Just off the easel!

Undulation 2, 18x 20" Oil on canvas

I gave a little preview of this one a week or so ago, and here is the finished painting. I was attracted to this because of the - well, undulation of the leaves! There's an aire of mystery in this ... you can almost imagine yourself being lost in the folds of the leaf as it twists and turns and unfolds into its final beauty... a labyrinth of green, maybe! Its so easy to see this as an analogy for the way that life itself has many twists and turns in its unfolding before us. Its all part of 'living in the adventure', which is the mindset I try to hold on to, even when the twists and turns are impossible to understand!

Sunday Thoughts

Abstraction - botanical, approx 9 x 9" - graphite and colored pencil on paper


"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?
Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity or persecution,
or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?
... No! Despite these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loves us.
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.
Death can't,
and life can't.
The angels can't and demons can't.
Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell
can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the
deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39

In troubled times... in days of uncertainty... when the future seems unclear, and even the present is unstable, this is good news! God's love is certain and available to all! And it is given to us through the gift and presence of Christ. There are no guarantees that trouble will not come... difficulty is a fact of life on this earth. But there is assurance to those who place their trust in Christ - that he will walk along with us, never letting go. I can think of no safer place to be found!

A work in progress~

I've been working on a larger painting - Undulation 2 - an oil painting which measures 18 x 20". This is part of a group of paintings I've been working on for the last 3 months with a botanical subject matter.
A month or so ago, I posted a finished painting - surprisingly enough titled, Undulation. This one builds upon the idea in that one. What intrigued me about this is the sense of shape and flowing line, found within God's creation. There is certainly an abstract quality about it, even though it is recognizable as an unfolding leaf within a setting of flowing leaves! So much in the plant world - especially when magnified - has true abstract shape, line, form... I find myself intrigued by painting that in an expressive way! Well, here ya go - I'll keep you posted on the final outcome.

Once again.... a coneflower.

Center Flame - 5x7" Oil on canvas

It has been a week since my last post! I haven't been idle... I've worked on this small painting and I've started another larger painting that I hope to post soon! Besides that, it has been a full week of school, several after school appointments, and a busy weekend!

The part I like the best about this little painting is the center. Coneflowers intrigue me ... as they age, every feature changes shape and texture. I really like how the light plays off the center - almost as if it has been lit afire!

This little painting completes a set of 3 on the same subject. I plan to do a large painting of this flower - and these 3 smaller ones have helped me to understand the shapes, the colors, the textures, and the - personality, I guess - of the subject matter!

The Nest once full ~

Nest eggs - 10 x 12" Oil on canvas

This is dedicated to one of my own nest-dwellers, celebrating his 23rd birthday today!
Happy Birthday Travis! (#11)

Some months back, I posted a couple smaller paintings of empty nests. Now, I've painted a larger (yet similar) painting of a nest with eggs. In so many ways, this set of 3 has become a metaphor for my journey of motherhood - and in some ways - of my life! My own three children have been so very significant in my life, and now as they are growing older - leaving "the nest"- it is a time of great transition. I'm learning to readjust - to embrace my changed role as mom of adult children! Their significance is not at all diminished - but the requirements are quite different!

Sunday Thoughts

Cactus in Sunlight - watercolor

From the book of Psalms:

Excerpts from Ps. 139 (One of my favorites)
"Oh Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me...when I sit down and when I stand up. You know my every thought... you chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment, you know where I am.

You know what I am going to say before I say it. You both precede me and follow me. You place you hand of blessing on my head.... I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I go down to the place of the dead you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me... even in the darkness I cannot hide from you.

You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - I know that well. ... You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book, every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts of me, O God! They are innumerable! I can't even count them, they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake in the morning, you are still with me! "

This is a wonderful reminder - along with many other passages from scripture - of God's very personal love for each person he has created. How he has a heart that is for us, not against us! And yet, to see and understand that side of God, it is important to also see and understand that he is a righteous and holy God - a God who loves perfectly and also who is perfectly just. Who could live up to God's definition of justice and righteousness? Impossible! Which is why he sent a Savior - his own son - to provide a way to Him, a way of perfect love and also perfect justice.

Just Finished - Conch Shell Note Cards!

Set of 8 Notecards - featuring 2 paintings of Conch Shells

Encore! Coneflower.

Front and Center - Coneflower, 8x8" Oil on canvas

Continuing with my botanical theme - here is a small painting ... painted around the sides of the canvas. I took photos several weeks ago of these flowers - I was especially attracted to the pattern of the center, and of course the colors are quite beautiful! And - here was a little surprise to me .... there was a ring of tiny flowers (bright yellow) within the prickly part of the center! One of the ways that the viewer is rewarded for looking deeper into the "common place" of God's botanical world! There was some incongruence about the center with the two extremes of prickles and tiny flowers within! With this one, I feel that I've broken some of the "rules" of composition by placing everything very centered as I have - and yet, it is all that made sense with this one! 

Another Shell Painting....

Conch shell 2, 4 x 5" water color on paper

Here is the 2nd small shell painting of last week. I think the best thing for these 2 small paintings is to do a set of note cards with them, which you'll be able to see in the near future!

Sunday afternoon

Mesa, Oil on panel
an older landscape - from the ranch

Today, I'm simply posting from some of my favorite scriptures ~ a simple message, yet profoundly important:

This is how much God loves the world;
He gave his Son, his one and only Son.
And this is why:
so that no one needs to die (an eternal spiritual death).
By believing in him, anyone can have a whole lasting life!
God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger,
telling the world how bad it was.
He came to help - to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted.
Anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under a death sentence...

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners. . .
So, now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God --
all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us
in making us friends of God!

A message of hope and love and an illustration of God's great goodness! This salvation is God's free gift to anyone who sincerely desires it! It is as simple as asking him for it ... something he longs to do! A reason for great joy!

This Free Painting has Found a Home in.......

Cockleshells, 5x5" Oil on Canvas


Conway, Arkansas!

The winner of my recent email subscription campaign will be receiving this small painting to hang in her Arkansas home! I, as the artist, am pleased to know it will hang on a wall where it will be enjoyed!


If you have not yet subscribed to my Google Group, it is easy to do ... and completely private! You will receive (approximately) weekly emails from me just letting you know the latest news from my studio - and giving you a peek into my latest art work! And, from time to time, I offer give aways as well!


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