I’ve been journaling every morning for years – it’s always been my way to wake up and get grounded before doing anything else. My morning has become a ritual, a moment of quiet reflection, grounding me in the beauty of the changing seasons. These moments often spark unexpected inspiration, especially for new color combinations. The subtle pink of sunrise blending with the celadon blue of... Continue reading
These last few weeks, I’ve been painting a new collection inspired by peace and new beginnings.. This new painting is a small study for one of the larger pieces I’m working on – she’s called Truth Speaks, Mixed Media, 12” x 12”. Autumn is stunning right now as all the leaves are full of color here in Wisconsin, so I’ve kept her color palette vibrant... Continue reading
Every painting I create begins with a few playful first layers. They inspire the direction of my painting. I also paint them whenever I need to loosen up. They’re a reminder that there’s no right or wrong way. And nothing has to be perfect. Once I return to having fun, I let go. From there my creativity is free. I often begin my backgrounds by... Continue reading
One way I have fun when I’m covering up a painting I don’t like is to fingerpaint and drip inks on top. There can never be a wrong way and it’s so fun to just smoosh paint around. I squeeze out 2-3 colors of acrylic inks and paint right onto my painting surface, smudge them together and add extra fingerprints to see what happens. This... Continue reading
Hello, Friends! Someone asked the other day how I came up with the hair for my portraits of women. And, while it started with a few circles in the first layers of my paintings, this hairstyle is actually a dramatization of how I sometimes wear my own hair. Whenever I paint, I like to wrap my hair around chopsticks to keep it up – I... Continue reading
Hello from my studio! I’m in the middle of painting a new collection, inspired by lots of fall color. So I’ve been thinking a lot about my creative practice and how my process has changed since I started painting in 2009. As I’m painting, I always take the parts that I love most from each piece and recombine those elements in new ways. Sometimes that... Continue reading
Hello, Friends! Lately, I’ve been thinking about the ways I’ve developed my style and learned to be loose in my art. When I first started painting my whimsical characters in 2009, I used lots of untraditional supplies like glitter glue, bleeding art tissue paper and crayons. As soon as I started to have fun, my paintings seemed to come to life. I wanted to return... Continue reading
Hello, Friends! The fall color here in Wisconsin has already been amazing and is completely inspiring the new collection of paintings I’ve been working on. We live in the middle of a 10-acre forest, surrounded by the tallest oaks and pine trees. The leaves are just starting to turn orange, golden, and red. While I love summer, this time of year is the perfect time... Continue reading
Hello, Friends! I have some exciting news to share with you about my new mini course Watercolor Joy! As you probably know, I’ve been painting lots of small studies for my recent collection. And I started painting watercolors in my sketchbook. Well, today I’m writing to you from my studio balcony where the weather feels like we’ve jumped right into autumn. We live in the... Continue reading
Hello, Friends! I used to struggle to be loose and let go in my paintings. I’d get super fearful about covering something up because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to paint anything better. Now I’ve learned that in adding those layers, taking chances, and creating beautiful, unexpected mistakes, my paintings come to life. It wasn’t until I snapped in-progress photos of my paintings... Continue reading
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