Kathleen Dunphy Workshop

Well, I can sum up the entire workshop in one word, Fantastic! I arrived back home last night and went out painting today, but let me back up a bit.
I traveled to Murphys California over two days by car with an overnight stop at Ashland, OR.
I arrived the day before the workshop started and met several of my new classmates for dinner in Murphys to get a chance to get acquainted. We arrive at our classroom in Douglas Flats, just down the road from Murphys, which was literally an old school house. A charming old school house complete with bell.

Douglas Flat School

The first morning was spent eagerly soaking up instruction from Kathleen. She had good handouts for all of us and, after lunch, she turned us loose to paint. It was very hot the first day and not just for this Pacific Northwest coastal painter.
Kathleen's approach to starting a painting, brush size, limited palette, brush work, and paint application are different than mine. From the very first, I decided to leave behind what little I know for now and embrace what she teaches. I plan to keep working in this way until I become competent with the method and can then decide what to keep and what to let go.
Well, some of you know that means I make a huge mess and take about ten giant steps back in proficiency. I decided to start from the beginning and work on just starting.
Here is my day one painting and start.

Day 1 study, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel

As you can see, I didn't get very far. I gained a tiny toe hold with this one though.
On to day two!
We met an hour earlier, 8:00 am, to beat the heat a bit. The day wasn't quite as hot as the previous one but no one seemed to mind getting an early start. This one started with a Q and A and additional talk to fill in all the odds and ends of information. We headed out to the road to watch Kathleen paint a demo for us demonstrating all that she was talking about. She painted what is known as the "Italian Store."
Here is a picture of this interesting building:

The Italian Store, Douglas Flats, CA

It is always good to see a demonstration of the principles given in a lecture. After the demo, I had a quick bite to eat and joined my classmates out in the surrounding area to paint. I found a spot I liked around the back to paint. Here is the first Day 2 study:

Day 2 study: Back wall of The Italian Store, 8"x10", oil on linen panel

Here is something I don't have to worry about here at the beach!

We didn't encounter any but did sign a waiver stating that we had been warned and were responsible for not provoking any rattlers we found!
Late afternoon we had a choice of continuing to paint on our study for the day or to go paint at a local winery down the road. Most of us chose to go to the winery. Twisted Oak winery to be exact. The winding road up to the wine tasting room was peppered with humorous signs that made me burst out laughing each time I encountered one. I don't want to add to the length of this post too much but here was the final sign, which seemed appropriate:

Twisted Oaks Winery

Twisted Oaks welcoming committee

The picture above is of the welcoming committee at the entrance and a view of the area.
We only had about two hours to paint before we had to leave as the winery closed at 5:30. I decided to visit the gift shop, do a quick wine tasting, and then paint at the entrance in front of the gate. Now, I must say here, when I say quick wine tasting I mean it. No swirling of the glass, loud sniffing of the fumes, witty comments, etc. I literally took a tiny sip and dumped the excess and moved on. I am sure the young woman behind the counter serving the tasting wine looked a bit bemused. I didn't want to have the wine interfere with my painting. Drinking and painting is not a pretty sight to behold! I quickly made my wine selection, bought a few gifts, and went to my chosen spot. A couple of classmates and I spent a few hours painting and reluctantly put down the brushes about 7 p.m.  Day two was a long day, working from 8am to 7pm. I went back to my hotel room tired, hungry, and very happy to be at at the workshop. Here is the second study I painted on day two.

Day 2: Twisted Oaks Winery Study 6"x8", oil on canvas panel

Our final day arrived alarmingly fast. We all met up at Ironstone Vineyards at 9:00 am. Well, some of us were there a bit earlier. I forgot we were meeting at 9 instead of 8 am, but that was just fine. It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed exploring the area. It turned out that I wasn't the only one!
Kathleen painted another demo for us to explain painting reflections in water. We all fell to work as time was short.

Painting at the pond at Ironstone Vineyards

The day was cooler still but nicely warm for me. It felt wonderful. Here is my final workshop study:

Day 3: The pond at Ironstone Vineyards, 8"x10", oil on linen panel

There wasn't much time, only about an hour and a half but my starts were getting quicker and I was able to get in a bit more detail, if you could call it that.
We all gathered and caravaned up to Kathleen's studio to have a final critique and wrap up talk. Murphys is a beautiful place and Kathleen's studio is a pleasure to visit. We had our critique surrounded by many of her beautiful paintings.

