The Bird Family

This is my sister and her beautiful family. I've been dying to get my hands on editing these for so long now, and finally found a moment to do so. =)  I still have way more from this session to work on, so I may post more of my favorites later when I get them done, just for the fun of it. To be honest, I am way, WAY far behind in my editing. I don't get how professionals find the time for all this, and have personal lives, and maintain their families. It's crazy how much time it takes to edit them properly, but perhaps that just gets quicker with practice. Or at least that's what I'm hoping! Well, here's what I managed to get done so far. Hope you like them!

*Updated on Tuesday, August 7th, 2012: I love how these ended up turning out and I just couldn't help myself from reposting this! The images I had chosen earlier just were not my favorites in the end, and really did not represent my best from the shoot, so I decided to scrap those and have you see these ones instead. Ahhh, so much better! (Perfectionist much?! Lol) Enjoy! =D

 

 

Blue Jellies

I've been wanting to get to this painting for some time now, ever since drawing it up in one of my sketch books when I was back at LMC, and I finally just got the chance to do it last weekend so I'm super stoked! We went and saw these amazing creatures at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and for the life of me I can't remember what they're called. What I do remember is hanging out with Tyler on our honeymoon in the jellyfish section for over an hour, taking photo after photo of them and trying to stay out of the way of other guests. Now we have way, way too many jellyfish photos to wade through some day and delete, a task which I am not looking forward to. But in the meantime, I will be content with knowing that at least one of my pictures finally got some use! =)

"Blue Jellies"     11 x 14     Acrylic on Canvas

Manna from Heaven

So we've been missing Levi's medical card for some time now, since June in fact, and haven't been able to find it anywhere and we need it desperately this week. Well, I was reading my bible today, about how God rained down manna from heaven in Exodus 16, and realized I needed a pen to take notes. When I stood up to get one, out of nowhere falls Levi's medical card, right onto the floor! It was like God was saying, "Don't worry, I'll provide for you too. I'm looking out for you." Thank you, Lord, for wonderful little miracles like this one!

Cowboy Cake

Wow, I can't believe it's finished! This is the cake I made for my dear friends' son, who turned one this week. I can't believe he's a year old already - time is just flying by like crazy lately. For his party they went with an adorable cowboy theme, hay-bale and everything, and even made their own little saloon and sheriff's station set that kids could play in - it was awesome!

I had the hardest time with this cake, even after giving myself plenty (and I mean plenty) of time because we couldn't find Jet Puff marshmallows anywhere. I've been told only name brand marshmallows work for Marshmallow Fondant, but I had to make due and buy the store brand, and boy did I ever pay for it. The fondant was ridiculously unworkable, a sticky, tearing mess. And after a huge breakdown Sunday morning at 2am, while telling my husband "I'm in the depths of despair!" (someone's been watching a bit much of Anne of Green Gable's lately - haha!), my husband in great sympathy actually drove to the store to pick up all new supplies for me. How amazing is that, right? Tyler, seriously, you are the best husband ever, and I love how much of God I saw in your compassion and love for me this weekend.

In the end, after much prayer and pleading with God I actually ended up getting everything to work out, and out of the gooey, gobby mess I saw earlier today, came this:

And while the majority of the cake was covered in fondant, the hat, sheriff's star and rope were all made out of modelling chocolate, which I absolutely love to work with. It's seriously just like the clay we used in ceramics class, just edible.

I was so happy to see it turn out like this! I mean, to get something presentable at all was just phenomenal to me considering the circumstances. And once everything started working for me, I ended up having a blast making it, so win-win! =)

I also made a little "smash cake" for Logan too, so he would have something to get covered in. Here it is:

And here's what happened to it:

He's such a little cutie pie! Well, thanks for reading! =)

View of Flathead Lake

This was the view we had from the amazing cabin we were staying in while on vacation in Montana. I can't tell you how fun it is to paint such beauty while relaxing on the porch! Wish my own house had this kind of view... =)  Thank you so much, Pat and Gayle, for your incredible generosity in sharing your beautiful home with us!

