An Accidental Note of Encouragement

This morning before starting work, I happened to be flipping through one of my "idea sketchbooks." I was looking for a free page to add a new sketch for one of my *brilliant* ideas...when at the very back of the book I happened to see a sentence written in my husband's handwriting. I had never noticed the little note before, nor could I remember a time where he saw my sketchbook (much less knew I had it!), but there it was. The note read, "It's a wonderful day to wake up in the morning and know your calling." Thank you, my love! What encouraging thoughts for today (and for the rest of my life!). :-) Read more »

An Accidental Note of Encouragement

Updates from my August trip to Wisconsin

There's always hope that I'll have a chance to see my family in the Midwest at least once or twice a year, but I had no idea I'd be making the drive twice in one summer! Steve and I had two-week long vacation up there, beginning the first weekend of August, to attend a wedding, visit family and friends, and spend some time at his family cabin (a place that is very dear to both of us, because that's where we got engaged). We drove because we wanted to take our puppy with us to experience some unleashed fun up north. I don't have a lot of time to write (too much painting to do!), but I thought that I'd at least mention some of the highlights of our trip before my next post, which will no doubt be about the upcoming Nicaragua Art Show at my church. Here are some pictu… Read more »

Updates from my August trip to Wisconsin

Completed Twin Portrait

Okay, so by now I've had "Twin Arts" finished for a couple of weeks, yet failed to post it on my blog. Like most other painters, I tend to move ahead to the next project once I've finished a painting, no matter how invested I've been in it. My apologies! You can view detail shots on my official website. Read more »

Completed Twin Portrait

Drawing from the Past - Sorolla's Beach Paintings

One can't be a classical artist without looking frequently to the past for inspiration. We all have our favorites, and most any portrait artist will tell you they worship the likes of J.W. Waterhouse, William Bouguereau, Anders Zorn, and of course J.S. Sargent... if you want me to talk about my favorites and which ones have shaped my painting style, that's a subject for another post. But I do want to mention one particular artist whose work has helped me with some of the challenges in my current portrait commission. Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) is perhaps best known for his renditions of fishermen, sailors, and bathers on the beaches of Valencia. His sunlit whites are usually drenched in color so bright and convincing that you squint as though you are right there on … Read more »

Drawing from the Past - Sorolla's Beach Paintings

Paintings for Nicaragua

I'm very, very excited to announce that my church, Woodcreek Church, is putting together its very first art show, coming up on August 29. The show is going to feature the amazing photography of Clint Brewer, who spent two weeks this summer in Nicaragua, documenting the everyday lives of people living in Managua as well as the missionary work that is going on there and being supported by our church. Clint has asked me to create a couple of paintings for this art show, and I'm greatly honored to be a part of this. You can read more about our church's involvement in Nicaragua here: http://woodcreekchurch.com/twenties/nicaragua-10/ . In the mean time, I have some painting to do! I'll keep you posted... :-) Read more »

Paintings for Nicaragua

Domestic Goddess?

I was sick with a nasty cold over the weekend, which made it difficult for me to work on painting; however, I find that "busy work" helps distract me from how crappy I'm feeling, so I decided to be a good steward of our small rented space and take up...(drum roll, please)...canning! We may have the dinkiest back yard in the whole neighborhood, but in that yard are two trees: a fig tree and a peach tree. This year they were both in their prime, their fruit-laden branches drooping from the weight. I can barely keep up with harvesting them, although thankfully, some neighbors are relieving my burden somewhat by coming over and helping themselves to some of the fruit per my request. So, assuming I did everything right, I now have a humble collection of pints and half-pints of: … Read more »

Domestic Goddess?

Dog vs. Oil Paint!

I've already posted these pictures on facebook, but for those of you who read my blog, I just had to share! My dog of almost two weeks had her first major run-in with oil paint yesterday morning. My sister came over to paint with me, and had her box of oil paints sitting on the floor. We try to keep Bella supervised in the studio, but for one reason or another, she was able to steal a tube of paint from Emily's box while nobody was looking. The next thing we knew, Emily and I were both screaming, "Bella! What is on your mouth?!" We realized that besides having a giant green mustache, the dog had giant globs of paint all over her neck, her two front legs, and paws. She had also destroyed the oriental rug in my studio with what we discovered to be a tube of Thalo Green, ar… Read more »

Dog vs. Oil Paint!