Thankful for my Muse

As I was wrapping up my 6th year of painting and starting my 7th, I thought of my muse in this wonderful art adventure I'm on. Feelings of bliss, angst, being driven, sadness, despair, triumph, compassion, calm, joy, love.... I think my painting is all about embracing those feelings and getting them out. It's all about the process. I've been asked if it's hard to let go of my work when they go to other homes and with the exception of about five pieces (all featuring my family/pets and one with a quote that particularly speaks my truth), the answer is "no". The process feeds my soul and I'm ever thankful for my muse, all those feelings, that need not be labeled good or bad, positive or negative.

This is the piece I completed on the 16th of June, the last day of my 6th year of painting.

"Thankful for my Muse"

And then over the weekend our family went to a tie dye party!

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

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For All of Our Children

My husband recently did a photo shoot of one of my friend's kiddos. I was incredibly struck by one of the photos, the shadows so compelling that I was inspired to capture them.

As I painted my version of this beautiful young man I thought of my own boys and all of the children I teach and all of my friends' children, and I felt incredibly protective of their present and future. Let's do right by them.

"For All of Our Children"

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Hear me Roar

Hear me roar....

Feeling wonderfully inspired by the Women's March in Austin, Texas on Saturday. And the best thing about this painting is that my 21 year old son sat beside me as I sketched and then painted, all the while sketching his own amazing version.  Beyond awesome! Hear US roar!

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of my art are available in my Etsy shop.

I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment. 

Love and Peace

"At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Love and Peace"

This original painting is available in my online gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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This painting was inspired by a class taught by Tamara Laporte.

I Hear Angels Sing

"While the place that I've arrived at in my life 

may not precisely be everyone's idea of heavenly, 

I could swear sometimes -- I hear angels sing."

Carrie Fisher

I started this painting the day Carrie Fisher died, and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, died on the day I completed it. My Princess Leia action figures were there every step of the way.

"I Hear Angels Sing"

My Princess Leia action figures watching over the beginning layers.

This original painting is available in my online gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.  

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Sacred

I started this painting yesterday with the intention of being able to donate to an organization supporting the efforts at Standing Rock. I kept thinking of those who were working so hard to protect what is theirs and all of their ancestors and descendants supporting them with light and love. I was almost finished when I heard that the pipeline was halted. I had an initial excitement that settled into discomfort about just how long the cessation would last.

So continuing with my fundraising efforts, I'm going to contribute $5 to the ACLU (which has been and will continue supporting the efforts at Standing Rock) for every print of this painting that is sold. They are available here. The original of this painting may be purchased at the link below.

"Sacred"

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.
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Wounded

I was inspired by one of my wonderful new Pantsuit Nation friends to create a companion piece to my painting, "Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction". So I created a piece reflecting my experience and the experience of many others since the election. I started by scribing my thoughts about the election results, my sadness and my hopes. I crumpled the sheets of paper and lit parts of it on fire. I set those thoughts free to go wherever they needed to go. The remaining bits of paper became the background of my piece. I painted the burned holes red to reflect the wounding that so, so many have felt, their safety and well being now feeling threatened.

I'm thankful that I'm surrounded by so many people who, while acknowledging the negative direction that this election may represent, also see the positive that is coming from it as well. The stirring of activism, the connecting with strangers that might not have ever happened otherwise.

I'm going to have prints of this painting available here and will donate $5 per sale to the ACLU. The original may be purchased at the link below the picture.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.
Please click the links below to share my blog.
I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.  

Click here to purchase my paintings.

Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.

I tend to keep my political leanings separate from my art...but as I was nearing the end of this painting, just two days before the election, apparently my subconscious had a different plan. It started popping out at me bit by bit. The white of her dress (as well as the green and purple in the background) a tribute to the suffrage movement. The heart blue as I dream the electoral map will be. The protective placement of the heart, because, well, you know. The silver hair representing the wisdom of the choice she's making. The background chaotic as all the craziness that this electoral season has been, though she remains clear and focused.

My friends, vote with your heart. Vote with your intellect. Vote.

"Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction."

-Rumi

"Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction."

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.
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I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.  

Click here to purchase my paintings.

She Held the World's History in her Eyes

Sometimes when I paint it feels like something outside of me is steering the process. This one felt like that.

"She Held the World's History in her Eyes"

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.
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At Times I Wait - Part 4

I often put things in my phone that I don't want to forget. I'm always on the lookout for something blog worthy that life (mostly with my family) provides. Last night Dave and I were driving to our little guy's football game and one such worthy thing came up. I quickly typed it in and then went about my evening. So tonight I pulled up the note and I can't for the life of me remember the context of the quote. This happens to me a lot. Here's what was in my note.


Me: "Oh, do you know something?"

Dave: "I've forgotten more things than you've ever known."


Well, I'm thinking I may have just topped my lovely husband in the forgotten department...though somehow I suspect there was a tad bit of an insult in what he'd said. Hooray for selective memory!


And I finished this painting! And I titled it! Here is "At Times I Wait" and below it are the last few stages.  Up close she looks all textured and "blotchy" but at a distance she looks clear and precise. I love that!

"At Times I Wait"

Yup, I decided that her face was all wrong and
I painted over it. I love when that happens!

I'd decided that her face/head had been too small
before so I worked on creating a larger head.

I worked on the details and the shadows.

I added some hair color and some tone to her
face. I wasn't going for precision with this one.
I wanted it to be a bit rough looking. Near the
end I got so absorbed in the painting that I forgot
to take additional photos. 

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Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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Van Gogh's Postman - Part 3

When I got home from work today I sat on the couch and chatted with Dave and the kiddo. Hazel, our awesome, 85 pounds of pure love dog, stared at me from my little guy's lap. They were both on the recliner about six feet away. Hazel could contain herself no longer and leapt off of the chair and ran over to say, "hi". I pet her, rubbed her ears, scratched her back, gave her hugs, and told my little guy that she'd had her fill and he could call her back to his lap.

Little guy: "Hazel, come here!"

She started to walk over there, turned around, came back to me, jumped on the couch, and lay down all snuggled up beside me. I guess my one minute doggy love session was simply not enough. 

And so one minute turned into five minutes which turned into a trip to the bedroom for a twenty minute snuggly power nap. Love that big girl of mine!

I finished this painting. What fun it was to paint in Van Gogh's style (or at least my version of his amazing style).  I learned so, so much.

"Van Gogh's Postman"

I used white paint to lay out where I wanted
the flowers on the wallpaper to be.
I also lowered his shoulders. Did ya notice?

I started adding color to the flowers.

I finished the flowers, added stems, and
added a bit of brown in the parts between the
flowers. I worked on his eyes a bit between
this picture and the final photo of the finished piece.

 Click here to view my gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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