Finally almost caught up!

I usually don't book anything for the month of May because I am so busy getting ready for the annual studio tour and my Spring schedule is so tight with plein air competitions and teaching workshops that by the end of May I need to take a few days off to rest. This year, I took on an extra assignment, which was testing and reviewing several of the Hahnemuehle watercolor papers for a series of articles on ArtistsNetwork.com. When asked, I quickly repied "yes!" I was aware of how big a job it could be! Hahnemuehle sent a huge package of papers for me try. HUGE! Inside the box were six packages of full size 140 pound sheets of the Cezanne line and the Harmony line of the paper. Each package had 10 sheets, and there was Cold Pressed, Hot Pressed, and Rough versions of each line. So, 6 different surfaces of the sheets. Then, there were also several watercolor blocks containing different surfaces and weights available in the Cezanne, Harmony, and Leonardo lines! All in all, it was over a dozen different products to paint and review. I was overwhelmed! I just now finished up my reviews and turned them in, and the first one of them is published. Check out my review -- The Best Paper for Watercolor from the Perspective of an Actual Artist on ArtistNetwork.com.

In other news, Antiques Roadshow is coming to Winterthur next week, and I've got tickets! I'm taking a storyboard that I bought at a swap meet about 20 years ago, when I lived on Guam. The story board depicts people paying a dowry with money wheels, which are large donut shaped stones that can weigh a ton or more. Money wheels were part of the ancient culture of the Micronesian islands, Yap in particular. Brian is bringing pottery shards and silver that he found on the beach when he was stationed at Virgin Islands National Park after a storm. We are allowed to bring two items per person, and we haven't yet decided what else we will take. This will be our second time going to the Roadshow. We have always been fans since the first episode, and in the first season we went to the Roadshow in San Francisco (we lived in California a the time). That was when they were first starting out, and they didn't do tickets. We got in line before the sun came up and waited for nearly half the day. Now the tickets are assigned in advance, and they are timed to move people through more efficiently. I'll let you know how it goes!