If I’m not liking my painting, I generally have to cover it up. Usually, the parts I don’t like are either my character’s eyes, posture or face shape. If it’s the eyes that I don’t like (or the entire face), I’ll often pour water on top and smudge the features out. This helps to give me a new place to begin, but since I can... Continue reading

My art is a form of visual storytelling. I take progress photos of my paintings to help me remember where I felt like giving up, when I thought I’d made a huge mistake and when I overworked a character (all of these things pretty much happen in every painting). For this latest painting, I was inspired to combine my female characters, shape shifters and whimsical... Continue reading

I found all of these canvases with half finished characters. If I wait too long to finish a painting, I simply cannot begin again where I left off (not even close). So I’ve been painting over parts of my old artwork. Do you ever find it difficult to cover up parts of your paintings? I do (a lot). All of my experiences and emotions go... Continue reading

The question I’m asked most often is how I developed my style. I paint a lot (usually every day). And I try to balance staying in my comfort zone with pushing myself, so I can keep developing my style. As I paint, I stay really conscious of how I’m feeling and when I get frustrated. I take photos of my work in progress, so I... Continue reading

For years I stopped painting. All of my early artwork ended up in the basement or trash, so I thought, “What good is it to paint?” I never thought anyone would want to see my work. I went to college to study biology, but I couldn’t stay away from the art room. I couldn’t help myself from painting on everything and anything. I found a... Continue reading

I used to feel like I needed to keep moving to stay inspired. So, in the spring of 2018, I took a solo road trip out west. I visited my brother in Colorado and then stayed a few days in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On this trip I felt so free. I remembered the importance of going out on my own, which always makes me... Continue reading

I have an obsession with art supplies. Every year at this time I always take inventory in my studio – cleaning and reorganizing, especially in my supply closet. I have so many art supplies that I never use. I tend to have my favorites – like my fluorescent pink and white paint pens, my titanium white oil paintstick, my cobalt teal acrylic and a few... Continue reading

Lately, I’ve been struggling to stay loose and carefree in my artwork. Sometimes I have to force myself not to outline my character and give it complete definition, especially when I’m painting my flower girls. I’ve found, just like when painting a character’s eyes, their body looks more natural when you don’t draw in or paint every line. Less is so often more. Yet keeping... Continue reading

It soothes my soul to paint freely with whimsy. I’ve been finishing up a few larger paintings, and creating some new imaginary characters. I keep envisioning all of these characters in a storybook filled with their magical tales, so I’m trying to write and record a few. I’ll share them with you soon! I’ve also been experimenting with spray paint again. I generally add oil... Continue reading