Kristy

The first time I met Kristy was through our church’s religious education program, but I’ll always associate our friendship with our high school marching band where she played flute and mellophone. Speaking of marching band, when I think of Kristy I think of the phrase, “March to the beat of your own drum.” She is very passionate, and when she finds something she cares about, she throws herself into it with full enthusiasm. That gung-ho attitude balanced with sensitivity and intellect is something I’ve always loved about her. She’s a voracious reader, loves her dog, and has a very caring family.

The painting of Kristy is all done in watercolors on Arches hot press watercolor paper. I’m especially happy with how her eyes and hair turned out.

“Kristy.” Watercolor, 8×10″

Becca

It just kind of worked out that I finished my portrait of Becca the week leading up to her birthday. It’s a little crazy realizing we’ve been friends for almost two decades. We met in the lunch line the first day of sixth grade but didn’t see each other again until 7th grade. She has always had a great and offbeat sense of humor, a listening ear, and a generous heart.

Years later, I can still depend on her to make me laugh and offer an encouraging word. A lot of great memories come to mind: hot man lists, writing stories together, making mix CDs, hanging out in the basement making or watching movies, hours long conversations at sleepovers, learning that we’re “soulmates,” rooming together in college, hilarious postcards in the mail, escape room outings… I could go on and on.

The photo reference for this painting is from one of her many hiking adventures. As of late, she’s been tackling many 14ers, taking beautiful photographs from her adventures, and offering that great listening ear and empathy to the students she works with. I wanted to capture a sense of her adventurous spirit and optimism.

Watercolor and acrylic, 8×10”

Becca was painted using watercolors and white ink was used for some of the hair and highlights. The background originally was watercolor, but I ended up painting over it with acrylics. You can see a time lapse video of my process below.

2018 Masks Exhibition

Today is the opening of the 2018 Masks Exhibition at the Museum of Art in Fort Collins. The masks are auctioned off as a fundraiser for the museum and this is my 5th year participating!

This is a popular exhibition in Fort Collins because it features a whole spectrum of artists and art styles. Every artist has to use a mask form that’s provided to them to create a work of artwork, but they have freedom on how they interpret the project. Artists use a variety of mediums and subject matters. The show features work by high school students, rising artists, art hobbyists, and professionals. It’s great seeing a full representation of Fort Collins artists.

My mask that I created for this year’s exhibition is inspired by my daughter Holly. She’s currently three years old and said she was a fan of my mask when I showed it to her. The idea behind the mask is that toddlers are like bees… they can be temperamental, but they can also bring a lot of beauty to the world.

The mask form is painted with acrylics, the portrait of Holly is done in watercolors, the bees are shrinky dinks, and the honeycomb is painted hot glue.

The Portrait Project

Back in December, I was wanting to start a new series of artwork. The goal was to create a consistent body of work to build up my portfolio with the intent to eventually apply for a local gallery opportunity. I had a couple of ideas for potential themes to explore, but wasn’t sure which idea to follow. I brought it to prayer, and the word “ordinary” kept banging around in my head.

I was in need of models for my artwork and asked my friends and family on Facebook if any of them would be willing to let me use their photos or likenesses for future artwork. I honestly thought that I would be lucky if five people volunteered, but I ended up with over thirty people who were interested. As I went through the list, I thought about the different ways each person came into my life and how they are all unique, albeit ordinary, women. I knew I wanted to create a series of portraits featuring ordinary (but extraordinary) women.

I’ll admit that I always get an urge to add something to the portraits to make them more surreal or like a fantasy illustration. Though this wouldn’t be uncommon, especially in my previous portrait work, I knew I wanted to be true to the spirit of the subject. I don’t need to add anything to their portraits to make the individual more unique or interesting.

So far, I have done five portraits (Raven, Sarah, Lauren, Rachael, and Chelsea) and there are many more to come. As I work on the portrait, I try to use the process of painting as a form of prayer. I try to pray for their intentions and thank God for the way he has brought these individuals into my life and how they have influenced me. It’s been very special for me to hear the feedback from the people who I’ve painted. I always hope that I do them justice.

All of the portraits are done primarily with watercolors, though occasionally I use acrylic or other mixed media to finish the pieces. You’ll be seeing many more portraits to come over the next few months!

Sarah

My new piece, “Sarah,” is an acrylic and watercolor painting I made as part of a new series of portraits I’m developing. Sarah and I first met our freshman year of high school while working on the school musical, “Singin’ in the Rain.” She is extremely generous and has a heart for adventure and being out in nature. We’ve been friends ever since.

I always love seeing what new adventures she’s on whether it’s snowshoeing with her adorable husky Mochi, climbing 14ers, paddling down the Amazon, swimming with sharks, or running races in Utah. I really liked this photo reference of Sarah because I felt like it was a good representation of her in her element. She also likes Elsa from Frozen, so y’know… snow ❄️

Sarah’s face is painted with acrylics, but everything else is watercolor. While working on this portrait, I struggled with the background. I ended up painting over the entire background with white acrylic and starting over. I recently started using a new product called Daniel Smith watercolor ground. You can paint it on any surface to make it watercolor friendly. I’ve used it a lot on Bible pages when Bible journaling. It’s not as great as real watercolor paper, but it definitely did the trick in this painting!

“Sarah.” Watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media, 8×10”.

Liturgical and Sacred Art Festival

I’m excited to announce that my piece “Psalm 91:4” was accepted to the Springfield Liturgical and Sacred Art Festival coming up soon!

My piece “Psalm 91:4” that was recently accepted at the Springfield Liturgical and Sacred Art Festival.

