About a month ago, while reading Alex Johnson’s wonderful blog, Shedworking, I saw his post about an artist named Sarah Lynch. She has spent 2008 posting an original painting EVERY DAY on her blog.

Alex had discovered one of Sarah’s posts from July, featuring a charming garden shed entitled “Shed with Hollyhocks.” It was enchanting and I immediately went to her blog and subscribed to receive her daily artwork. Sarah is an English-Canadian woman living in Southern Ontario. You can find her work for sale via her blog (where there are links to some online galleries also selling her art).

I don’t know her at all, but Sarah has brought me a small dose of happiness every morning. Opening the link to see her next piece is one of the very first things I do after making my cup of tea and sitting down to read email at the start of the day.

I think Sarah may love sheds as much as I do, because today she offers a charming piece entitled: The Lonely Shed (7″X5″ WC pencil on paper):

The year is almost over and I’m worried that Sarah may stop posting her artwork. I like reading her brief, personal artist statements that accompany each drawing, illustration or painting. She has alluded to her readiness for a slower pace, perhaps creating three paintings a week instead of seven. Get in on the last few weeks of the year and subscribe to this little piece of joy that will arrive in your in-box each morning. I, for one, am hoping for MORE SHEDS!

IN OTHER NEWS. . .

On Sunday (12/7) we received a mention in Irene Virag’s column in Newsday. She included Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways in her “Gift List,” featured at the end of her longer piece on Ken Druse. 

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways (Clarkson Potter, $30): Author Debra Prinzing and photographer William Wright showcase 28 sheds from Southampton to Seattle. From clematis-covered potting sheds to writers’ retreats, these structures enhance lifestyles and landscapes.

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An early morning scene outside the guest room window at Mary-Kate Mackey’s in Eugene

October in Oregon – you can’t beat it. Earlier this month, I traveled there to lecture to the Hardy Plant Group of Willamette Valley.

Returning to my beloved roots, in the Pacific Northwest, was such a treat, especially since it is still wickedly hot down here in LA and I am desperate for some moist, cool autumnal weather.

And oh, the gardens!

Mary-Kate Mackey, fellow garden writer and a gifted journalism educator, met me at the airport. It was fun to fly into this sleek, modern, small airport and arrive via Horizon Airlines (they serve complimentary Pacific Northwest ale on board and, oh, by the way, one of my articles appears in the October issue of Horizon/Alaska’s in-flight magazine, so I was able to grab lots of extra copies from the seat-pocket in front of me, etc.!).

Upon disembarking in Eugene, I was impressed by the changing autumn light and saturated foliage palette. Oh, it’s autumn in Oregon! It took away my breath and captured my heart.

The evening began with drinks at a nifty bistro with Mary-Kate, followed by dinner with my dear friend Jennifer (we were editors together at “Seattle Woman” magazine in the 80s).

On Tuesday, after a restful overnight in Jenny and her husband Tim’s comfortable home, I met up again with Mary-Kate.

Since I missed out on the one-day garden tour in Eugene that followed last month’s Garden Writers Association’s annual symposium, I had a special request for Mary-Kate: Can I have my own mini-tour of the best of the best Eugene has to offer? [Above: Mary-Kate inspects the craftsmanship of a stunning stone wall hand-built by Allen Bosworth (right) of Bosworth Landscaping.]

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