"Birds of a Feather" - An Abstract Painting by Melissa Adams

"Birds of a Feather"     4" x 5"     Acrylic on Archival Canvas Panel

SOLD

So I've finally discovered one way for me to get out of a slump, and it's painting abstracts! =) They are somewhat mindless, and at the same time challenging, beautiful and extremely fun to create, and I am just falling deeper and deeper in LOVE with them! This one was started a few weeks back and I never got the chance to get it finished. It actually started out as a palette knife painting of a pear and then transformed into this, which may sound a bit odd to you, but I actually like this painting a lot better.

And as for creative slumps, I also discovered recently that drawing out sketches for future paintings also gets my juices flowing like crazy. I love that you don't need very many materials to do this, too, so that you can do it just about anywhere. So great! So, what do you do to get out of your own creative ruts?

"The One Who Sits, The One Who Soars" - An Abstract Painting by Melissa Adams

"The One Who Sits, The One Who Soars"     Acrylic on Illustration Board     2.75" x 3"

Here's one of my quick little abstracts from way back when Levi was still an infant. It's pretty small, and I can see another potentially larger painting coming from this, if I ever get the time and am not extremely exhausted. I don't know what's been going on lately but I have been super exhausted - like every fiber of my being is rejecting any amount of work, no matter how small. I am napping and even with that I'm falling asleep around 9 at night, which is insane for me. I'm just pooped all day long, and even Ty is starting to feel it, because the less I can do, the more he has to, the poor guy! I really feel bad for him, but I'm not sure how I can help him when my body is acting this way. I can usually judge how well I'm feeling by how my hobbies are doing, as in if they exist or not, so you can see lately I just haven't had the time for any of it, which is generally a bad thing.

But hey, at least I finished my Chronic Pain Class on Thursday, so yay! I'm so very glad to be done with that, though it honestly did give me some great managing tools that I've been able to apply to my life that have helped a lot, and will continue to help as we move down this rocky path.

I'm really hoping to stay awake long enough tonight to be able to get some painting in, because I miss it immensely! I hope you're doing well and hope to talk to you soon!

Oh man, hold on, before I leave, I had the craziest thing happen the other night pain-wise. Like I said I've been going to bed super early, and on Thursday after pain class I put on some Capsaicin (it's a chili pepper pain med, that works to make your nerves non-receptive to normal pain signals. For example, you know those grandmas that can cut up a million jalapenos, wipe their eyes, and not feel any pain at all, whereas if you did it, even your hands would be burning like crazy? Well, it works like that - the more you use it, the less you feel pain in that area.)

So anyways, I put it on, dropped the boys off at Meema's house (that's my mom) =)  and then we went out on a terribly much needed date (all by ourselves - it was AMAZING!). When we got home at 9, Owen and I were fast asleep in the car, so Daddy had to get us both up. I fell asleep crawling up the stairs (we seriously need an elevator or chairlift or something because this is just getting ridiculous!) and then when Ty found me he helped me to get into bed. So in bed, I turn on my heating pad, put it on my lower back near my hips, fall fast asleep again, and 30 minutes later wake up with one of the worst pain sensations of my entire life. I felt like my back and hips were literally on fire!!! It was awful. My skin felt like the top layers of flesh were melting off - ughh, it was so bad. Ty rushed downstairs to grab an ice pack, and then again to grab another because having just one didn't quite do the job, and I just lay there panicking in too much pain to even pray or think.

So, the moral of the story? READ the box, and then LISTEN to the directions. I knew it said not to apply heat after using the product, but I thought it meant right after, and was so tired it honestly didn't even occur to me that I had used it earlier. But now I'm thinking that they meant what they said, and I'm a bit worried as to how long you have to wait before using a heating pad again after applying that stuff. I seriously don't want that happening again! Oh well, that was one lesson well learned, that's for sure!!! Ouch. =/

"Swirls of Copper" - An Abstract Painting

"Swirls of Copper"     6" x 6"     Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

Well hello there my friends! I have two orders of business I must attend to on here, and they are quite good if you ask me. =D