The workshop went so fast and left me wanting more. I felt like I was just getting warmed up!
Now I have to add a little note here. My sharing of my work process is hopefully neither narcissistic or masochistic. I share the good, the bad, and the ugly in an attempt to show what goes into building art skills, and to possibly encourage others who may be struggling too.

Kathleen gave us many wonderful quotes throughout the workshop. One of my favorites was from Barbara Kingsolver, who is a favorite author of mine too. Barbara would tell and encourage her children with the following: "You can do hard things".  Painting isn't easy and it helps to tell oneself "I can do hard things" when faced with the frustration, which Kathleen assures us is the constant companion of most artists. If anyone is considering taking a workshop with Kathleen Dunphy, I highly recommend it. Her teaching style fit my learning style perfectly. She is warm, smart, funny, and encouraging. I will probably take one more workshop from her, the "No whiners" 5-day workshop. I will have about a year to continue to build my skills and get out to paint before that one.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, I went out painting today and went through the same process. It was sunny but windy. It was too windy to put an easel umbrella up so I painted in the sunshine. My painting is too dark and too intense but I did go through the process and am able to get a tiny bit more. In spite of my two layers of fleece and a marine coat, I was shivering by the end and the wind gusts kept blowing my hand around as I would try to paint. I got a good two hours plus in. Here is the study. I painted at Hug Point as there was a minus tide today. I can see plenty to tweak as well as finish. That square of sky for one!

Hug Point Plein Air Study, 8"x10", oil on linen panel

Alas, I work the next few days. However, I had plenty of time to think and plan on my drive home. I know what I want to achieve and what it will take. I have a lot of work cut out for me but I wouldn't want to do anything else.
This will be a fun post to revisit in a year!

-Renee

Warm weather and Workshop!

I am a bit behind in posting this. We had a few days of beautiful warm weather on the coast and I took advantage of every moment as seen in my previous post. I went out one more day but the marine inversion layer had returned with a serious mizzle. I did get a painting in nonetheless. I went up to Arcadia State Park, with is the next cove over from Hug Point.
I am still working on a new painting process so here is a picture of my start and my finish.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Color Block-In, Arcadia State Park

The first picture is the color block in. Just getting the shapes and approximate colors on the canvas. This step goes fairly fast but I still strive for accuracy. The picture below is when I broke the painting session off due to excess moisture! It was fairly close to finish. I would have added a bit more to the sky and sandy beach to give variety and a few touches here and there. This was a two hour study.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Arcadia State Park, WIP

Since this was a fairly simple composition, I painted a lot more detail than I usually do. Alas I realized too late that there was a bare mast of a tree at the top of the large hill. I stuck it in anyway even though it went off the canvas to remind me. Next time I would work it in better.
Here is a lovely picture of the area that I took before I got to work and the mist closed in.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Arcadia State Park, OR

A quick note here, I do have an easel umbrella but I rarely use it. It does not hold up at all well in our coastal winds which can shift and come up rather suddenly and blow everything away. Rain here rarely falls straight down. It is usually going sideways into one's face. Mist and mizzle swirls around getting everywhere. Umbrellas don't work well under those conditions. I have found it most useful on sunny warm calm days, which are quite rare here as sunshine usually brings strong wind.

Finally, I am off in a couple days to go to a workshop taught by Kathleen Dunphy! I have mentioned it before and the time is almost here. I am excited! I will be driving down to California, breaking it into two days travel each way. I will only have my phone to post with but I will try to get a quick post or two in with a nice recap when I get back home.
I will be painting around the town of Murphys CA which has a dramatically different climate than what I am accustomed to. I have done all I can to prepare with sunscreen, clothing, and hydration plans. Stay tuned for journey posts!

