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.