This painting was a Christmas surprise from a cute client of mine for her brother. She sent me photos of them both as children for reference. As you all know it is rare that I paint a male figure and I thought he had especially unique hair which was fun to paint.

These are two new paintings I sent to Bonner David Gallery for their small works show. On the bottom piece "Afternoon with the Birds" came about almost by accident. I was having a hard time getting the mothers nose just the way I wanted it so I decided to put a mask like bird nose which then spurred the idea for the rest of the painting. I love these two little ladies and have to laugh at the difference in hair color between the mother and her daughter... which is the exact opposite of me and my girls.

I am currently experiencing some sort of artists block... I am wanting to paint something different or women in a different way only I am not sure what that is. Honestly, as important as moments like this are to my evolution as an artist, they scare me to death! Don't worry, I am so driven to create that I am sure I will come up with something soon.

This is my most recent painting "Olea". It is a small painting which is available through Bonner David Gallery. I tried something new with paper on this one and am very pleased with the way it turned out.

Here is detail of a painting I am currently working on. It is a woman surrounded by 3 birds. I had the opportunity this last weekend to attend an artist's retreat where I met James Christensen who is one of my all time favorite artists. I remember so clearly seeing his work when I was 14 at ZCMI mall. It is pretty cool what 20 years can do. There I was relating to him as another working artist. He was the keynote speaker and gave such an inspiring talk. I had the opportunity in the past as well as at the retreat to meet his daughters Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie who are both delightful. All three of us are mothers of girls and working artists and relate in so many areas... but first and foremost the lack of time! I think time and the management of it will forever be my greatest struggle as a mother and an artist.

I know that I have been terrible about blogging lately! For those of you who check... sorry, I will try and be better. As an artist I go through times of pulling in and focusing. I have this other little world in which I exist in order to create the paintings that I do. Painting for my show in July was intense. Some days I would paint 12 hours in one day, so in August I took a month off from painting so that I could enjoy the last few weeks of summer with my girls. It has felt good to be back in the studio painting and I am learning to accept that creativity sometimes comes in intense waves and it is ok to take a little time to refill once in a while. I want to thank those of you who came to my show and also those who bought paintings. I feel very fortunate and don't take for granted that I am lucky enough to support myself doing something I am so passionate about. Above are two recent small paintings which are available through Bella Mesa Gallery in California.

This is one of two new paintings I just sent to Cavalier Gallery. I love this particular painting and hated to see it go. I have never painted such red lips before which I love with the contrast of her light eyes and green background. I am SO burnt out from painting too much but I don't even dare let myself think about it with just a few weeks left to prepare for my show. I am so excited about this new group of work and feel like it is my strongest yet.

Some of you may already know that I am painting for an upcoming solo show at Coda Gallery in Park City, Utah. The show is Friday, July 31st from 6 to 9 pm. It is free and the Park City Arts Festival will be set up that night. It is a fun time to be in Park City and I am looking forward to seeing many of you there! My studio is full of new work which I will be posting on my website about a week before my show. I am painting some smaller pieces than usual for my show as well which are about 5 x 8 and will sell for $600.

I made the deadline for my painted plate for the Art Access "300 plates" show... by one day! I was a slacker this year. It didn't help that the first day I worked on this piece it fell face flat against the carpet. Luckily it's overall texture was unaffected. I love this little painting! Currently I seem to be painting the majority of my eyes blue. I love the way different shades of blue play off of each other.

It is funny that sometimes I think my experience as an artist is so unique to me (because it feels that way) until I look around and see that I am not the only one who is trying to figure life out through the images I create. The top painting is about me figuring out the "Mechanics of the Heart" It is about falling in love and the journey of staying in love once you do. I incorporated one of my favorite images of Lizbeth Zwerger one of my all time favorites. The image is an illustration from her Wizard of Oz. Sometimes I feel like my own questions about love are like Dorothy approaching the Wizard... the answers really lie within myself and it is amazing the journey I go on in order to find them. The bottom painting is a commission piece I just finished for a woman who fell in love with "Puddin Face."

I am excited about the work going on in my studio. I actually just entered my current favorite into the Spring Salon at Springville. I love it so much it actually hurt to have to part with it... I am telling myself (at least for now) that I get to keep it. I have decided that if I didn't let myself keep a painting every once in a while I think my artist would rebel and lose the desire to create. Honestly, I don't have the money to buy my own art! I guess that is the advantage of being the artist... kind of like getting free dental work when your dad is a dentist... right? ;-)

I just added some of my recent images to my website under portfolio/available. Take a look and let me know what you think.

This is one of my favorite photos from my show at Bonner David. My stepdad Kevin is in the photo with me. He was at my show and a huge part of the reason I haven't given up on being an artist. I love this guy... I'm super lucky to have him in my life.

