New Self Portrait - "The Wait and the Reward"

"The Miracle of Love" Before you were conceived I wanted you Before you were born I loved you Before you were an hour old I would die for you This is the miracle of love. Author: Maureen Hawkins When I first came up with this idea for a maternity self portrait, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to pull off. In many ways, the patience it took to conceive and execute the painting was a direct reflection of the patience it took to get through pregnancy. Not only did I have to wait to start the portrait until I was "big" enough to look REALLY pregnant, but I had to wait until after my daughter's arrival to complete it. The entire project was a test in skill and patience, two things that every artist spends their lifetime trying to perfect. How does one capture … Read more »

New Self Portrait - "The Wait and the Reward"

An Art-Themed Baby Shower

My dear friend Erica and twin sister Emily threw me an amazing art-themed baby shower this weekend. Between the paint-splattered onesies, beautifully illustrated books, custom-made scrapbook pages by each guest, and palette themed cupcake platters, I was definitely feeling the love. :-) All the little dog, palette, brush, and paint can banners were created by Emily! Below: Erica (left) and me (center) have the same due date! Emily is just three months behind us. It's amazing to be sharing this experience together. :-) Read more »

An Art-Themed Baby Shower

On Pregnancy and Beauty

Well, January just flew by! I started writing this blog post a couple of weeks ago, but the bump has grown considerably since then. Wow. Thankfully, my time has been anything but wasted. I taught many private painting classes and day workshops in January, and started half a dozen new and exciting painting projects. I'm so grateful to feel motivated  again, and even more grateful to have the energy to act on that motivation. I posted this painting on Facebook shortly after completing it, but wanted to write a little more about how it came to be. I had been planning on doing a couple of self portraits while pregnant, but wasn't really sure how to pull them off, especially during the times when I was feeling more apprehensive and scared than excited. I used the creation of this painti… Read more »

On Pregnancy and Beauty