-Renee

Making Paintings While the Sun Shines

We are having a heat wave here on the Northern Oregon Coast. I went out all day yesterday and today and painted. It feels so good to be out painting and to be out painting in warm sunshine is amazing! The temps have been in the low 80's, which for us is quite warm. The timing is perfect for me to try out my warm weather paint clothes and sunscreen before heading to California in 2 weeks for my workshop with Kathleen Dunphy.
So, to get right to it, yesterday I drove five minutes up the road to Devil's Caldron. The same spot I spent my birthday watching huge waves crash against the cliffs. The waves were a lot calmer yesterday. Here is the study I did in the morning:

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Devil's Cauldron morning study, 6"x8", oil on canvas

And here is the study I painted in the afternoon,

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Devil's Cauldron afternoon study, 8"x10",  oil on canvas.

When I first arrived, the wind was blowing fairly strong from the east and was quite warm. Finding a spot was challenging but I did find one somewhat sheltered from the wind and got to work. I decided to stay put and paint the second study on a larger canvas. This was the first time I tried an 8"x10" study. As you can see from the two studies, the shadows change dramatically as the sun moves through the sky. Often the sea rocks look completely different throughout the day.
I have been doing a lot of studying of art books and am trying out several of the ideas I have learned in these and today's studies. As it always is when trying something new, there is a slight step back in quality. Overall, I am quite pleased as I learned a lot while painting these even if areas of the painting are not as satisfying as I would like.
Here is a shot of my set-up spot as I was cleaning my palette after the first painting:

Painting at Devil's Cauldron

A note here, I don't wear sunglasses when I am painting but I do put them on the instant I am finished or when taking a break. I grew up in the sunshine on the west coast. My eyes will most likely will pay for that in the future. I hope to cut down on any future damage.
On to today's paintings! I went up to Ecola State Park where the tide was out but coming in. Due to the number of people on the beach and the tide, I didn't have as many possible views to paint as I would have liked. In other words, I only had 1000, instead of the usual 5000 views! I ended up finding a good rock to toss my things on and painted this rock, which I have painted before. I guess I like its shape and the wave action.

© 2014, R.L. Delight, Ecola State Park study, 6"x8", oil on canvas

 Again, I am concentrating on specific techniques here. In all of these studies I have been starting with a full color mass-in start. I get the canvas covered completely with a thin layer of color that looks sort of like the finished painting and then I go over it with thicker paint. Getting my paint a bit thicker is another one of those techniques I am working on. While I go through a period of frustration and even anxiety as I am trying the new techniques out, I am enjoying myself tremendously. I am making a lot of discoveries that I like.
That said, this afternoon did not go so well. I went back to Short Sands Beach as the tide was coming in almost to its highest point and painted a familiar area:

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Short Sands Study, 8"x10", oil on canvas

First of all, there is a lot of detail I am trying to capture here. Probably too much detail but I just love this spot for many reasons. I will keep painting and sketching it until I can get it down as I want it! In addition to trying all the new techniques, the light and shadows were changing very fast and very dramatically. I was pretty tired at this point and my mind did not want to hold the memory of what I was painting very well. My visual memory is getting better all the time but I realized I had reached a point where I was getting confused and starting to chase the light a bit. That told me it was time to stop. The ocean in the foreground was crudely blocked in while I was trying to get the waterfall and surrounding cliff.
I am not sure if I will continue to work on this study or toss it and try a new one. The bright sunlight is challenging when one is not used to it! I have managed to not get sunburned while standing out in the sun for so many hours. The sunscreen works as does the sunblock clothing.
I am quite tired from painting and will wrap this up.
The weather may be changing tomorrow but I think I will be able to get another good day of painting in. Saturday I am playing in a concert with my band, The Sedona Fire Band, with a sound-check call for 3:30. An awkward time of day, so I plan to take my new sketchbook for a spin.
More posts to follow!
-Renee

Spring Storms and Vegan Art Supplies

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Devil's Cauldron on the Northern Oregon Coast

One of my favorite ways to celebrate a birthday is spending time with my mate playing out in nature. We drove about 5 minutes up Hwy 101, parked and bushwacked on an old elk trail through neck-high Salmon Berry bushes and over-the-head Salal to reach this viewpoint. The picture isn't the best quality as I took it with my phone. One has to be very careful around this area as there are no fences and the cliffs are high. There would be a long time to scream on the way down before plunging into the sea.