These are detail shots from my new painting. I think it could be the sunlight... I think that it could simply be that tough times don't last forever... but lately I have been feeling so good. I just took four new paintings that I really like up to Coda which unfortunately are not yet on my website (still need to update photoshop). This last painting is once again my way of processing life. In my paintings I am able to express some of the things that I feel and can't seem to find any words for. I honestly believe that I became an artist out of necessity. It is my way of surviving life and finding extraordinary beauty in the midst of it all.

This is what I have been up to... I never knew I had a secret passion for playing with metal. Can you imagine me going through scrap piles at Wasatch Steel and using a plasma cutter? I even learned a little welding and had a blast exploring a whole new medium. These hearts are for sale at Dough Girl (770 S. 300 W.) and range from $5.00 to $22.00. If you stop in try a cookie, they are to die for. I have been working there a little helping out my girlfriend who just opened about six weeks ago. These cookies are her art and you will know what I mean when you tast them. My current favorite is Vivianna (an orange dough with mangos and dark chocolate.)

Sorry that the copies of these paintings are so terrible... my photoshop is out of commission but I couldn't wait to share these with you. These are both 12x12 inches and I love them! They are a welcomed reward after a couple intensly hard months. I watched Meet the Robinsons with my girls tonight, it is a Disney cartoon. Probably my favorite because of the message of the movie. There is a part in the movie when the little boy gets to meet himself in the future, and then there is the Rob Thomas song that goes with it "These Small Moments" that I also find so touching. I relate so much to the movie because as a little girl I had big dreams. In the depths of my heart I knew I was an artist and had so much inside of me that at the time I didn't yet have the skills to express. It makes me want to cry when I think what if I hadn't believed in me. I especially love what the painting above with the woman's hair blowing in the wind represents to me. The last couple of months have shaken me to my core and this painting is my prayer that I can make it through all of the things I have been facing... that I will stay grounded even in the strongest storm. I honestly believe that being an artist has been my saving grace in surviving this world that we live in and I am so grateful!

The top painting was a bit of an experiment for me. I am going to crop it just above her nose, so you will not see her eyes. I loved the gesture of the way she is standing, her neck, and the ruffles of her blouse. The photo below is what my palette looked like after I let Eve paint (her painting is on the right). Everything was covered in paint including her...

So I ran into my neighbor at the grocery store and he said "I bet you are so worried about the economy, because nobody will be buying art. I wouldn't wait for it to trickle down, he said... you should figure out what you are going to do now." Jeesh! As if I am not already aware of the state of the economy. I am way to sensitive of a person not to be feeling the effects in my own life as well as all around me... but I will stay positive! Negativity kills creativity, and I cannot think of a more important time for people to be focusing on the positive. My work is created with the purpose of spreading light and beauty and somehow I will continue to be a creator. I heard something the other day that really struck me, it was "We are the artists as well as the art." There is so much implied in that simple statement, and I love it!

The last couple of months have been interesting for me. In December I decided to take a seasonal job at Bare Essential. Partly because I love makeup and women's faces are very inspiring to me as an artist, but also because I just needed to get out of the house and quit taking myself so seriously. Also my best friend just opened Dough Girl which I will blog more about in the future and have been working with her while she is getting started. The bottom line is I have hardly painted. I think I let the economy freak me out thinking why should I expect people to buy paintings at a time like this. Having the pressures of being a single mom has made me wonder at times why I chose to pursue such a tough career, (sometimes I don't feel like I really chose it as much as it chose me). I have been struggling trying to figure out how I can balance out the sporadic income with my regular bills. Ironically enough I have been selling lately and the demand for my work has returned but I haven't been painting and once again feel like I am behind and can't catch up. Not really sure what I am going to do. I haven't been writing much because I haven't known what to say. So this entry is for those of you who are also artists who go through similar times. I know that it could be easy to look at some of my success and not know that it is actually really tough being an artist. I know from talking to some of my artist friends that I am not the only one who experiences this and thought that maybe it would benefit those of you who also struggle to know that you are not alone. This entry is not meant to be negative, just honest and I hope that someone will relate.

Wow. I just realized that I haven't written for a month. Sorry for those of you who read my blog. Last weekend I took a body of work down to Bonner David Gallery in Scottsdale for my upcoming show on the 17th. I literally packed up all of my art in the middle of a blizzard. I was hoping for a few hours of warmth when arriving in Arizona but as rare as it is... it was cold! Just wanted to let you know that I have posted the new paintings that are a part of my show on my website. Also I am featured in an article in the January issue of American Art Collector. You can find it at Barnes and Noble or Borders under the Art section of the magazines.