Annapolis, Maryland Watercolor

I didn't take a good photo of this painting before I sent it off. The shadow across the top of the painting is bothering me, but oh well. This was a commission for a wedding gift of someone who lives and was married in Annapolis, Maryland. I've never actually been to Annapolis, but it looks like a beautiful place!

Wedding Date Art

 My brother got married in November and I made this painting to hang in his home as a reminder of he and his wife's special day. It will also be a good reminder to make sure my brother never forgets his anniversary :)

My 6-year-old daughter worked beside me and made her own version for them. 

Funeral Program

Earlier this year I was able to help with the program for the funeral of a sweet little boy who passed away suddenly. I didn't know his family directly, but my cousin was assisting with the funeral and enlisted my help. I painted a simple wreath for the front of the program, as well as some little leaf branches that were used inside the program. 

My prayers have been with this dear family as they've dealt with Charlie's passing. It's a heartbreaking situation and I'm happy I could help in this small way. 

Have Courage and Be Kind

 I loved the message from the new Cinderella movie of "Have Courage and Be Kind", so I decided to make this little 10"x10" watercolor for my daughters' room.

My daughter Bryn joined me in my painting session and made her own version, with the quote "Give Praise to Heaven"... maybe something she heard at church?? I love that my daughters love to paint and be creative like I do.

Oakland LDS Temple

This is a dimly lit photo, late at night after finishing another painting of the Oakland LDS Temple. I've been commissioned to paint this temple a handful of times now, but that's okay with me because it's such a beautiful temple! (And it also happens to be the temple where my parents and older brother were married).

Dare to do Right

 I painted this 11"x14" watercolor for my son Tate's bedroom. The lyrics are from a familiar LDS Primary song. Boys are often told to be brave and daring, and I think the most admirable kind of courage is daring to do the right thing and have integrity. Hopefully that message will sink in with Tate!

Here it is hung in the "nursing corner" of Tate's room. 

The top piece (collage, acrylic, ink, and wax) was made during my semester in New Zealand. 

The painting on the right (acylic) is a painting I made for the Springville Art Museum's annual Spring Salon seven or eight years ago.

Kindness is the Essence of Greatness

Two of my favorite roles in life are Mother and Artist and I love it when the two roles overlap. I had a great time using my art to create a Back to School Banquet for my family. 

I had previously sewn the fabric banners, bouquet of fabric flowers, and the table runner, Going along with that color scheme I pulled out my paints and added a few more things.

I painted an 11"x14" watercolor painting with a quote from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. This quote is from his talk "The Virtue of Kindess" from LDS General Conference in April 2005. "Kindness is the Essence of Greatness" is our family's theme for this school year, and the painting will be hung in our home as a reminder of the importance of kindness.

I made this little cake topper out of watercolor paper and wooden skewers, then painted the reminder to "be kind".

 Watercolor name cards

We had a fancy dinner together and my husband gave a sweet message to the girls about looking outward and being kind at school, at work, with our friends, and in our home. 

You are so Loved

 I painted this little 8"x10" watercolor for my daughters' room as a little reminder of love.

New Hampshire Riverbend

 This watercolor painting was a commission for a good friend who is moving from New Hampshire this month. Her home in New Hampshire is right next to this river and she wanted a painting to remind her of the beautiful river than her children played in so often. 

 These are the pictures we used as reference. We used the photo on the left, but lowered the water level a bit, so it included the rocks that are pictured on the right. 

Baton Rouge LDS Temple

I just completed this watercolor painting of the Baton Rouge LDS Temple. What a beautiful temple! This was a fun one to paint.

(I am kicking myself for not taking a better photo of this painting before I mailed it off. The photo above was taken in dim lighting and the colors are just a bit off).

I thought it would be fun to show a few pictures of my process. Phase 1 is above, and Phases 2 and 3 are below.

Alpine Loop, UT

 I just finished this commissioned watercolor painting of a view from the Alpine Loop in Utah. It's a favorite spot in Utah for both me and my client. 

My painting was based off of this photo of the Alpine Loop by Matt Haliski

Golden Gate Bridge Watercolor

I just finished this fun commissioned painting of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

 I don't usually snap pictures of my paintings along the way, but here is a picture showing the nearly completed painting with the client's original photo I was working with. Having a great photo to reference definitely makes the painting process easier.

New Temple Paintings

 I've done a handful of commissioned paintings lately and here are three of them:

Bountiful, Utah LDS Temple

Oakland, California LDS Temple

(quite similar to the painting I did last year of the Oakland Temple)

Boston, Massachusetts LDS Temple

Tuck

Lately I've been painting lots and lots of these little watercolor renderings of the Tuck building for Josh's classmates. I've only got a few more orders and then I'll probably take a break from painting Tuck for a while!

California Collages

As an artist I am usually drawn to the themes of place, home, and environment. I can't go anywhere without subconsciously studying the forms, proportions, angles, and color relationships of my surroundings. I'm currently living in the green, hilly, and rural landscape of New Hampshire, but prior to this I lived for three years in Huntington Beach, California. I lived a mile from the beach in a neighborhood packed with apartment buildings and tall, skinny homes 10 feet apart from each other. I created this series of watercolor collages during that time to illustrate the scenes I saw daily and constantly studied in my mind.

Sego Lilies

I just finished a watercolor that will be used as the advertising image for the International Rett Syndrome Foundation conference this summer. The conference will be held in Midway, Utah and the theme of the event is "This is the Place for Hope". The conference logo will be added across the sky and I think it should look really great.

I was commissioned to paint something referencing Utah and illustrating the theme of hope, so I ended up going with the imagery of sego lilies. Sego lillies, the Utah state flower, were a source of hope for the early settlers in Utah when their crops were destroyed by a plague of crickets and they were able to eat the soft roots the sego lilies. Hopefully the Rett families who attend this IRSF conference will feel renewed hope from the information and support they receive at this event.