for many years my routine has been to take my journal to a coffee shop

at the crack of dawn and write or draw.  for christmas a friend gave me two pounds of coffee

sustainably grown and songbird friendly called birds and beans, the good coffee.  the 

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center seal  certifies that it is shade coffee.  i knew

nothing about this before i received the gift but i discovered that the coffee is 

delicious.  now my whole mornings have changed and i make a cup of coffee and

write at home.   it's actually very cozy and i don't have to change from my pjs.

the eiffel tower is a memento from a themed dinner in paris themed party.

i thought it went well with my coffee cup and french press. 

an earlier journal page

and more citrasolve experiments

in this portrait i took out some of the ink from the page

and added inks and oil pastels, sanded it and added more ink.

this page started off lighter than many of the pages.  i used a acrylic and matt medium 

mixture to paint.  also a little ink for the eyes.  i will continue to explore

with this medium and decide whether it would be a good presentation 

for my group.

view from the manhattan beach pier.  can you believe it's winter?

the hill in the distance is where i live.

welcoming in the new year with 

my first paint party friday post.  

XO