First of all, I just wanted to remind you all that there are only 6 more days left for you to WIN A COMPLETELY FREE PAINTING from my "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Collection, both shipped and framed (or on an easel, depending on which one you choose if you win) for free as well!!! What a deal, right?! All you have to do to be eligible to win is sign up to follow my blog by clicking the blue button, "Join this site" on the right sidebar. So if you haven't done it yet, make sure to do that before you go today so you won't forget. You can tell if you did it right if your name appears in one of the squares underneath the word "Members." Good luck to all of you! And thank you so much for those of you who have already shown me your support by signing up for my blog - you have no idea how much that means to me, and I am truly thankful! =D

And secondly, I wanted to let you know what the 2nd CONTEST FOR 2013 is going to be, which will start now and run through the end of February. I will be giving away one free ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) to three different people this month, free of charge, shipping and all!!! So there's three chance's to win this month, which is pretty stinkin' awesome! For those of you who may not know what an ACEO is, it's a small original work of art about the same size as a traditional baseball card (2.5" x 3.5"). And for those three lucky people who win this contest, they will receive their ACEO inside of a Card Frame, which means their work of art will be encased in a little card that actually acts as a mat for a frame, so that it will be all ready to frame and hang on the wall. And this contest is super easy to sign up for! All you have to do is "Like" my Facebook fan page and let me know that you did!!! Yup, you heard me right. That's it. Super easy, right? So if you want some free original artwork in a sweet little white mat that's all ready for you to frame, all you have to do is "Like" my page! You can do it now through February 28th, 2013, and anyone who has already liked my page is automatically entered to win, so long as they comment on my page that they are interested in entering this contest. Woo-hoo!!! I will make a special post for anyone wanting to enter this contest  Good luck to all of you out there! If you actually want to "Like" my page right now, go ahead and click here, and it will open up in a new window for you for your convenience. Soon I'll be putting a link to like my page on the right sidebar of my blog so that people can like it from there.

Now, as for this painting, it went through quite the interesting process, let me tell ya! The underpainting was a combination of baby blue and windsor purple wrapped in a ribbon-like pattern, much like those old fashioned candies most grandparents seem to have in a dish on the table around Christmas-time. Then, it turned into a few different designs, only to be washed away and scrubbed completely clean so I could start over from scratch.

Anyways, my hope was to create something completely different with this one, since that was pretty much my theme for the last 26 days, but I have to be honest with you, I'm kinda dying to go back to spending more than just one day on my works, and my hope is to eventually get a few smaller paintings in the works so that I can spend quite a bit more time on each one, while still posting nearly as much as I am now. That way they're staggered as I'm finishing them, but each one can get more attention to detail and such, because I keep wanting to try some really intensely detailed works, but just can't do so under the pressure of these deadlines. Anyone else out there having the same problems as me? And any tips out there for how to keep up your daily quota without having to sacrifice on the type and style of work you want to do? Because I know that once January ends and I'm on my own that I'm really going to struggle with this A LOT!

On the bright side, what I really have loved about this challenge is how it quite literally challenges me to be fresh, creative, and to try to become more and more organized about how I do my art, although in reality I've found that even if I organize myself by planning the entire weeks worth of paintings ahead of time, that by the time I even just get to day two I've already lost my momentum and my inspiration to paint each one dwindles away completely so that I have to set it aside for another day anyways and just do something else. But I do like how I have to try to come up with something completely different each and every day, because it's really helping to spark the imagination deep within me that I once feared I had lost. And that's pretty huge in and of itself, I'd have to say. So, all in all this has been a pretty incredible challenge and I'm shocked it's going to be over in only a few days...

"Thermal Imaging" - An Abstract Painting

"Thermal Imaging"     4" x 4"     Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

This started out as an expressionist floral painting, and then ended up as a straight up abstract as I began to fuss and play around with it more and more. I actually am really thrilled with how it turned out as it reminds me of the thermal imaging they do of the earth around places like Hawaii and other island locations, and am really glad now that it took a turn for the... Well, different, I'd say. It's definitely different than the pink and red flower it started out as!!! It was like one of those projects they have you do in art class where you're given 6 pieces of paper to morph an airplane into a boat, but eventually you can make the one form into the other if you have the patience and do it right.. If I had only shot pictures of it in progress along the way! Bummer!

But I honestly didn't have a second to waste - I didn't realize how late it was and got in right under the wire again. Considering that both my internet and computer were moving frightfully slow tonight, okay, add me into that equation too... So with all of us running in slow motion and with only one minute left to post before the submission closed, I started sweating on this one. But once again, thank the Lord, this one got in and as soon as it did, the little button to submit your picture was gone. I made it by the skin of my teeth all over again! Praise the Lord!!!

