Well, it's really tripS and hintS, but I'm a slave to parallel construction.
OK, here's a hint about the Big Story....it's a search for something. Something I dream of most nights. (See me dreaming below ;D.) Something that I have and that I don't have. Something I'm going to..... ta da....Hawaii in February to look for! And to Paris, I hope, for a quick trip in March. I'm not a Hawaii type of girl, you know, but you go where the search leads you. And what a sacrifice, eh? I know your heart bleeds for me.
Mid-year, as part of the search, I'm going someplace entirely different from Hawaii and entirely, almost, the same. Ha!
I'm having so much fun with this project---I keep thinking of new things to think, to do, to write, to paint, to draw! My husband has joined the act, too--he keeps making great suggestions, which he may come to regret. (You can imagine I don't need much encouragement to go and do!) I'll continue, of course, posting my sketches, drawings, paintings. Some of them are part of the Big Story. Some aren't. My blog this year will be like an acrostic puzzle. To solve it, you'll have to see if you can tease out the connecting images from all the ones I post. I hope you will have fun doing it. Please send your guesses, at any point, to [email protected]. I'll post a group of them at a time. Here are this weekend's sketches. At the end is the list of Schmincke gouaches I'm using, for Jana and others who were interested. The leaf on the terrace sketch below is done all in gouache. I'm enjoying learning how it behaves. 
My Schmincke gouache palette: Cad red light, cad orange, lemon yellow, cad yellow light, Indian yellow, olive green (don't need this one) viridian, helio turquoise, cobalt blue, ultramarine, Delft blue (don't need this one), indigo, burnt umber, burnt sienna, titanium white. Need: aliz crimson or equivalent, yellow ochre, cerulean, raw sienna, raw umber.
I'm using the Horadam series in both gouache and watercolor.
OK - well I'm going to have a go at guessing. Not for nothing do I have shelves of detective novels!
I'm guessing Tenerife/Canary Islands for somewhere that is the same but different from Hawaii.
I've got a feeling that part of the 'mission' of your story might be about finding your 'theme'. In the same way as an artist develops a body of work on a subject. You've done the exercises, you've explored some of the media, now you need to take it a step further. Now 'theme' might be interpeted very liberally.....
So go on, am I warm? (Do you say that in the USA?)
Posted by: Katherine | January 16, 2008 at 11:54 AM
A great group of paintings as usual. How exciting to have a bunch of trips ahead. That's my favorite thing.
Posted by: Linda | January 15, 2008 at 02:19 AM
Each and everyone of your posts is a feast! I love the oranges!!! The blood orange on my tree are ripe and I have been eating them till the juice run down my arms and forget about painting them!
Posted by: mARTa | January 14, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Paris in March? Oh I do hope so! Wonderful sketches here of real life! Am looking forward to watching your project unfold. I have a few irons in the fire too, which involve lots of travel. More soon, as details emerge. xoxox
Posted by: Paris Parfait | January 14, 2008 at 03:55 PM
hum. Is this like 20 questions? Does your project have something to do with faces???International faces????International faces in context?????
This is lots of fun
Posted by: lindsay | January 14, 2008 at 02:34 PM
I love the harmony of your blue and yellow man - I'm guessing it's David.
Please don't go completely gouache on us, Laura. I adore the stained-glass wonder of your pure watercolours.
Posted by: Robyn | January 14, 2008 at 12:56 PM