"View of Flathead Lake"    5 x 7    Acrylic on Canvas Board

"My Study of a Pine" - A Grungy Painted Sketch of a Montana Pine Tree

I painted this while on vacation in Montana. It was just a quick sketch which I really wanted to keep in a rather grungy style, which I felt was accomplished by the hints of burnt sienna around the edges, creating an almost "burnt edges" effect as it were. The pine, or at least what I'm assuming was a pine - I'm not exactly one of those lucky people with a green thumb. I mean, it may have been a fir or something else entirely, but my gut tells me that at the very least it was not a maple or an oak, so I'm gonna stick with pine... Lol! ANYWAYS... The pine was much harder to get down quickly than I ever would have imagined, and I had a hard time trying to figure out which parts to really spend time putting detail on and which parts to just leave as they were. It was quite the interesting challenge for me, though I must say the scenery was so beautiful that if not for the pesky little bee that kept interrupting my painting, I would have been able to work on this for hours. But instead, I had to work quickly and efficiently, and figure out which parts really mattered.

While painting, I noticed the most beautiful little bird flitting back and forth over the hillside amongst the trees. He was so gorgeous - a bright, vibrant lemon yellow and both cool and warm greys on his body to compliment him. He would have been such a little beauty to put in, but he was just way too hyper for me to possibly capture with my brush. Bummer, right? That would have been so cute. Perhaps some day I shall take the time to add him in, though I may not, as I kinda just like the "captured as it was" grungy look I have going on here.

***UPDATE - Boy, my signature sure has had a facelift recently! Not sure why this particular one ended up so, well, rounded and exaggerated, but I've learned quite recently through some very excellent advice from my husband that it's better to keep it clean and simple, and to have it look almost exactly the same EVERY SINGLE TIME so that it almost becomes an iconic image in itself. Also, it most definitely needed some work in the "keeping it subtle" department, and I've been working a lot towards making it an image that while you can still see it, you almost have to look for it because it's so gently stated in my works. So, as I've said, I've been trying to do all of this lately (it's Feb. 2013 just so you know...) and I'm really liking how clean and soft it looks now. And so rather than clean it up on my previous works like this one, which part of me has this nagging and pressing desire to do so to make sure they are all alike, I would rather keep it as a remembrance of my evolution as an artist, as well as proof of the evolution of my artistic signature as well. =D

"My Study of a Pine"     5" x 7"     Acrylic on Canvas Board

Midnight Run

Wow, this summer has been insane and it has been far too long since my last post. Sure feels good getting something up here though, and I'm hoping to get back to posting at least once a month.

Unfortunately I haven't had too much time for art projects because of my recent pregnancy (YAY!) and subsequent morning sickness (not so yay!), but I have done a few that I will post this week. The first one is very dear to my heart, as it is a painting I created for my amazing niece, Willow, who is very passionate about horses. I love that girl so much (as I do all my beautiful nieces!), and have been dying to paint her a picture for forever. And considering the fact that she's already turning 12 this week, I'd say it's about time.

Oh, and sorry if the image quality isn't so great. We're having major camera difficulties right now, which translates to: we dropped our lens in water and then proceeded to get a huge speck of something on the inside of our camera while trying to clean it. No fun. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

"Midnight Run"    8 x 10    Acrylic on Canvas

My First Fondant Cake

I had the privilege of making a cake for my friend Amber's baby shower last week. It was the first one I've ever done, and to be honest, it was really difficult. I don't think fondant is my friend... However, Wilton's recipe for Marshmallow fondant is amazing and super easy to make! If you make cakes, you should totally check it out. Oh, and I found a tip on fondant that I'm sure you will appreciate: after adding the first amount of powdered sugar, when it comes time to knead it, throw it in your KitchenAid and let the dough hook knead it for you. For a girl with messed up wrists, this was a lifesaver!

Aside from laying the fondant on the cake, the hardest part for me was the little animals, since I made my own modeling chocolate. I have the feeling that next time will be much easier though, since I know what to expect. The funnest part, surprisingly, was piping in the letters. I absolutely loved doing that! Must be the graphic designer in me... All in all, I had a blast making it and am very happy with how it turned out. And now that I know I can do it, making Levi's birthday cakes will be so much fun!

Tawny Owl

I painted this two Christmases ago for my mom as a gift. It was my first painting after finishing up my degree, and it was so much fun to just be able to paint it and not have to do it as part of a school project. I loved being able to pick my own subject and paint it how I wanted to. I hope that feeling never fades. =)

"Tawny Owl"  9 x 12  Acrylic on Canvas

Detail of "Tawny Owl"

Another Sleepless Night

Well, I'm starting to feel like restless nights are actually good for me, since it gives me the opportunity to paint. Whatever works, right?