There was a high surf warning out and for good reason, the waves were at least 20 feet high on this day and rather violent. I stayed off the beach during this time. To be honest, it wasn't because I was worried about staying safe. I have a lifetime of experience around the ocean, as well as a deep respect, and am very careful. I knew that there would be people not paying attention on the beaches that weekend and I just couldn't watch. Sure enough, I am still hearing stories, some frightening, and sadly, a few tragic.

We have had several stormy spring days and I was not able to get out to paint. The winds were fierce at times, with hail and torrential rain. Not a good time to be out painting. I know from personal experience how much that hail hurts and there is nowhere to hide! I spent the time doing some much needed cleaning and organizing so I can be ready for the next stretch of good weather. I have also been studying the book I mentioned in my last post. This week should be a good week to get out and paint. I can't wait!

I do get out and walk on the beach in all weather. There has been a lot of debris washed ashore from the recent storms. This is a plastic pallet, heavy and home to much sea life. The next day it was resting in one of the runoff creeks. I found a bit of rope and was able to pull it higher up the beach so that hopefully it can be picked up and disposed of rather than washing back out to sea.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, plastic debris after the storms.

There has been a lot of plastic and glass bottles, foam and plastic fishing floats, shoe soles, light bulbs from ships, and many other man-made items washed ashore. The birds have been enjoying eating the sea life that is often attached to these objects.

I have all my supplies in hand for an upcoming workshop I will be taking with Kathleen Dunphy. I am very excited about the workshop! I will be posting about it so keep an eye on this blog. The workshop is in the middle of May, which will be here soon.

I have mentioned before how much I enjoy and learn from the wonderful podcasts at Artists Helping Artists. I recently listened to an interview with the artist Iain Stewart. He mentioned a certain brand of sketchbook he likes to use. I am always looking for good sketchbooks that don't use animal products. A lot of papers for artists use gelatin to size the paper. He mentioned these sketchbooks by Stillman and Birn:

Stillman and Birn Sketchbooks, Alpha Series

Iain gave such and enthusiastic endorsement I decided to check them out. I contacted the company by email asking if they used animal products in their papers. I received an e-mail within minutes of sending my inquiry even though it was evening! Viktor from Stillman and Birns told me that I was the third request for such information and fortunately he had an immediate answer for me. He had contacted the mill and they replied that they do not use animal products in their process.

Needless to say, I ordered two new sketchbooks from Daniel Smith and they came today. It hasn't even been a whole week since I listened to that interview! The sketchbooks are well made. I got the lightest weight paper as I usually use graphite with a light wash with a Niji pen when I sketch. I will be trying them out this week if the sunny weather forecast holds true.
It is always a pleasure to be able to add a new resource to my list of vegan art supplies. I have free samples of the various weights of papers coming too.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates as promised. Check back soon for updates on the sketchbook and painting!

-Renee

Rogue Wave!

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Painting at Short Sands

I am very careful choosing a spot when setting up to paint next to the ocean. I never paint with my back to the sea and I am pretty good, that is experienced, at judging the tide line and allowing for sneaker waves. I always check the tide tables, in fact, one of the saving graces of a smart phone is that I have tide charts and surf reports at my fingertips on the spot.
All that said, sometimes the unpredictable happens, even when allowed for! The tide was way out when I arrived at Short Sands Beach yesterday morning. The day was beautiful, and there were only three other people on the vast beach, no surfers in sight. I decided to take the opportunity to paint the waterfall from a closer vantage point. A slightly divergent note here, the beach is never the same from day to day. The sand shifts and new rocks are exposed. I hardly recognized the area on this morning. Here is what it looked like when I set up:

