art Fair. 

This is Gracie...the daughter of a very dear client, at the Geneva Art Festival.

Driving back to the city after the show...there was a beautiful full moon...

My good friend Laura Nugent stayed a few days after the art fair...it was great fun and we really enjoyed the Reverend Howard Finster Show at the Cultural Center, very inspiring! You should definitely check this out if you are a folk art fan.
Laura's toe nails are the same color as the wall she is standing in front of!
I'm happy to report that Alice
seems to be getting back to her silly self...the last 2 months without
Izzy have been hard on her. We've had a lot going on while Alice's
schedule has not been so exciting. Hoping to find her a foster pal in
the fall when all the show hoopla is over.I just re-hung my windows (long overdue!) for this weekend's Retro on Roscoe...I will actually be in Minneapolis for the Uptown Art Fairbut Amanda and Match will be here if you are out and about and want to stop in!

Anne's not in Kansas anymore...

I'm back in Chicago after a wonderful trip to the Kansas City area for the Brookside Art Fair. The trip was good on all fronts, I did this one on my own and was inspired by my drive through the beautiful rolling hills of Iowa farmland, got to spend the weekend with my good friend Laura Nugent, reconnected with artists and customers I had not seen in awhile and met so many new ones. Left lots of Anne's art in Kansas City including the Beautiful Bald Headed Man below. I'm here this weekend then hit the road again next week for the Broad Ripple Art Fair in Indianapolis. Busy is good...trying to stress less this year and just enjoy the journey that I am so fortunate to be on... Beautiful, bald new collector!High school pal, Therese and her daughter Cody, who live MO came by to say hello... Laura and Deacon...he was waiting anxiously by the door for us every night.  My booth all lit up...we set up our tents under bigger one so we had electricity. Wish my paintings showed this way at all art fairs!
Art fair peeps...Heinrich Toh, whose wife Cheryl was in the show, Anthony Pack, Laura Nugent and Andrew Johnson. How many artists does it take to... Crossing the mighty Mississippi, on the way there and then back via a detour through Moline...I grew up swimming in this river much further north in the LaCrosse area, it's the place of some of my favorite childhood memories.