"Pink Sunrise"   5 x 7   Acrylic on Canvas Board

Baby Thalia

I am so excited to get some of these up! This little one is so precious, and I just love her squishy cheeks! Her name is Thalia, and she is one of the cutest babies ever. Plus, she's only like 4 mos. old now (these were taken when she was only 3 mos.) and she weighs almost as much as my other friend's one year old. Gotta love the chunky babies! She's just so cute. But I'm sure you can see that for yourself.  =)

 

 

The Factory

So I tried out the masonite I bought and even though it took two tries, I ended up really liking it. The first attempt was such a fail that I actually washed the first painting off and repainted on it, but I am rather happy with my second attempt. It's the view out my studio window, though it's not exact. I'm trying to teach myself that it's okay not to depict things exactly as they are, which has been really hard for me because I always felt like that was cheating.

"The Factory"  8 x 10  Acrylic on Masonite

My Very First Commission

Yay! I just finished my very first commissioned piece! If anyone is interested in ordering a custom painting, just contact me and we'll talk. =)

 "Ginger"  8 x 10  Acrylic on Canvas

In the style of Turner

I just wanted to try something a little different, and so I did this sketch last night at one in the morning (I clearly couldn't sleep) that is strongly inspired by the works of J.M.W. Turner. I'm not a big fan of canvas board because of how cheaply made it is, and so I'm thinking of making the switch to masonite soon. In fact, I just bought my first piece about a week or so ago - I'll let you know what I think about it after some experiments. =)

"Like Turner"  5 x 7  Acrylic on Canvas Board

Impromptu Photoshoot

I was over at my friend's house, taking pictures of her new little baby girl (you may remember her from the newborn pictures I posted earlier) and she suggested that I try taking pictures of her little girls and their cousins since they were in from out of town. So on a whim, I whipped together a photoshoot and gave it a shot. (haha, get it? gave it a shot... I'm so punny!)

But who would've thought that taking pictures of 3 little ones all under the age of 2 would be nearly impossible? Well, maybe that's pretty obvious, but I was up for the challenge anyways. =)  After all, I read that the only way you can get really good is to shoot often and get out of your comfort zone. And in the end I actually had a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit in the process. I know I still have a long way to go, but I'm very thankful for opportunities like this to challenge myself.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone! Hope you are having an amazing day. Man, do I love this kid! But seriously, can you blame me...?

 

Zander's Paintings

I painted these little initials for Levi's NICU buddy, Zander. For those of you who don't know, it's pretty crazy how these little guys met. My husband and Zander's mom, Megan, went to high-school together. In fact, he drove her home from graduation, and hadn't seen her since. Then, years later and three days into our NICU stay at the hospital, who's baby shows up in the isolette next to ours but Megan's. Neither one of us was in the hospital near our homes and so it's nothing short of miraculous to me. God knew just how much I would need someone as loving as her throughout our stay there, and suffice it to say, we became great friends.

Zander celebrated his first birthday only a few days after Levi, and I just had to make something special for that amazing little boy. I wanted it to be simple and cute, like little letter blocks that he could hang on his wall. I must admit, they're a little more plain than I would have liked, and I was really scared to make something for someone else since you never know if they will like them. But as Tyler and I keep joking, they live far enough away that they never have to worry about me finding out if they never put them up! =)

It's About Time - "Tyler's Buffalo" - Buffalo Painting

I've been married to my amazing husband, Tyler, for almost five years and I just now sat down and made my very first painting for him. It's about time, right? For some odd reason, the American buffalo is his favorite animal, though to me, they just look like overgrown cows.  =)  Anyways, I've been wanting to do a painting like this for him for some time now, but just couldn't get the courage up to do it. I say "courage" because it seems like all the ideas that I've wanted to do for a long time are really hard for me to finally sit down and do. I don't know if any of you are the same way, but I really struggle with this a lot. And while it's not my favorite painting (in fact, it was one of the more irritating ones I've ever done), I learned quite a bit from it and am very happy it's done.

"Tyler's Buffalo"   11x14   Acrylic on Canvas

Little Jianna

Here's Jianna, born last Monday at around 5 in the morning - suffice it to say it was a very long night for mommy and daddy. I took her mom's maternity pictures, as you can see in my earlier posts, and I was so excited to finally be able to take these of their precious baby girl. It was so much fun playing around with her during her photoshoot, and I learned that if you leave a baby naked long enough, they will pee. Twice. But she is seriously one of the most perfect babies I have ever seen and was so much fun to photograph. Thank you, Shannon and Jeff, for letting me come and do these with you.