 © 2014 R.L. Delight, Painting at Short Sands

I circled my easel in red to make it easier to see. Scale is always challenging to show in these pictures. The cliffs and rocks are huge. The waterfall is also quite large. I have to stay back a ways to be able to take the whole thing in at one glance. I was set up on the ocean side of the long rock in front of the easel. I usually find a nearby place up high to put my gear but there wasn't one close enough. The rocks were covered with sea life so I didn't want to put my gear on them and squish them. I rested my pack, easel umbrella, shoes, and panel carrier on the sand next to the rock. I carry my good Bogs boots in on the hike in and change into them once I am on the beach. There are creeks to cross on the hike up the beach.
I figured I had about two hours to paint before I had to move due to the incoming tide. I actually figured right but was not able to take into account the erratic waves on this day. I have been watching when seemingly regular small waves suddenly build and become large, violent, and erratic. It can happen from one moment to the next. Incoming storms can affect the waves a couple of days before making landfall.
So there I was, an hour into painting my study. There were two families with small children exploring the waterfall and caves around me when suddenly I sensed a sneaker wave approaching. I was about to grab my gear when I saw a little boy who was closer to the breakers get swept off his feet and pushed against the rocks. I started to run to him but his father also saw him and leaped to his rescue. I just had time to turn back to grab my pack and easel umbrella and toss them up on the rock. My shoes started to float. I grabbed one but the other went around one side of the rock, while my wet panel carrier floated around the other side. The carrier is made of corrugated plastic and I hadn't painted on the panels stored in it yet so no damage was done other than being damp and a bit sandy.
People around me were squealing and shrieking but no one was hurt and my easel held in the 8" or so deep water. I didn't even get wet but my shoes were soaked. Here is part of what makes it tricky to predict:

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Painting at Short Sands

The rock on the upper left of the picture is where I was painting a few moments before I took this picture. This area of the beach is particularly tricky for surfers due to the rocks and the way the waves bounce off the cliffs and funnels onto the beach. The channels increase the speed and force of the water.
Needless to say, I broke off my painting, grabbed my gear, and moved up to higher ground to dry off and pack up. Unfortunately I had to go. I wished I had packed a lunch and rearranged my afternoon plans as it would have been the perfect day to stay all day and paint!
Here is the study, an hour into it. I was just about to put in the foreground rocks then start adjusting the values of the surrounding rock and greenery.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Short Sands waterfall study, one hour, 6"x8", oil on canvas.

I will be painting several more studies of this area of the beach. As I have said before, I could spend a lifetime painting here. I haven't even scratched the surface of areas to paint on this one beach. I would need several posts to show in pictures the whole beach too.
On a final note, April is my birthday month and I bought myself a present which arrived yesterday. More adventures in painting to come!

Alla Prima II by Richard Schmid. Can't wait to get my teeth into this one!

Hope everyone stays safe and warm!

-Renee

Two Studies

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Wave Study #74, 6"x8", oil on canvas

I have been so busy lately with music and family that I have not had a chance to post my latest studies. Above is Wave Study #74 painted at my usual spot at the foot of Neahkahnie Mountain. The sun has been visiting off and on here on the Oregon Coast. I have been playing with mixing different colors and trying a few different ways to handle the brush.
The next study is a coastal landscape study done at Short Sands Beach today. You could not ask for a more perfect day. It was a balmy-for-here 72 degrees, light winds, sunshine, and warm, warm, warm. It felt delicious! Being a Sunday and all, Shorty was pretty crowded with surfers and visitors. I rather like the surfing crowd at Short Sands. They seem to be a cheerful lot, probably because they are doing something they love. There are always a lot of dogs running around and it gives the spot a friendly festival feeling. The beauty of the area is superb as well.
Here is my study from today.

© 2014 R.L. Delight, Short Sands Study-North, 6"x8", oil on canvas

This one did not exactly go smoothly. I was again trying different approaches and color mixing so it was a bit of a struggle getting this one to where I was somewhat satisfied. This is very much a study so I will leave it at that. I have decided to do many studies of this waterfall at the north end of the beach. I would like to eventually do a larger studio painting of this area based on my studies.
Here are a few pictures that do poor justice to the beauty of this beach. I think you all might understand why I can't resist painting here. It is a short 5 minute drive from my house. I could spend a lifetime painting within a ten mile radius of where I live. Lucky me!

Short Sands Beach. You can see my painting easel toward the left at the base of the diagonal rocks. 

My office. Truly a perfect day in paradise.

There were many surfers today. View looking south toward my town.

A final view of my office.

