Margaret Sloan 2/26/24 Margaret Sloan 2/26/24

Alpenglow in the High Sierra

What is Alpenglow?

Margaret Sloan 1/31/24 Margaret Sloan 1/31/24

Can you see Yosemite Valley from the Central Valley?

The world amazes me. In January 2024 I saw something I never thought was possible.

Margaret Sloan 1/11/24 Margaret Sloan 1/11/24

Portraits inspired by Nature

One of my favorite things to do is paint portraits that capture the fleeting essence of a person. I look for the spirit, emotion, and humanity within each subject and I love to tell their unique story with paint.

Margaret Sloan 1/5/24 Margaret Sloan 1/5/24

In the Studio: Composition for telling nature stories

See how what I learned in a composition class freed me from tyrrany.

Margaret Sloan 12/31/23 Margaret Sloan 12/31/23

I never set New Year resolutions. Read what I do instead!

Margaret Sloan 12/1/23 Margaret Sloan 12/1/23

Find Beauty in the Darkness of Winter

Real Beauty is so deep you have to move into darkness in order to understand what beauty is— Barry Lopez

Margaret Sloan 10/31/23 Margaret Sloan 10/31/23

Telling our Stories award at Carnegie Arts Center of Turlock

Margaret Sloan 10/20/23 Margaret Sloan 10/20/23

My watercolor portraits were accepted into the Carnegie Arts Center of Turlock!

Margaret Sloan 7/31/23 Margaret Sloan 7/31/23

Five easy ways to celebrate Lughnasa

Margaret Sloan 6/7/22 Margaret Sloan 6/7/22

ADVENTURES ON EARTH: STALKED BY A COYOTE

Being considered prey by a such a beautiful creature is a watery feeling, emotions mixing like salt water and fresh. Part of me was hypnotized by ki’s beauty, thrilled to even be considered part of ki’s world. Part of me was very nervous.

Margaret Sloan 3/24/22 Margaret Sloan 3/24/22

Six tips to learn to sketch in public with no fear

How to conquer the fear of sketching in public and enjoy your one wild artistic life.

Margaret Sloan 11/9/21 Margaret Sloan 11/9/21

The Magic Tree

Waves of light undulated across the tree as if a body flexed and swayed in a glass-beaded dress. As sensual as any human dancer, hypnotic and flowing, something stirred and swayed underneath the curtained chemise of lighted leaves.

Margaret Sloan 11/6/21 Margaret Sloan 11/6/21

Another Strange Holiday: International Bagpipe Day

Bagpipes, the ultimate in balky reed instruments, are traditional throughout the world. My favorite are the Irish Uilleann pipes, or Irish pipes, which are the kind of pipes my friend Mike is playing in the painting above. And not surprisingly, today is also International Uilleann Bagpipe day, named by the Na Píobairí Uilleann society that celebrates all things about the iconic Irish instrument.

Margaret Sloan 11/4/21 Margaret Sloan 11/4/21

The Blue of Distance: Young girl dancing as only the goddess can dance

I’ve been dreaming about this image for awhile, inspired by an old photograph I found in my grandmother’s box of family ephemera. I don’t know who the girl is, or what she is doing. But she seems to be doing something, a thing at which I want her to succeed. I feel a purpose and a power in this image, a story that’s common to many women, although I don’t know what that story might be.

Margaret Sloan 10/6/21 Margaret Sloan 10/6/21

Don't let imposter syndrome keep you from going places

Maybe what we need to understand is that we can make our own bridges. Or maybe we don’t need bridges. Maybe we can hop, fly, dance, or leap across distances where we can’t see bridges. Or maybe we create our own bridges that go to destinations we’ve imagined incompletely, destinations no one else knows exist.

Margaret Sloan 3/3/21 Margaret Sloan 3/3/21

Embracing mistakes and the power of screwing up...er...improvisation.

Learning to embrace mistakes and finding improvisation in those mistakes is part of creativity. Read how this painting and playing the Irish flute taught me the beauty of screwing up.

Margaret Sloan 1/5/21 Margaret Sloan 1/5/21

Remembering when we could travel

Margaret Sloan 1/1/21 Margaret Sloan 1/1/21

Need to de-stress with a hike but you’re too busy? Here’s a 9-step plan to calm down with nature.

When it’s cold out, or you’re busy, or you’re ill, or you’re running late, it’s hard to get outside for some “nature therapy.” This 9-step plan can calm you, let you de-stress, and connect you with the earth.

Margaret Sloan 11/26/20 Margaret Sloan 11/26/20

Foxes in the Moonlight

Then suddenly there was barking of foxes all around, as if a chorus line of animals were running through the dark. The sound echoed and chuffed; amplified, it filled the spaces between the houses with reverberations as dusty and crisp as old lace.