Our Creativity Needs To Keep Filling The World!

Imaginative characters, a dose of bold colors, Inspirational nudges, and a big hi to you all!

Feb 01, 2026

Let’s take a deep breath and step away from everything for a few minutes of color and creative escapism.

My magic wand of color, inspiration, and a tidbit of storytelling swirls in anticipation!

Let’s take a walk together where my magical cloud rocks are found. I love to begin these special days by taking the long hike. The high loop of the trail lifts you upward, making you feel like a bird. The wind and salt air kiss your face, and the view takes your breath away!

Switchbacking down, you end up on this wondrous beach where our treasure hunt begins. Thank you for joining me here! Let me show you a quick video.

Walking and picking up the cloud rock gems is a pastime that melts the hours away. There is about 2.5 miles of beach to cover with constant looking once you’re down from the high trail before you arrive back at your car.

Recently, I had the great joy of bringing my mom to Ebey’s Landing to experience it and find some cloud rocks together. She was delighted, and I treasured every moment!

Let’s explore what happens next when I get back to the studio with these cloud rocks.

Here’s a sketchbook page that shows how I doodle up ideas in pencil.

After doodling the ideas above, I took a photo and opened it in Procreate on my iPadPro to add some color.

Sometimes, one cloud rock will be filled with numerous characters! This was the best one yet, and every way I turned it in my hand, a new idea appeared. I used watercolors and then added pencil line-work to define the characters.

Please hang in here for a bit more cloud rock sharing. The video demo below shows the sketching and coloring process for a cloud rock sketchbook page.

Holly Surplice offers these wonderful live-animal life-drawing sessions, with assistance from Hannah Camarra. They are both amazing illustrators! Each month the theme is different. January 2026 was “Multi-Colour” and filled with fabulous photos and live videos! Each session is inspiring, relaxed, and very welcoming to people of all skill levels. The sketch time was two to eight minutes per photo/video in this session, which taught me to focus on the overall image rather than getting hung up on the details. The iguana shows this the best above. You can use any type of art materials, even a pencil and copy paper.

February’s theme is a brand new series, “The Doggy ABC,” and begins on the 4th. I highly recommend you sign up and give one a try.

My imagination is always finding characters to share with the world, everywhere and in unexpected places. Look what happened when I sat down to get ready to take my daily walk. I took a close-up photo to show you the tracked-in leaves and little chunks of outdoor stuff from the day before lying on the floor beneath me (that weird pattern at the bottom is the doormat). Keep scrolling to check out what art was made.

Sketchbook Doodling Offers Unexpected Fun!

Sometimes, the best inspiration for an idea is right under your nose, happily looking up from the table.

Gnome Escapism

While looking back at my favorite photos from last year, I found this one, taken on one of my daily walks, from a high walkway that crosses a deep ravine. The high branch disappeared recently, along with the swinging gnome, so I treasure this photo even more now.

Stellar Jay Sunrise

We have been feeding generations of Stellar Jays as we have lived in our house for 15 years. I love to imagine the day’s activities being contemplated by each one of these beauties as the sun rises. The interaction with these wondrous birds brings continuous joy.

Cloud Wings

Whenever I see this type of cloud, it carries me away to the thought of flying. If I could reach up and put on a pair of beautiful wings, where would I like to go? Flying dreams are a rarity for me, but a joy when they come along. Do you ever dream of flying when you sleep?

Let 2026 be a year to share our kindness, thoughtfulness, hope, courage, and strength with each other. I appreciate every one of you reading this newsletter!