I am working hard and will be posting more soon!
-Renee

Crafting a CD Album Cover

Recording with me and my 5-string electric Cherry cello

Life is funny. I am on a journey that I would have never even imagined or purposefully created if I had even thought to try. I am going to tell the full story here so pull up a chair and a good cup of tea, or beverage of choice, and read on. 
When I was almost nine years old, I wanted to play the banjo. I was entranced by Roy Clark's mastery of the instrument. He was a fantastic musician, in spite of the goofing around on TV. My wonderful, supportive parents did their best to locate a banjo and lessons for me. The local guitar making shop told them I should learn the guitar first (ha!) and sold them a small classical guitar. I got that guitar and lessons for my birthday. I accepted that I had to learn to play the guitar first. As an adult, I suspect the shop wanted to sell my folks a guitar. So I learned to play the classical guitar. I will admit, my heart was never in it. I never did learn to play the banjo and I played a final performance with my guitar in a community musical at the age of 24 and then hung it up for good.

My wonderful mate, Bob, plays the trumpet and cornet (which looks a lot like a trumpet) and has played since he was nine years old. He is quite good now since he has never stopped playing. In my late thirties, I got the itch to play music again. Maybe it was all the concerts I attended to watch my mate play. This time, I got to pick my own instrument to learn. I fell in love with the cello and with the support of my husband, got a rental and lessons.
The cello is not the easiest instrument to learn to play, let alone play, specially as an adult. My love of the instrument kept me going even though I wasn't sure exactly how and where I wanted to go with it.
Life shifted, as it has a way of doing, and I had to put the cello down for a few years. We made a major life change, sold our house, moved to Oregon, went to art school, and ended up here in this wonderful coastal community entirely unexpectedly.
The winters here are long, dark, and stormy. After the tourist season, this artistic community gets busy. There are always concerts, music, readings, writings, and volunteer opportunities to be had and there is plenty of time to practice an instrument. I decided to pull my cello out again and we started going to a local jam session. There we met Sedona and Michael in their musical capacity, then working as Sedona Fire. They are both very accomplished musicians and songwriters. They liked Bob's playing and asked him to join up with them as they were expanding their band. Now, I am going to be honest here, I had just picked up the cello again and was more or less back to beginning level. In spite of that, out of politeness or kindness, they included me in the invitation. I know they had no idea how I was going to fit in and neither did I but I was willing to work hard to find out!

Gradually, and ever so painfully, my cello skills have improved ( I still have along way to go). I have Bob to thank for that as I am doing this all on my own and lessons are a luxury that I can't afford at this time. It isn't always easy working with a spouse who doesn't play the same instrument or even one in the same family. My mate knows his music though and is a published composer himself. He and his skills have been a tremendous help and inspiration.

To wrap this all up, and get to the art stuff, two years later I suddenly find myself participating in the recording of a new CD for our band AND painting the CD cover as well as designing the whole package! Like I said, I would have never even envisioned this let alone expect this to happen. Life can be good that way. I should also mention that I will soon be 52. I have to say life after 50 is grand and one should never believe they are too old to start something new!

So, here is the brief evolution of creating the CD cover. As I have mentioned many times, I paint from life, plein air studies, and visual memory. This project required some imagination too. First I sketched out a few designs and did a bit of research on album covers. My first design was way too complex so I changed and simplified it. Once the design was decided I set up what amounts to a still life for part of it. The final painting incorporates symbols that represent several of the songs. Here is what the set-up looks like:

Pages of the Mind album set up.

Although I thought I documented the steps of the painting, apparently I didn't do it as well as I would have liked. I was under a deadline on top of spending many late nights recording or rehearsing. So here is the almost final painting:

© 2014, R.L. Delight, Pages of the Mind, 12"x12", oil on gessobord

I got to this point and now need to let it dry before putting a few subtle finishing touches. The CD artwork could not wait though and it finished enough for the cover. Here is what the final cover art looks like:

© 2014 R.L. Delight, The Sedona Fire Band, CD cover art.

It has been an incredible learning experience and I am excited, and tired! We had a final listen to the finished mock up of the cd. The music sounds fantastic. We are all excited and pleased. The music is original with the exception of the final song which is an old traditional one. No worries, I will be announcing when it comes out and where it could be sampled and purchased it one is so inclined. The release is due out in April, knock on wood. It has been a long and tiring process for us all.
Phew! That is all for now. If you have read this whole thing, thank you! I hope everyone realizes that it is almost never too late in life to start a new journey. I will never reach the level of Yo Yo Ma in my cello playing but I will get good enough to have a lot of fun playing music with my band mates. That is worth it.
So, get out those hidden dreams and go for it!
-Renee