I know it has been three months since I have posted any of my work.....after I said I was going to post weekly....sigh. I am a mom, plus I'm homeschooling two of my kids and trying to do it right....involved in all kinds of things I feel compelled to be involved in......what else is there to say? When I have pockets of time to work on stuff I just want to paint. My soul needs it...for me my painting is therapy for anything that ails, whether it be stress, anxiety, this crazy world and all the sorrow I hear about on the news, my own grief and sorrow...all of it. It is a refuge for me... a safe peaceful place to go. So in my busy busy life (and I know everyone is busy....I think we need to be busy) I do procrastinate posting my work because I would rather just paint. But here I am again saying I am going to try and do it more often. I'm not going to say once a week this time...I'm just going to say more often.
I actually got a lot of painting done the past few months. I did the paintings for my brothers and sisters that my perants commissioned me to do. It was nice to do those for them at Christmas time because then it made me feel more a part of their celebration. I love my family...they are so awesome. I'm allways missing them, and the west. I'm afraid it will always be my home in my heart. I do like Pennsylvania...it is beautiful and quaint....but I just get homesick for the desert and the people there.
After the Christmas paintings I spent about a month on a very enjoyable commissioned painting. A friend of mine wanted a painting like one that I painted for my October 2010 show at the Ragged Edge in Gettysburg called Backyard Quiet. She said it reminded her of her grandma's backyard. I told her that painting was my grandma's backyard, actually. Because I didn't have any other commissioned paintings in my inbox I took the opportunity to paint more than one painting of Grandma Stott's backyard, so that she would have more than one to choose from. Painting a sunny backyard in the summertime where I have so many happy memories is just the kind of therapy I needed in January.
Since then I have been working on a big batch of eight of my forest series. They are almost done. Actually two are absonlutely finished and the rest need to be pushed a little further untill the Art Spirit tells me they are finished. I need to go put some music on and start making dinner but I will post the two forest paintings I have done soon....maybe tomorrow! For now here are the Christmas paintings and then the paintings about Grandma Stott's gackyard under the cherry tree.



Jenie and Scott sent me a photo of The Lone Cypress to paint for them. Scott grew up in California.


Laura and Jake had me paint a chair painting to be a companion piece to one I gave them for their wedding.


Sarah and Craig had me paint a copy of a Minerva Teichert...who happens to be one of my favorite artists.


Spencer and Jessica sent me two photos and wanted me to choose between the two. This is a painting of the beach in Hawaii.


David and Denise had me paint Christ in the Garden of Gethsemene my own way. This was an emotional one for me. The Atonement is the most important event in all of human history...how could I possibly do it justice? I did my best. Thank you Dave, for believing in me.




Ahhh...sitting under the cherry tree at Grandpa and Grandma Stott's....eating cherries....listening to grandpa's stories. Any minute now grandma is going to bring out a tray full of icecream sandwiches.