Secret places in your own neighborhood...

My brother and I found an awesome boardwalk in the neighborhood last night on our bikes. I felt like a little kid again riding around with my brother looking for cool things. It was fun. We were both excited with the trails we found and the little lake with a million water lilies and a duck family with 7 babies. So much so that we went back to the house to grab the camera. It's good to explore. And to ride bikes on sunny, warm nights for hours.

Wordless Wednesday: Verde

Tuesday Trees

Dancing Branches

Tree Capillaries

Tuesday. Today is Tuesday. Yep. I am really tired this morning so before I start rambling I will cut to the chase. All I really have to say is, I think these photos would look great blown up. 

Your opinions? 

I'm going to go finish my coffee. 

Have a nice day!

Abstract Art Commission

I am so nervous to post these! Ahh! 

These are the paintings I did for one of our office break rooms. They are 24x36 inches each on professional quality, gallery wrapped canvas. So - nice stuff. Solid.

I like them. I feel like I am a tough critic of my paintings so it's pretty nerve racking for me to do things for other people. They said they wanted two canvases similar to the one I hung in my office seen here. I think I accomplished that.

All nervousness aside, it is very exciting to sell your own work. Very exciting indeed and not a bad start to the week.

A Saturday Post?!

You might not know, but I lived in Hawaii for a year and it stole my heart. Sometimes the islands get on my brain and it's hard to get them off. So - I thought I'd post a pretty picture that I could stare at and daydream on this cloudy Alaskan day.

Did I Mention....

Someone got a Flickr account? I didn't think so. I am so sorry!

Check it out - I have more recent photos uploaded along with some old favorites. These are all for sale and I have been doing pretty well this week! Our office just got done with a 7 month remodel and they have graciously decided to hang my photos on the walls. Some people have even bought prints for their personal offices. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked. 

Feel free to email me with any questions or let me know if you're interested in any of the pictures.

{JessieBeckham@live.com}

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Crow Pass: Part II

We saw a huge goat running, a mama bear and two baby bears {too far away to photograph thankfully} and glaciers...not too shabby.

This week is going by fast! I have a couple of paintings to work on that I'm hoping to finish this weekend. They are being purchased by my real work place and that adds a tiny bit of stress. I find painting for people incredibly difficult just because there seems to be so much pressure along with it. If I paint something for myself and someone likes it - good deal, but when you paint something specifically for someone...well, what if they don't like it? Eep. It should turn out fine though and I am more than happy to be doing things like this and the recognition that comes along with it isn't so bad either.

There's an interesting post Julochka wrote today about Etsy here. I think I may make the move to Big Cartel sometime in the future. I like that they don't take a percentage of your sales and it's just a flat fee. 

Man, this post is all over the place. Happy Thursday friends!

Crow Pass: Part I

13 miles up and over a mountain, carrying rafting and camping gear (40 lbs), set up camp, sleep, wake up, eat, 10 miles of rafting, 3 mile hike out. Girdwood to Eagle River. Wow.

That was my weekend. Exhausting. Fun. Trying. Badass. All of the above. We had great company and it is something I'm proud to say I did. 

My body had never hurt like that before. EVER. 

FYI - packrafting through rapids on your first go around - kinda scary. Flipping and going under water your first time, even scarier. Flipping because you didn't see a sweeper - scariest.

EEK.

It was fun though. Extreme weekend in AK. That's what I wanted, that's what I got. 

The soreness is gone, so no more complaints here. Maybe this weekend will be low key? Here's to hoping.

Iris Envy

I feel bad for not writing more - so I thought I'd double up on the picture posts =)

Tuesday Schmooseday

Hello guys and gals...for some reason I am pretty busy this week and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. So, I will leave you with these pictures from the garden.


Have a swell Tuesday!

Return to Regular Broadcasting Tuesday

A 26 mile trek this weekend through Crow Creek Pass has left me more than a little tired. I will return to you tomorrow morning with some pictures and words - until then, take it easy and happy Monday.

A Tiny, Little Video

Sort of figured it out. It's a little loud, so be warned - turn the volume down before you hit play.

We saw these porpoise dolphins on the fishing charter last Friday. They were having a blast in the waves the boat made.

Have a great weekend!

Kayaking

As I was terrified of dropping my camera in the water, I only took it out while in the kayak twice. 