During the last few weeks, I had been working on finishing up two pieces to submit to a call for entries for a Liturgical and Sacred Art Festival in Springfield, Illinois. I personally have not heard of that many contemporary artists creating religious themed artwork, so I was excited to hear about the chance to exhibit religious work. I had a Joan of a Arc bible journaling sketch and a sketch I had done as a Pentecost mass reflection that I decided to revisit to create as larger scale paintings to submit for the exhibition.

Though my “Courage Under Fire” piece inspired by Joan of Arc was not accepted, I still am very proud of the time I spent creating the piece.

“Courage Under Fire.” A watercolor, acrylic and mixed media piece inspired by Joan of Arc.

My “Psalm 91:4” piece was based on a personal mass reflection sketch I created during Pentecost, but the title is from Psalms:

“He will shelter you with his pinions, anded under his wings you may take refuge; his faithfulness is a protecting shield.”

In my original sketch, I was reflecting on how we all have vulnerabilities or fragility, but we also all have an inner strength burning within us. I was drawing inspiration from the Holy Spirit and how it reveals itself in many different forms (feathers, flames, tongues, etc).

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit… To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

My original sketch that “Psalm 91:4” is inspired by.

My “Courage Under Fire” piece was originally a sketch and Bible reflection I did for All Saint’s Day. The reflection had been inspired by Beth Davis of Blessed Is She’s Teachable Tuesday talk. 1 John 4:18 was the verse she talked about.

“There is no fear in love…”

Joan of Arc had a great quote that I felt paired nicely:

“I am not afraid. I was born to do this.”

My original Joan of Arc “Courage Under Fire” bible journaling sketch.

It’s super special that these were the two pieces I created to represent me for this call for entries. Fear had been telling me to scale back, to keep it small, to keep it comfortable… Taking a step and risk sharing a vulnerable part of me, to put my art “out there,” and to celebrate the small sketches and baby steps that brought me to where I am at this moment has been very rewarding.

My piece will be at the Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield at the Springfield Art Association in Illinois starting on April 28, 2018.

Raven

Right before the beginning of the new year, I was watching a Blessed is She talk that recommended that you pick a word to reflect on for the new year. The word that was whispered to my heart was “ordinary.”

Shortly after, I was brainstorming ideas for a collective body of artwork to produce. I wanted to build up a new portfolio and though I had a couple ideas of directions I was interested in, I wasn’t sure what I would ultimately create. I do a lot of portrait work which means I need lots of human references. I thought it might be fun to use friends and family for portrait practice or references for future paintings.

I sent out a “model call” on Facebook asking if anyone would be willing to let me use their photos for practice. I was only expecting maybe 5 people would volunteer. I ended up getting over 30 (and counting) interested friends and family members. Inspiration struck and that word “ordinary” went through my mind. I wanted to create a series of portraits of ordinary women using mixed media processes.

The first of these portraits is Raven, a talented photographer I met through a mom’s group at church. When I saw this self portrait of her, I knew this was the image I would use for the piece I wanted to create. She had some beautiful photographs of her children that had a really lovely purple and blue lighting that I wanted to draw into this piece as an underpainting.

The majority of the painting was created with watercolors. I used pens for the linework in the hair, varnished the piece, and added thin layers of acrylics on top.

In progress shots of my portrait of Raven.

The finished portrait of Raven. Watercolor and mixed media 8×10”

Leggo My Eggo

When my husband and I first watched Netflix’s Stranger Things last year, I remember thinking it was one of the best new shows I had seen in years. There was that great mix of humor, suspense, nostalgia, etc that made it like a combination of my favorite Steven Spielberg films combined with The X-Files and Stephen King’s The Body.

I knew I wanted to create a piece to show my excitement for the premiere of Stranger Things 2, so I made this Eleven watercolor painting.

“Leggo My Ego.” 5×7″ watercolor and gouache painting of Eleven from Stranger Things.

From the sketchbook…

Last week, I got the chance to meet up with two of my art friends from college. We met for coffee and sketching, but ended up just talking. My friend Liz, recently started a 30 day sketchbook challenge for herself. The purpose is to challenge herself to create artwork on a daily basis. She has an hourglass that she flips and when the last grain of sand filters out of the top, she stops. The point isn’t to create something amazing, the point is to develop a habit and put aside time to do something for fun on a daily basis.

The three of us all work as artists (an art teacher, a graphic designer, and a SAHM/paint and sip instructor), and when you do art for other people as a job, it’s hard to want to go home and work on more art no matter how fulfilling it is. I really was inspired by Liz’s dedication and wanted to do something similar to develop a habit. I recently started a routine of cleaning the house on a daily basis, and 15 minutes here and there make a big difference. I decided the same would be true if I set time aside nightly to work on personal art projects.

I’ve been spending time every night working on art. The husband and I put the girls to bed, we watch some iZombie on Netflix, and then I go upstairs and work on art. I usually turn on a podcast and start drawing or painting. I’ve been working on some commission and work projects, but while one project is drying, I’ll work on another piece that’s just mine.

After doing this for almost two weeks, I can feel the positive effects. I no longer dread going up to the studio. Everything is set up and ready to go at my desk. It’s scheduled, so I’m almost programmed to just do it. It’s enjoyable because I accomplish a lot (even if it’s just a little at a time), and I can see an improvement in my technical drawing skills.

When I don’t know what to draw, I do an exercise from my eBooks by Cuong Nguyen. They’re a great resource and a little bit of instruction, even when you enjoy art, goes a long way.

Here’s some sketches from the last few weeks:

Soccer Field

I was recently asked to paint some concept artwork of the different uses of a soccer field. The images show the field being used by a soccer team, lacrosse players, and picnickers.

I painted the field by itself using watercolors and painted the players and people separately. They were later digitally composited using Photoshop.

The original soccer field painted in watercolor.

The field with the soccer players.

The field with picnickers.

The field with lacrosse players.