"Derek"

Another commissioned piece for dear friends. Enjoy!

9" x 12" oil on panel

"Mother and Child"

This was a commissioned piece for a friend. I almost scrapped the whole thing and started over about five times. It was a hard piece... I'm not quite sure why, but I'm so glad I kept going, because now I love it. I know I say this all the time, but persistence is definitely the key, you have to keep going, and repainting, and trying again, and eventually it comes together.

12" x 12"

SOLD

"The Memory" The Process

As you can see I'm a spatial painter. I don't care much for working with line to begin with, I much prefer to just start blocking in the shapes that I see, and looking for how they relate with each other. I apologize for the changing temperature, this would be from the changing light of my window.

"Emmalee" The Process

Here's the process of "Emmalee" as promised. Wow, it sure had some rough spots. The more I paint, the more I realize the difference between a bad painting and a good painting can be just a couple days. We've just gotta keep going! :) Enjoy!

"The Memory"

This painting was an experiment in a new type of panel. I've always been a fan of painting on board versus painting on canvas because I don't like the give of canvas, and canvas will expand and contract with temperature and time and thus be more likely to crack. However, panels are also very challenging to create soft edges on, and edges is something I've wanted to improve on. So, I decided to try belgian linen mounted on a wood panel. It should be the best of both worlds right? Yep! I LOVED it! Unfortunately it's about 3 times the price of gessoed panels, but I think it's worth it. So you may be seeing more of these kind of panels in the future.

As for this painting, it was created with a limited palette: cadmium red deep, payne's gray, cadmium yellow, and titanium white. While I worked I couldn't help but think the model was thinking back about some memory. Her look is kind of an "off in the distance" expression, and I find it very intriguing. It's like she's with us physically, but not mentally. Interesting. Enjoy!

8" x 10" oil on belgian linen mounted on wood

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"Emmalee"

This piece was a commissioned portrait of a sweet little girl. I found this piece challenging, you'll understand why when I post the process, but I'm very happy with the results. I used a limited palette of: cadmium red deep, cadmium yellow, payne's gray, and titanium white, and just a hint of quinacridone rose and cadmium red light when necessary. Enjoy!

12"x 12" oil on panel

SOLD

"Beyond the Clouds" Progress

One of my main goals is to be constantly improving. I think many artists, and people could relate with this. However, sometimes the change can be so slow, and we can't see immediate results. One two hour painting session may now involve dramatic improvements, and it can be frustrating as we wonder if we are just running and running but staying place. That's why it's fun to occasionally visit older paintings. The second painting above, "Winds of Change" was done 2 years ago, I used the same model from the same photo shoot to create, "Beyond the Clouds", so I took the two out for a side by side comparison and I was pleasantly surprised to see progress. Woohoo! It may take looking back over a span of years, and not just hours, but it's there. Patience... patience... :)

"Beyond the Clouds"

While working on my book, I realized that I had a lot of paintings that were of struggles, waiting for answers to prayers, having my patience tried and my faith stretched. This is because it's in these times that my heart feels so drawn out to God and I have to paint it. However, I realized that after the answers came, I didn't always have a painting that expressed my gratitude and joy. And so this painting is just that. If you've paid attention to some previous posts, this year has definitely been one of a financial struggle, and there have been times when we wondered if we'd have a place to live and if my husband would have a job. I think a lot of people could relate with that. But the good news is, the Lord heard our prayers, and they were answered. Things didn't exactly work out as planned, but we were taken care of. I'm so grateful for a God that is aware of me, and pulls me through the cloud cover into the marvelous sunlight. Life is good.

9" x 12" oil on panel

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My first book: The Offering

Hi everyone!

For quite some time now I've been receiving emails from friends, family, and fans requesting I put some of my paintings and words into a book. I've hesitated thinking, "Don't you have to be at the end of your career, a true professional, to write a book?" But then, with the encouragement of my mom, I realized that it might be fun to take someone on my journey of becoming. So even though I still feel like I’m at the tip of the iceberg, the start of the road, the first chapters of my journey, I believe it’s in the process that we learn the most. And so I hope this book, a humble offering, will be an inspiration to you in your own process of becoming.

The book is available in soft or hard covers, and is 78 pages.

Click Here to Preview or Purchase the book!

"The Invitation" the process

I thought you might like to watch this painting unfold. Started out rough, they always do. :)

Enjoy!