The Prince William Sound in Alaska is one of my favorite places. It is huge and there is no shortage of breathtaking scenes. 

Have to start getting ready for my next adventure - pack rafting this weekend. My backpack is a tad on the smaller side for this camping/rafting trip so I will have to be super strategic packing. Wish me luck, I think I may need it!

Wordless Wednesday: A Whales Tale

Sea lions and rocks are being covered today...

More pictures from my Seward fishing trip...The little gal on the left was so cute, she posed for all the pictures - look at that face! We saw Sea lions, Orca's, Grey whales, Porpoise dolphins, jelly fish, glaciers and more. A very nice trip indeed.

I'm going to try and figure out video editing on my laptop sometime this week and if it's successful I will put a video up of the Porpoise dolphins skimming the waves the boat made. They were beautiful.

Hope you guys are having a good week, it's pretty gloomy and rainy out today but that's okay because I have a lot of work to do. It'll make it easier to get it done.

Tata for now!

Weekend Update

One of the best weekends of the summer so far - I have so many pictures to share and details to catch you up on. I am a tad tired this morning as we crammed as much adventure into three days as possible (I took Friday off of work) but I will catch you up slowly but surely this week.

I'll leave you with a *few* photos from the fishing charter Friday - we couldn't have asked for better weather!

Hope you all have a great start to your week!

Happy Friday!

I am probably catching the biggest fish ever as you are reading this. Good for me.

I hope you guys hav a lovely Friday and an even better weekend! Catch ya later!

P.S. This is my new painting I hung in my office. You like?

Summer is Short; Make the Most of It

I finished a new painting yesterday to hang in my new office. I like it a little more every time I look at it, but I'm probably biased. This is a tiny peak at it taken with my iPhone while I was in line to get a coffee this morning - it looks a lot better in real life let me tell you. I will try to take some pictures of it soon. (Of course this is the one day I didn't bring my camera with me!)

I'm going on my first fishing charter ever tomorrow! I'm pretty excited and honestly hope I catch the biggest halibut ever! Down side - I have to wake up at 2 am. That's right - TWO A.M.! It hurts my head just thinking about it. Saturday we are planning on going kayaking and camping on a beach in Prince William Sound if the weather holds up.It's about an 8 mile paddle to the cove we are going to. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about that little adventure! So if the weather turns to total sh*t I am going to be heartbroken.

I have the next 4 weekends lined up with similar adventures. We are going on a rafting trip, backpacking trip and a canoe trip. Busy busy but that's how it has to be in the summer.

Hope you guys are having a productive week and enjoying your season. Do you have any adventures planned? 

Wordless Wednesday

Another Smorgasboard of Memorial Day Camping Photos

Fear not - I have weekend adventures lined up for the next month!

Exciting stuff...stay tuned.

Be Still My Bleeding Hearts

So yes, the garden party was a success. Thanks for asking. 

It was probably the worst day of the week for planting things, but hey, Alaska weather is always trying to throw you a curve ball. (WINDY)

We got lupine, bleeding hearts, rhubarb, day lilies, tiger lilies, mums, basil, sage, spearmint and lots of mulch. A successful trip for sure. All planted and already pretty. I don't want to brag but it's definitely the best the yard has looked. Nicole and I are practically professional landscapers now.

It was a very nice weekend but as always, came to an end too quickly.

Oh but how I do go on about myself - how was your weekend?!

Say Hello to my Little Friend

A plus side to doing yard work - making friends with a dragon fly. Not sure why my thumb looks so unusually large but I promise it's not. Not that there is anything wrong with big thumbs! 


I'm off to do some more yard work and a friend has volunteered to help. We are going plant shopping. Fun stuff, right?


Have a great Friday!


(original title, I know...)

Enlargements & Genies...sounds like a bad joke.

Sold this photo yesterday. The gal asked for a bigger size than what I had listed (and as promised, like a genie I made that happen) - I have to say, the 12x18 looked really nice. I think it will be beautiful matted and framed. 

Makes me want to enlarge all the pictures.

Sorry for the lack of wordage this week, it's been a busy little one. Guess that's what we get for having Monday off.

On the up side, tomorrow is Friday and we are all probably excited about that. I could get used to a 4 day work week.

Take it easy.