My middle kid started this silly thing with his friend: "Secret Pancakes". I don't really know how it came about, but there it is. So,...

Hello! I have finished a spooky, gothic, romantic little piece and am excited to share it with you all. I call this piece Lie Still. I'll...

I've started a new piece in preparation for an Art Stroll at the beginning of September. Featured is a tombstone that is inspired by some in New Orleans cemeteries. Normally, I really hate spooky things . I like Halloween, but I only like the whimsical and magical and cutesy aspects. Gore, scary movies, horror... not for me. What about you? Dead bodies seriously terrify me, and I hate walking around cemeteries. As I was starting this painting, however, I felt a slight shift i

I have always been a pretty impatient person. I am constantly think "when _______ then _______." Usually it's, "When it's fall, I'll slow down" or "When my kids are older, I'll feel less stress." Regrettably, that's not the case. Life is busy. Life has stress. Nothing gets easier, the hard just... changes . As my youngest is getting closer to starting school full time, I have been in a state of unrest. I am excited that my baby will get to go to kindergarten and have fun and

A year-and-a-half ago, I was gifted Schmincke Gouache from my husband. These were the first professional-grade paints I had ever tried. It also was the first time I had heard of gouache! In February of that next year, I participated in an Instagram Art Challenge called February Flowers or something to that effect. Each day in February, I painted a different flower whose name aligned with a letter of the alphabet. After several days of painting flowers on postcards with waterc

This past week my family and I spent several days at beautiful Bear Lake -- a gorgeous lake with turquoise water that rests on the border between Idaho and Utah. We spent most of our days soaking in the sunshine at the beach. It was truly an idyllic vacation. One thing that I have not done very often as an artist is paint outside from life. I usually take a long time to work on a painting and work to make it as close to perfect as I can. Painting from life means not having al

W hat catches the eye more than an interesting picture? However, if you want to add pictures, but you're looking for something specific, the internet can be an easy place to accidentally, or thoughtlessly, steal someone's work. W hile the easiest way to avoid copyright infringement is to take pictures ourselves , that isn't always feasible. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some free ways to get high-quality images without stealing from someone. No one is paying me

There are a lot of things that go into trying to create an art business. So many things that scare me. A website, safe ways to take payment, good enough pictures of my work, branding, a social media presence, figuring out prints, finding customers, taxes, bookkeeping, email lists, protecting my information, protecting your information... it goes on and on. I just want to make art. I don't want to run a business because it stresses me out, and I worry I'll make mistakes or wor