Wise words. If taken to heart you will see countless things to draw and paint, and while you draw or paint, you will develop a reverence for the ordinary.
Drawing and Painting Classes This Month
Drawing is an essential skill for most visual artists. It doesn’t matter what medium you ultimately choose to work in; oil, watercolor, pastel….your painting has to have good bones to be successful. My Drawing Fundamentals class will put you on the right path.
Starts February 21 at Columbus State University.
Watercolor Crash Course! is your opportunity to experiment with the medium without making a big commitment of time or spending a lot on supplies. All of the tools and materials are included in the class fee, painting demonstrations walk the class step-by-step through the entire painting process and you will receive plenty of personal, one-on-one instruction, too. Come to Auburn University on February 18 for my four hour class. We will be painting the Viceroy Butterfly.

Subject: Viceroy Butterfly
Happy New Year.
Every new year brings a bevy of intentions to the table. My birthday is New Year’s day so I’ve always associated my birthday with a time of renewal and reflection. I consider Old Lang Syne to be my birthday song. This year I want to spend more time in my studio, painting, drawing, writing, all the things that fill me up with hope and contentment and help me bring my best self to every situation.
Adding this new painting to myScape series
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Brenda’s video …..
My husband, Kenny Gray, shot this video with his iPhone and edited it in Photoshop. I wrote my dialog and voice over. We love collaborating and think you will enjoy watching this video about my watercolor and drawing classes at Columbus State University.
Calm Yourself
Cat Brier in Hadden Woods When I paint a leaf I notice every vein, every worm hole, every soft color. I would not notice these details in a glance. Observation is a meditative practice, a skill that can be learned. Enhance your life by changing the way you see the world around you. Spider Lily
This is a photograph of Spider Lilies on Flat Shoals Creek. I’m inspired by their story, a story of the interdependent web of all existence. Their survival depends on rushing water. They die in still water. When the dams at Columbus were torn out and the water began rushing over the rocks again, they came back.
Drawing Crash Course is full.
I’m very happy to report Drawing Crash Course! at Auburn on Saturday is over-full. 
Auburn will offer my Watercolor Crash Course! on June 25th. The subject that day is the Plumleaf Azalea, Callaway Gardens’ signature flower. 
Time to Register for Upcoming Classes
Not every student desires to become an artist, but they all seek a connection to their environment, and perhaps to themselves. Come to the Drawing Crash Course! Saturday May 07, at Auburn,University and learn how to see. 
New painting: The Longleaf Forest
The Longleaf Forest was inspired by the forest on my father’s land where I loved to roam when I was a girl. I’ve recently learned about the great Longleaf forests that once covered the southeastern United States and the fascinating story of the Longleaf Ecosystem. I thought my ancestors were pyromaniacs, but it turns out they knew what they were doing when they “burned”.