The colors are a bit off vibrancy-wise, as the orange should be a bit more vibrant than it is, so I'll probably have to retake the pics tomorrow and repost them up here as soon as I can.  But in the meantime, I hope you all are having a good time out there in whatever you do, and all see you all later! =)

"Early Morning Wake-Up Call for Tyler" - An Abstract Painting

"Early Morning Wake-Up Call for Tyler"     5" x 7"     Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

Not For Sale

No, no, I wasn't lazy today by just posting the same piece again as yesterday. This one is new. Let me explain... So yesterday morning when Ty saw my piece "Early Morning Wake-Up Call" on the computer,  he loved it so much he was actually really excited about it and even said it was his absolute favorite abstract of mine yet up to date, but then was rather disappointed when he realized I had done it on such a small scale. So today's piece is my attempt at recreating it for him, still small mind you (5" x 7" per Tyler's request), but much bigger than before. I'm actually really happy with how it turned out! After all, it's really, REALLY hard to recreate an abstract, or any piece of art for that matter, exactly as it appeared before, which is why that was one of the main practices masters used to teach their apprentices how to paint. I know this painting's not even close to spot-on, but I like it and it turned out pretty stinkin' close to the original. So now I just have to play the waiting game and see later today what Tyler thinks about it, after he wakes up that is. I'm a little nervous, but after I wake up (I guess I need to sleep first) I'll let you know what he thought. Yup, yesterday I woke up at 3:30am, tonight I'll be going to bed after 4am. Wow. My schedule is ALL messed up! Ha, I sooo have to try to get back on track, but I'm starting to loose track of what being "on track" looks like... Yikes! =P

Well, I really hope you all are having a great day today! Sorry for any of you who signed up for the contest and like this piece - unless Tyler ends up hating it, I obviously made it for him so it's spoken for already. But there's plenty of other works to choose from, so no worries I hope. Plus there's the little baby version of this one too, and it looks awful cute in a frame, let me tell ya! Sorry if there are any guys reading this - that was probably a little too girly for you... Anyways, speaking of this contest, I can't believe there's only 8 more days left to sign up! Seriously, this month has flown by crazy fast!

MY TIP FOR THE DAY:
Did you know that you can actually use plastic wrap and those little thin sandwich baggies to make cool effects with your paint. It's a great tool for creating texture in your works, and you should totally give it a try! You can create multiple effects, such as splattery-ish looks (wow, that was an awful made-up word. Again, sorry. Lol!), tree bark, beautiful smudges and dappling to name a few. I used both "plastic tools" in different areas all over these last two paintings, and I have to admit, it's quite a blast to do! It's super easy too. All you have to do is apply your paint somewhat thick, or even really thick if you like, crumple up the food packaging of your choice, and dab and smear and scrunch it up into the paint, moving around the piece as you go. You can also pick up the paint with the plastic directly and apply it that way, and you can use more than one color as well to get an even more mottled effect. I think I shall be painting an entire abstract soon with only those two tools - it could be pretty cool! Can you imagine trying to do a realistic painting with only those as well - I imagine the effect would be slightly similar to knife painting, though really totally different. I'm not so sure that made much sense, but hey, it's almost 4am, so yeah... Haha, oh bother, I really need to go to bed now. So, if you feel like painting and can't remember where your brushes are at 3am, or if you just want to try something different and exciting, I highly suggest you try this out! It's a blast to do and it can add so much to your painting if you're willing to give it a shot. Either way, I hope you have a great day and have the chance to be creative, whatever that may look like for you in your life! As for me, it's nigh-night time as we call it in our house, and the kids are probably going to wake up soon, so it's off to bed for me. Talk to you later! =)

"Early Morning Wake-Up Call" - An Abstract Painting (ACEO)

"Early Morning Wake-Up Call"     2.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Bristol Board (ACEO)

SOLD

I am SO not a morning person, so any of you who know me will know just how crazy it is that last night I went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 3:30am. And I mean, wide-awake! So, might as well get out the paintbrushes, right?

