I move through seasons with my artwork, just as I do in life. Inspiration boards are where I gather what is currently inspiring me. It’s a way for me to catalog the journey.
Calligraphy Lessons :: St. Francis of Assisi :: Muir John Potter script :: G. K. Chesterton :: Monk
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In this age, contemplative silence is rare and fleeting. We are bombarded daily with the audible, and visual noise that surrounds us. Some days it is impossible to hear a still, soft voice whispering within our hearts, so God uses ART to speak to our souls.
Yesterday I stopped by my favorite antique store to look for a few things I am wanting for Christmas gifts. I found this charming Munsell watercolor set. Each of the color pots is porcelain and are held in place with a metal holder.
After unpacking the tins contents, I found these sweet little drawings created by a child long ago. The young artist must have been quite proud of these when hiding them under the page describing the colors found in the set.
I am particularly smitten with the blimp. I believe this watercolor tin to be circa 1918 or earlier. Albert H. Munsell gave the world our color language we use today. His contributions are rich and worth taking the time to reading about. He died in 1918. It was then that his son renamed the company to Munsell Color Foundation. This is also a time when the British army was using blimps in WWI, and the U.S. was just starting to build airships.
The titanic sunk in 1912. Could the ship drawing be the Titanic?
Every year I go through a period of time when I am beside myself with wanderlust. I just need to go somewhere – anywhere. I want to be outside, exploring. I want to hit the road and simply roam. This desire of mine has gown more and more intense over the years as I see our family moving closer and closer to reaching our dream of traveling together.
Wanderlust was painted during a time when my feet most fervently needed to wander.
Limited edition 11×14 prints of this painting are now available, but only through my campaign, Healing Souls on the Road!
The lotus is a flower that is rooted at the bottom of miry water. It shows great determination as it forces its way up through the darkness until it finally emerges into the sunlight and blooms as a beautiful flower.
The lotus flower becomes a symbol of perseverance, overcoming, and survival as the miry water is often related to a dark trial in life. Encouragement comes in the hope that at the end, a person will be met with the joy of the sunshine and will bloom as the beautiful lotus flower.
8×8 prints of this original artwork are available now, but only through my campaign Healing Souls on the Road!
Get a set of 6 greeting cards featuring 3 original pieces of art. Each design is letterpressed onto high quality paper making each card a piece of fine art.
Available now only through my campaign Healing Souls on the Road!
“Where other medical units have a need to invest in new robotics for patient care, Oncology does not have that need. I am investing in art on the walls that heal the soul.”
~ Amelia Taggart, Director of Oncology
Art can offer healing to the soul, a place where medicine can not reach. It can offer encouragement and renews hope when words fail to do so. It speaks not only to patients, but to their family members as well. For this reason, art is a powerful resource in providing comfort and peace.
Learn how you can be a part of “Healing Souls on the Road“
If you know me, you’ll know that I have a passion for creating art, and that I dream of traveling with my family. These 2 desires have been the basis of EVERY decision that I make in life. Over the years, I have taken baby steps, placing one foot in front of the other, trusting God as I slowly moving toward my dreams. However, in the last year, as one art project has lead to another, those baby steps have become more like strides.
In August, I was able to use the money I’ve earned painting murals to purchase a vintage 31′ Airstream Sovereign. It is the perfect addition to our family of 4, making it possible for me to achieve my dream of creating art from the road. Now, I am ready to take the jump and begin to make a living at doing what I love most, creating art.
In the last year, it’s been my honor to paint murals for the Oncology unit at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, IN. Never has my artwork, been more fulfilling to create, than it has been while painting for the patients on the unit. I love seeing how the symbolism that I have prayerfully worked into the designs touch people’s hearts at the time when they most need the encouragement.
My desire is to continue doing this work, and the airstream is going to help me to be able to reach out further than I what can reach now. However, there is some work that needs to be done before, I am ready to take my mural business on the road. This is why I have put together a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo.com. My goal is to raise $10,000 to help me build up my business, in preparation for hitting the road.
“What will these funds go towards?”, you may be asking. For starters, the Airstream needs some repairs, and new tires before we can take it use it. We also need a dependable truck with the towing capabilities needed for hulling the weight of the Airstream. These are the first priorities for the money. If possible, I would also like to purchase some decent camera equipment, and a laser printer enabling me to photograph my artwork, and print my own fine art prints.
Not everyone is in a place to pick up and go out to use their passion in helping people who are sick or hurting. However, just because you can’t go, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of bringing healing to people who need it!
Please take a moment to check out my campaign page, and please consider making a contribution. For your generosity, I am offering some great pieces of art for each level of investment.
I was little when I asked Jesus into my heart – young enough that I still thought of Jesus physically being in my heart. My salvation was real, I knew Jesus, and grew up active in our church. I have never known life without Jesus in it. As a teenager, I would wonder about my relationship with God. I didn’t feel like I had passion in my relationship with Him. I felt His fire at youth retreats and conventions, but I knew that was different than having passion. So, I prayed for passion.
Fast forward 15 years. God has given me passion. It often consumes me. I feel like a cup that is overflowing, and I’m scrambling around in a frenzy of excitement trying to find out what to do with all of “it”. “It” is a number things, like sharing God’s love & HOPE with Tibetans through knitting. Another, is my artwork. In the past I’ve simply let “it” spill out all over the place. I don’t know what to do with “it”, so I start talking about “it” looking for direction as I wait to see what God is going to make out of the mess.
Mandy of Messy Canvas shared this statement on Facebook a while back.
“Quite frankly Christians, I’m ready to see you, not your Jesus. Show me you.”
This status update & the conversation that follows has gripped me in such a way that months later, it still pulls at me. It has started me down an internal path of wrestling. I don’t know where the path will lead me, or even what direction it takes me. When I’ve written my thoughts into a journal I seem to be all over the place in a kind of swirling ball of passion. I know that I have found something that is important, but I am unable to define it. This single sentence has sparked a flame in me. It is creating a passion for divine inspiration & art that is spilling out all over the place. I’m searching for what to do about it as it is still very messy, swirling around in my heart & my head without any definition.
I have started the “Show Me You” series to give myself a place to work through the swirling ball inside me. I hope, dear reader, that you will jump in the conversation and offer your own thoughts & ideas to help me in my search for direction.
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