For years, I stopped painting. Art was the thing I loved to do growing up and in high school, but I didn’t know how to make money from being creative. All of my early work ended up in the basement or trash. I felt like my creativity didn’t matter. I went to college to study biology, but I couldn’t stay away from the art room.... Continue reading

Whenever I paint, the eyes and face have to resonate with my heart before I can go deeper into the rest of the painting. There’s always an ugly stage, but, little by little, layer by layer, the face and shape comes together and then it feels like magic. But sometimes I still get super stuck. The other day when this happened, I was in the... Continue reading

Whenever I try to paint something new, I get stuck. Documenting my painting process in photos has helped me be kinder to myself and understand the ugly stages are just part of the process. Yet I so often assume that I can just sit down and paint what’s in my head. Or look at a past painting and do it again. But that doesn’t happen.... Continue reading

The first layers in my paintings are all about color and play. But when it comes to creating my character, it’s like putting together a puzzle. My characters never really start to come together until I find the eyes. But the other day I was in the middle of this new painting and everything came together once I found her posture (she’s called ‘In Dreams’... Continue reading

I’ve always loved creating detail and definition in my characters with black outlines. But it’s always been tricky to find something that’ll go over all of my mixed media layers. When I first started painting my characters in 2009, I tried a black Sharpie marker, which completely smudged once I added my top coat. I tried so many different pens and inks, but they either... Continue reading

When I’m struggling to be loose in my art, I get out new supplies and play. This makes me stop and look around, so I’m not so focused on painting something perfect. My entire process is all about play. But sometimes I still get super stuck. The other day when this happened, I was working on this new painting (she’s called ‘Phoenix of Light’ 11”... Continue reading

I don’t believe in balance. I found that trying to achieve any sort of balance in art and life was completely stressing me out. The balance never happened. Instead, I’m learning to embrace the ebb and flow and expect change. That means I’ve deepened my painting practice. Creating is one of the things I know I can always come back to for grounding whenever everything... Continue reading

I often get stuck when I paint my eyes and face. Initially, I often feel like the face is just floating in space. That’s one reason I like to cover up the white space with playful colors in my first layers. But the eyes have to resonate with my heart before I can continue with the rest of the painting. The other day I was... Continue reading

Do you ever find it hard to cover up your paintings? I do (all the time). Then sometimes a happy accident happens and it makes me stop and realize I just need to let go. But so often that’s hard to remember when you’re in the moment. The other day when this happened, I was working on this new painting (she’s called ‘Messenger of Hope,’... Continue reading