I had a rough night's sleep last night - woke up with the most painful stiff armed cramp I've ever had. I cried out as I was waking up, scaring the living daylights out of Ty, who had to get up and help me straighten out my arm because I couldn't do it on my own. It hurt like the dickens. Definitely a result of over-doing it yesterday. But I can't complain, you know why? Because it was sooo totally worth it! Ty and I got to go on the sweetest little date yesterday curtesy of Joleen, who watched our kids from 9:30 to 4. It was A-MAZE-ING!!! Thank you so much Joleen!

So what, pray tell, did we do? Well... First off we went to Carl's Jr, because for months now, actually years if I remember correctly, we have both been dying to try out their breakfast menu, but have never been up and out with nothing to do early enough to try them. Oh man, so good! I got the Country Style Burrito, or whatever it's called. Yummy! Then we went shopping at World Market, one of our favorite date stores, because the stuff in there is just so random. And I found quite the find of this little potpourri collection of seashells and oddly large nutshells and other various accompaniments in the colors of tan and teal blue - oh so pretty! It's supposed to be for our house but I honestly bought it because I saw so much potential within it for painting subjects. I'm so excited! And then, as usual on our dates, we went to Barnes and Noble and browsed for a bit, got a Starbucks, and then headed home to relax, and of course cuddle. "Great date,"you're  probably thinking sarcastically to yourself I'm sure, but it actually really was. It was so refreshing and beautiful for our relationship, and I loved it and I love him so very much. Okay, enough of the mushy stuff now.

I hope you're all having a great day out there and that hopefully you're nice and rested, even if you did end up getting an early morning wake-up call like I did. (Do you like how I did that?! =D Like how they do it in the movies where they drop the title in there somewhere amongst the dialogue... I'm such a rock-star! Oh yeah! Lol.) Oh man, I'm sorry, I'm such a nerd, but you know you love me. Or at least I'm gonna pretend you do... Once again, ANYWAYS... Well, have a great day all! =D

MY TIP FOR THE DAY:
Oh, wait, before I leave, I actually have a painting tip today for any of you out there wanting to try to paint on Bristol Board, which is actually quite fun and economical as well. To keep the paper from warping and curling up on you, paint an X on the back to stabilize it. You can even add an extra T over that, to give it extra support like I do. I do this before I ever even start painting on it, and then if I notice it starting to try to warp at the end when I'm all done, I repaint the X & T all over again, which will get it to stop warping all over again. Oh, and make sure you do this in a light color like white or cream if your painting is going to end up on a light ground, or really even if it's not, so it doesn't end up showing through on your final work. It should look something like this:

How to Keep Bristol Board from Warping & Curling

Umm... Except maybe a touch cleaner. Hmm... I never have been know to keep my workspace free from splatter, so I guess that's true of the back of my paintings too. Oops. Let's just say it gives it extra character. Lol!

Good luck! =)

"Entangled" - A New Abstract Painting

"Entangled"     4" x 5"     Acrylic on Archival Canvas Panel

This was supposed to be my painting for yesterday, but I never got around to doing it, let alone posting it, because things have been absolutely crazy around here lately. So here it is today, a day late but still as pretty as can be! =0)

I've been dying to paint this particular painting for years now! It was originally one of my favorite abstracts from my little sketchbook that we used in our advanced drawing class at LMC for our daily drawings. I remember loving the once formidable task of drawing out a sketch every day, though I felt like I never really had the time to put much of myself into it... And that was before kids... Oh how naive I was! If only I could go back in time and shake myself by the shoulders, screaming, "You have NO idea how good you have it right now! STOP WASTING SO MUCH TIME!!!" I could get so much more done. Ahh, but alas, I'm pretty sure just about everybody I know wishes they could do that too. =P

Anyways, the drawing was originally done in pastel back then, on pure black Strathmore Artagain paper (which, by the way, is one of my favorite papers to draw on EVER, especially with oil pastels!), but I am much more thoroughly pleased with the amount of pizazz this has as a painting, especially with the deep blue-green coloring that I added around the edges. I feel like it not only adds to the depth of the piece, but it also adds to the overall composition as well, making it so much more dynamic and interesting. I absolutely love it! This is definitely going to be redone as a MUCH larger painting some day when I have the time. =D

Well, hope you're having a great day! See you all tomorrow, Lord willing!

