Category Archives: Painting

Transformer Cabinet Week 1: Some Like It Hot

I started working on my transformer cabinet mural for the city of Fort Collins on Friday and worked through Sunday. The box is located by the Burger King drive thru on the north end of College and I made pretty good progress on my koi fish mural.

Unlike the Pianos About Town Project, I don’t see too many people. I see everyone who goes around the drive thru and I’ve talked to some of the Burger King staff. They’ve all been super nice (one of them upgraded my drink and said I could stop in for free refills to beat the heat).

The largest side of the box is about 4ftx6ft. I’ve painted large-scale paintings before (pianos for Pianos About Town and my daughters’ nursery mural), but you never quite realize how long a painting is going to take until you start it. I like to mentally visualize what I plan on accomplishing everyday, and I’m definitely not as far as I imagined. That being said, I’m still making good progress and ended in a satisfactory place at the end of my Sunday shift.

The cabinet starts off pre-primed, so it’s ready for paint. I taped off the concrete at the base of the box, grabbed my can of blue house paint, and started rolling the paint on. I was hoping that one coat would be enough for a base coat, but I needed to add a second layer. Setback #1.

Next, I sketched out the design on 3 of the 5 sides with chalk. This took longer than anticipated too because it needs to be identical to the concept sketch. Setback #2.

Setback #3 was definitely the heat. The weather was in the 90s the whole weekend, so it made for interesting painting conditions. There’s a large wall behind the box where the Burger King garbage cans are, so this helped create some nice shady spots but only during certain times of the day (and sometimes only for a few moments at a time). On the second day when I was working on the shading for the crests of the waves, the heat would make the paint dry within seconds. This made for some really interesting “beat the clock” painting sprints.

2 of the 3 days I worked, I also had shifts at Pinot’s Palette. After putting in time Saturday morning on the box and working a class at Pinot’s Palette afterwards, I ended up getting sick. I thought I was going to pass out, my legs felt like I had competed in a cycling race, and I felt slightly nauseous. I collapsed on the couch when I got home, fell asleep for about 3 hours, and finally started to feel better after dropping some electrolyte tablets into my drinking water and taking a bath. Even though I had been taking regular water breaks and wearing my big sun hat while working, the heat still really took it out of me!

On my last day of work for the weekend, I vowed I would head home if I felt heat exhaustion coming on, packed a bunch of electrolyte tablets (“it’s what artists need”), and brought some beef jerky to snack on. I got caught up on all of my podcasts and started listening to an audiobook of The Disaster Artist (hilarious so far).

I’ll be back at it again next weekend! I’m hoping I can finish all the shading on the waves next time, but we’ll see.

You can learn more about Art in Public Places and check out my concept sketch (and the other boxes for the city) here at the FCGov website.

Erin and Darin

A little over a year ago, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law asked if we wanted their dining room table set. It was a high quality table with matching chairs in great condition. Our set at the time was completely mismatched, so we agreed to exchange their dining room set for a portrait painting. Originally, Erin and Darin were interested in getting a portrait of my nieces and nephew, but it was hard finding a picture they liked. Over a year went by, and they finally decided on a picture from their trip to Hawaii.

Building up all of the layers of colors.

It was a challenging painting because of all of the different textures (blowing hair, hat mesh, beard stubble, detailed sunglasses, ocean, etc), but it was a lot of fun to work on. Life got busy, so I had to work on it in small chunks of time over the course of a couple of months. You can see in the in-progress photo how gradual the build-up of layers was (another reason why it took a long time).

I’m beyond excited over the final results! I can’t wait to see what it looks like displayed in their new house.

“Erin and Darin.” Watercolor, 11×14”

Wedding Commission for Nicole

I recently got the opportunity to work on this fun watercolor commission for Nicole. Since it was her “paper anniversary,” she wanted to gift her husband a watercolor painting of one of their wedding pictures.

After she sent me a couple of pictures for reference, I combined elements from her two favorites to create this painting.

Fun fact: we both have the same anniversary date, June 25th, just a couple of years apart.

An in progress picture of the painting in the early stages.

Watercolor, 5×7”

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.

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”

Getting Cinderella Ready For the Ball

It had been a long time since I had been able to create any new artwork, so I made it a priority in April to create a piece of artwork just for fun and all for me. My daughter loves Disney movies and we watch many together. It’s fun to re-watch many of the films that inspired me to become an artist.

One film that I loved re-watching was Cinderella. The artwork and animation are beautiful. I’m especially in love with the colors and style. Cinderella’s dress transformation might just be true animated magic. I love many other adaptations as well including, but not limited to, the Rodger’s and Hammerstein Cinderella TV musicals (1965 and 1997), EverAfter, and Gail Carson Levine’s young adult novel Ella Enchanted.

I decided to create my interpretation of Cinderella’s dress transformation. In addition to wanting to work for Disney, I also dreamed of being a children’s book illustrator and wanted to replicate these loves and ambitions through my art. I’m currently reading a book on children’s book illustration (a dream is to someday create my own illustrated book) and wanted to make a finished piece that might look like the page from a book. I hoped to create a sense of scene and story in one image as well as experimenting a little bit with style and technique.

My inspirations were all of the film versions of Cinderella I love and the artwork of Disney concept artist Mary Blair who helped create the look of the animated Cinderella.

I started with a really REALLY rough thumbnail using the ArtRage app on my phone. I had a vision, and wanted to quickly block it out with some colors I thought might work together. Afterwards, I created a pencil sketch, transferred the sketch to some smooth watercolor paper and began to block in the background using wet-on-wet watercolors and placing saran wrap over the paint while it was still wet. This technique create a fun texture, one of my favorite ways to play with backgrounds in my pieces.

I had envisioned a roughly painted tulle skirt created using thick gouache, but when I struggled to get the effect I was looking for, I had to switch tactics. I took a gamble of the dress by using a combination of wet-on-wet technique with lots and lots of salt to create a crystallized effect. Thankfully, it turned out even more magical than I had anticipated. When I started adding fine details on top of the dress, it really came to life and had a dimensional quality to it that I loved.

Cinderella’s face and the pumpkin were painted using gouache. I wanted to include the pumpkin and mice to foretell what else Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother would transform to get her ready for the ball. I had originally started with a solid black silhouette for the pumpkin and mice, but felt it looked too flat when compared to all of the textures used in the background. The addition of blue and purple gouache helped tie it into the rest of the piece.

cinderella

I am very happy with how this piece turned out. I hope to create a Snow White themed piece in the near future.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes video depicting my process on Cinderella: