by admin | Sep 19, 2016 | Stories
New digital painting inspired by the wonder of what God has made,or rather my imaginative interpretation.
When you look closely at Creation, you have to see the incredible intelligent design from a Maker of enormous talent, skill and love. Why would God put so much design into a mere flower? Because He wanted to. Because He loves us and wants to delight us. Because He wanted us to know that it came from a source much higher than man and we might be compelled to seek Him.
Can man fashion a seed from scratch? He can make a replica, a copy, an artificial “seed like” transport of living material. But man cannot make the seed itself.
People ask, “What do the symbols mean?” I think they are a secret language, like petroglyphs – a primitive attempt to explain truth using visual aides. The circles are seeds. The triangles depict the triune representation of God as described in Christianity.
Or . . . perhaps it’s because I’m also a pattern designer and I’m naturally attracted to motifs and icons that are repeatable. In the repeat, they become like an alphabet, or a higher means of communication just like our Maker might use.
Since my paintings are often “intuitive” their meanings are revealed to me as I create them or after they are complete.
For a hand signed giclee print, please click on my Store.
by admin | Sep 6, 2016 | Stories
In the design world, the ultimate outcome of every piece of art created to appear on a product of some kind, no matter how it originates, becomes a digital composition printed via digital mediums. What we may create entirely by hand will end up being outputted by a machine. Even prints of original artwork are digitized to be mass-produced.
This isn’t a criticism from an artist who bemoans the digital world and its influence on art. I LOVE working with my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. It has revolutionized my work and made me a happy girl!
I think that’s why I’ve recently fallen in love with making marks by hand, especially when using a digital device like an iPad. There’s nothing quite like brush or pen to paper, or tablet, that creates a connection between the artist and the work they create. I love the imperfection that is achieved even with digital media. I may have well used a brush and paint or ink because that’s what it looks like.
For many years when digital drawing became popular via Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, the goal was to achieve a perfect line, a perfect curve. Why? Because you could. I still love making a perfect line with the assistance of Adobe and other digital products and couldn’t live without them. However, recently I’ve begun to respect the imperfect line that only my wobbly hand can achieve. It says something important – I’ve been here. Thanks Apple.
Blue Collage is a repeat pattern (believe it or not) created using Paper 53, cut up into pieces and reassembled digitally as a collage. The perfect marriage of hand design and what I call “digital assist” is why I love to get up every day and create art. Hope you enjoy it too.
Available on Society 6 as an art print and a whole lot of other useful and fun products I think you’ll enjoy. Click on the link above and it will take you there. If you would prefer a hand-signed giclee print from my website store, click here.
by admin | Jul 23, 2016 | Stories
I’ve been removing trees that are wrong for my property, and thinking about what new trees to replace them with. It’s a big step. Trees are a commitment.
This may be weird to you but painting often clarifies for me what I’m thinking about or what’s important to me. I began to research trees and try to decide what to plant. Then I started this painting with no idea what it would become. That’s what “intuitive painting” is all about. The process reveals the meaning as it progresses.
I always make a lot of changes in a painting before it finally opens up and starts to “speak” to me. This one took a while but eventually it revealed that whatever I plant must be full of joy. I have to plant with that in mind. One sows seeds in hopes that something wonderful will grow and become useful, beautiful and is a source of great joy.
It’s the same with how I live my life. If I don’t sow joy I won’t get it. Duh, what a simple truth!
Way back in my less mature days I spent a lot of wasted time being angry and cynical at the world. Sure I examined where it all came from, taking it back to my childhood and blah blah blah. So what? Just because I figured it out didn’t mean I could get rid of it. Everybody has “issues.”
Then i discovered the art and practice of gratitude and that was the victory I was looking for. I saw everything as a gift instead of a curse. Blessings followed. Outlooks changed. Victories were common. Joy was no longer so elusive.
OK, so back to the painting. The truth is this: If we want joy, we must plant joy. The painting also revealed to me what kind of trees I’m going to plant. When they begin to grow into their spaces, I will look at them with joy knowing they were the perfect choice.
The fill size painting can be viewed and purchased as a hand-signed giclee print here.
by admin | Jul 7, 2016 | Stories
Desert plants intrigue me because they thrive in tremendous adversity. Why is that? There must be a lesson here. God made them with the ability to retain nutrients and water in spite of living in arid climates. They stay alive, reproduce and thrive in such conditions. I think that’s why I make them a subject of my art.
My greatest moments of growth have come from adversity. I hate the adversity part, but I love the perseverance it produces. Next time I face a trial I have experience to grab onto – memories of how God came to my rescue or enabled me to walk through the fire and live.
The Bible speaks of the qualities of faith that enable a person to thrive (2 Peter 5-8) . . . goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. These qualities are like the water and nutrients an arid desert plant requires to live and thrive. It’s what I need to live and thrive in a chaotic world.
The above image is cropped. To see it in full or purchase a giclee print, click on shop.
by admin | Jun 28, 2016 | Stories
Have you ever noticed that hummingbirds are attracted to color? It seems God made their eyes to focus on things that would feed and nourish them and He did it with color. Is it any wonder that the flowers they love are abundantly colorful?
We too are attracted to certain colors to a higher degree than others, maybe for the same reason – because they nourish us. My favorites tend to be warm and bold mixed with cool and vibrant. I don’t know why but each time I design something I choose a color palette first. I gravitate to bold oranges, yellow and reds and then I mix them with their complements on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Many designers choose soft muted colors and I often wonder why. Some say it’s because they produce a calming effect or they are less jarring to the eye and therefore blend with the environment better. While I choose more muted clothing to wear, I never choose to design patterns or paintings that way. I usually choose bold, bright, vibrant colors that make a statement. It seems to be the way I roll.
If God were to ask me to design a custom garden for hummingbirds, it would probably look something like this. Hope you enjoy it, and a giclee print is available at my shop here.
by admin | Jun 6, 2016 | Stories
A few weeks ago a roadrunner came to call and I posted some photos on Facebook of him perched on the back of a patio chair. Previously I’d seen him hanging around my art studio. He came racing around the back,tail bobbing, chasing after something with a vengeance, a lizard no doubt. When he saw me he looked a little sheepish and took off, as if he was a bit embarrassed at being caught in a frenzy of pursuit.
These are the seemingly mundane stories that make it into my art. Simple things become inspiration. The real story – that God has been here and has left glaring evidence of His presence and creativity – is the truth behind every piece I do.
“The Roadrunner and the Lizard” is a repeat pattern, which I kind of imagine used on gift wrap or gift bags. Would you be delighted to receive a gift, wrapped up in this colorful story?
Lately, I’ve been designing very layered complex patterns with a visual story at the center, making it suitable for a stand alone print, which I will make available for purchase directly from my store on this website, or on products from my partner companies – Society6 and Fine Art America.
Hope you enjoy this little bit of color and the story behind it.