Finished Version of "Beads of Dew" Complete with Glass Beads

Before: 

After:

"Beads of Dew"     4" x 5"     Acrylic & Glass Beads on Archival Canvas Panel

Here's the finished version of my painting called "Beads of Dew," complete with my "GOLDEN Gel Mediums: Glass Bead Gel" attached. I really wish you could see how brilliantly shiny and sparkly this piece is in person, so you could see the way it shimmers as you move around it. The beads are quite stunning! In lieu of that however, you can click on the image to see it in a larger size, though like I honestly admitted before, a lot of the beauty of it is lost in this 2d computer screen format, even though it's really quite beautiful in person. I mean, if you could only see the way it shimmers and shines, changing a ton as you shift your view and as the light refracts off of it from different angles, I think you'd be quite impressed, at least with the beads anyways! I also love the way that when you change the lighting in the room and angles from which you view it at it actually creates even more desirable effects, totally changing the colors of the light that bounces off the beads, making it a very interactive piece.

Close up View of Glass Beads on "Beads of Dew"

All in all I really, really, REALLY love this product! If you decide to buy some and use it for yourself (which I highly recommend!!!) one thing I noticed that you'll want to keep in mind is that you really do have to be very careful to only apply a very thin application of it, or it looks rather clumpy and doesn't reflect the light as well, even though you would think it would do the opposite. It actually says this in multiple places on the label for that very reason. =)  But, as long as you make sure to put it on in a single thin layer (which is pretty awesome when you look at it from a frugal perspective), then it goes on quite beautifully and you'll truly get the results you're hoping for.

I am definitely going to be using this product quite often as I keep exploring new abstract designs, and I especially can't wait to try it alongside some new modeling paste mediums, as well as on mixed media work and collages which I am planning to dabble in quite soon, probably as soon as this "30 in 30" challenge is over. I totally have the urge to get my feet wet with all sorts of different styles and mediums, with the hopes that I will really get to know what all my options are out there. After all, I feel like the sky's the limit right now with my art, not to mention the fact that my passion is on fire and I can't wait to get in the studio every single day (even if my studio for the day is actually just the dining room table because I'm feeling a little too lonely to want to be cooped up there in my art room all by myself all day - Ha! As if I had ALL day to paint! Just kidding. Yeah, that made no sense.)! Anyways, I truly just feel like there's sooo much untapped potential out there for me, and I can't wait to discover it! This "Daily Painting" venture has already been such a blast and honestly, I've never enjoyed painting more in my entire life! Onward and upwards for me, my friends.... Onward and upwards!!! =D

"All That Glimmers..." - An Abstract Painting

"All That Glimmers..."     5" x 7"      Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

So I got to try out a new surface medium today, Ampersand Museum Series Claybord Panels, and I just loved it! I noticed that the first coats were sucked right up into it, which makes sense as they claim the product to be very absorbent. So next time I have a go at it I might give it a good amount of love from my gesso, so as not to waste so much paint. But I really, REALLY love just how smooth it is to work on, and can't wait to try a quite detailed, realistic or whimsical painting on it to see how it holds up for that. But so far, I am quite impressed!

Thank you so, SOOOO much Uncle Dave for your AMAZINGLY generous present! I am loving it more and more each day and I can't wait to call you to tell you all about it in person. Love you Uncle Dave!

And as for the rest of you, don't forget to sign up to follow my blog so that you too can enter to win any one of my available paintings from my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge, Framed and shipped for free!!! It's quite the deal if you ask me! =) Have a very blessed day and wish me luck - I have an acupuncture appointment later today (my very 1st ever) and although I couldn't possibly be more excited than I am to do it, I'm also a little scared. So yeah, that should be fun! I'll let you all know how it went tomorrow! Have a great day!

"Frosted" - An Abstract Painting

"Frosted"     4" x 5"     Acrylic on Canvas Board

As you can see I'm totally on an Abstract kick lately... And loving it! This one I started by painting the base a bright Cadmium Orange, and then layering and shading various colors over it, testing the effects of each, and then applying a thick layer of Almond over the top in differing shapes and forms. It was quite a blast to create, and looks amazing in person because you can really see all the textures in it. It makes it even more beautiful when you're able to interact with it - when you can run your fingers along the ridges of the paint, feeling every stroke. I love it! And you know what else I love about it - finding all the little dynamic shapes in it, like when you're gazing up into the clouds. This particular quality makes "Frosted" even more interactive for the viewer, and I often find myself getting lost in it. I'm not kidding, I'm really falling more and more in love with this form of painting - it's like it helps me to reach down deep without having to dig very hard at all, if that makes any sense to you. It just comes so naturally to me, and is so soothing after a long or particularly rough day.

