Found inspiration out west

I have been a bit absent due to taking the most amazing vacation I have ever taken. We journeyed west. Packed the car and the kids and hit the road. We had a few locations where we definitely wanted to go, like, the Badlands, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. The rest we made up as we went along. BEST...TRIP...EVER!

I am so inspired now and am cleaning/reorganizing the studio and trying to get back to work. Surprisingly though, I am actually having trouble. It is a bit of a downer coming home after seeing all of the wonderful things we saw. It is a part of my personality that I can't help. Yes, I am an artist but I am so much more and this trip fed my soul in other ways. I was in nature, saw how absolutely breathtaking our country is, saw the beauty of nature, the plight of man, the height of mountains, the ever changing color of our earth.

Most of all I saw my family...happy. Not that we weren't happy before but just living in the moment and enjoying each moment. It was like time was slow and fast at the same time.

The art along the way was fun and fantastic. Here is a smattering of art we saw along the way.

Abraham Lincoln at this grave site in Springfield, Illinois.

So many cool sculptures of Lincoln that I see me sculpting him in the near future.

Mt. Rushmore...as if you didn't know.

The mockup for Mt. Rushmore. Love this so much!

Chainsaw artist in Keystone.

Chainsaw artist in Keystone.

Deadwood. Tatanka, the Story of the Bison brought to you by Kevin Costner.

The Tatanka sculpture...Buffalo Drop. Amazing!

Devil's Tower

Natural Sculptures of Arches National Park

Arches National Park

Mexican Hat in Monument Valley

Twin Rocks on our way to Monument Valley

Mesa Verde National Park Pueblos

And let's not forget the animals!

After all of that I feel like...

So for now, I will leave you with one of my favorite highlights...