Well anyways, speaking of rough days, hopefully today finds you well and that you are getting much more sleep in your house than we are! Yikes... Little Baby Owen has been crying on and off for hours. I've fed, diapered, rocked, swung, cleaned and well, just about tried everything with him (and so has Ty!) and we still can't get him back to sleep or make him happy. It's just not happenin' tonight. Oh well, hopefully we can get him back to sleep soon! Have a good night and God bless! =)

Detail of Textured Paint on "Frosted"

"Frosted" On a Cute Mini Easel

"Patchwork" - An Abstract Painting

"Patchwork"     3.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Bristol Board

I've been wanting to create a really grungy painting for some time now, and I thought this 30 day challenge to create daily paintings, and really my new years resolution to begin daily painting for real this year, was the perfect opportunity for me to branch out and try it. I think I'll try it again pretty soon with more rust-like colors with accents of teal and sea-green. Sounds pretty good to me!  =)

"Whisked Away" - An Abstract Painting

"Whisked Away"     2.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Bristol Board

Some of you may not know this, but I absolutely love creating abstract works! In and of themselves, abstracts offer the artist complete and utter freedom to do whatever one wants, no boundaries, no expectations for it to look a certain way or any of those other things that can cause one to get bogged down and uninspired. I'm certain that throughout this year you'll be seeing many, many more of these as I process my emotions and all the things going on in my life and the lives of those closest to me.

This particular abstract, though, was done in a very strange way... I was wanting to try out some new techniques with a very unique tool I discovered, but I think when I tell you what it was, you're gonna laugh... It was a cat whisker! I've been trying to find a strong single bristle brush for extremely fine detail work for some time now, but I haven't been successful with that and was dying to see with how this would work instead. The tip is actually a bit flimsy, and the root is way too stiff, so I'm thinking I may cut it in half to see if a little farther down the whisker will provide a better painting tool in the end. I know it's weird, but hey, maybe it's just revolutionary! ;0) After all, most brushes are made out of animal hair anyways, so what's so wrong with using a whisker? Oh, and don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this painting - I just found a whisker on the floor the other day from Mayonnaise the Ninja Kitty, that's all. =D

An Update and a New Abstract Painting of My Journey Thus Far, Entiltled "For He Was My Light in Times of Trouble"

I got some answers at my Physical Therapy appt. yesterday that really helped ease at least some of my frustration. It seems that my hip and spine were twisted up pretty badly and all out of sorts from something I did at the girls conference - my hip joints weren't matching up in the back. So when I got home and got my cortisone shot to fix a different problem, it just set everything on fire. The Dr. took one look at my hip and back and said "I am so, so sorry! You must be in agony!" Thank the Lord for a compassionate Dr., who prayed for me and for wisdom in how to treat me, since I know how rare that is. She is amazing. I'm in incredible pain today - when she was done with me she asked me what type of meds I had at home and told me to take my strongest for the next day or so, but I am so glad to have some answers as to why this flare was so bad and what caused it. Now I'm just hoping that the next few weeks of recovery help fix this all, and that I can get back the feeling of normal, since I can't even remember what it feels like to not be in pain anymore.

On a sad note, I asked her what she thought about the prospect that I might have fibromyalgia, since every time she hits a tender spot (by gently pressing mind you) it makes me catch my breath in pain, and she is fairly positive that I do. Just about as positive as she could be. She said I really need to go get checked out by my physician, but told me not to lose hope, because it's not a death sentence. She must have seen the disappointment on my face. So now we'll be looking into that as we move forward, so if you have the chance, please pray for me that I get a compassionate and wise Dr. who can help figure all this out. I love you guys - thanks for listening to all my... well... baggage, I guess.

This painting today was what I pictured in my mind when the other day I posted "It Was Enough." As I was praying I felt God prompting me to try to get out how I'm feeling on canvas: all the darkness and despair, all the tears and pain and anger, the little glimmers of hope, but most of all, the fact that through all of it, no matter how hopeless or desperate or agonizingly painful things became, God's light and presence has always shown so brightly through it all, giving me hope and sustaining me. He is bigger than any problem I have and will ever face and his light will ALWAYS guide me through.

"For He Was My Light In Times of Trouble"     16 x 20     Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Side view of painted, wrapped sides