Kali,Jackson, and Piper

Sharon, Jesse, and I hiked up around Lagoon Valley and just had to share
These incredible pics. It was a perfect day! It's amazing what an iPhone camera can do

Happy birthday Matt!

From a photo he showed me of people working to escape poverty.
He works at Compassion where they help children an families in third world countries, and the picture shows their day to day. It puts our lives in perspective!

A few sketches

Mixed media project trial

A few flowers

Practice

For Tracy and Tal

Evelyn's Christmas gift

I discovered a new technique and went for it with this hummingbird. A different style and bright, light colors gives this piece an upbeat feeling. The "coral" shapes make it seem almost underwater. The plant is like the reef and the hummingbird like a fish that lives there. That wasn't my original plan but it turned out interesting!

Whimsical and earthy branches

For my lovely sister in law Andrea! I hope you love this piece when it finally makes it to your home. I learned so much from this painting and now I want to paint one for myself! Andrea showed me a picture of a similar design and I painted my interpretation of it and gave it my own style. This tree is almost spiritual with the swirly hazy leaves and the swooping branches. I really love it! For Andrea!

Finally a French cafe scene!

Moo had been begging for a french cafe scene so here it is! Again, I looked at someone else's original painting and then made my own changes. This was a time consuming piece but all worth it to finally hang it in her dining room! I love you Moo!

A little town in the mountains

From my mom's original picture that she took in Italy, I painted her this charming little town. This painting shows multiple seasons and has a combination of warm and cool colors. . . Almost a 4th dimension if you consider the rotation of seasons as the "time".

O Praise Him!

I had a great time painting this for my sister Kristen. She showed me this picture in a magazine and I did my best to copy it. The chapel is my favorite part!

Incomplete?

This picture is a self portrait. My wedding photographer captured a photo of me twirling in my wedding dress and it is one of my favorites. This painting is of just that moment! I can't decide whether I want to paint my face on it. . When I tried I ended up looking like the Joker (from batman) hah! Not the look I was going for. Not my usual painting style, but something new I had to try!

Tangled

I took a picture of a few blooming roses I saw in my friend Tracy's yard. My sister Kristen said it reminds her of the movie Tangled because of the tall tower-like flowers and the floating lanterns in the back. Originally they were meant to be fallen leaves in the background. I like how the leaves/lanterns can be interpreted as either drifting away or getting closer. Makes for an interesting back drop for these flowers. I think this painting would be perfect in a little girls room! Not exactly something for my four crazy little nephews! : )

For my Moo!

A Christmas present for my Moma! This was supposed to be a surprise, and I'm still not sure if it's finished, but since they came over to California to visit they saw it and loved it! I can't wait to see this hanging up in their new home. I think the colors will look great!

A Christmas present for my lovely sister Kristen

I painted this as a gift for my sister Kristen. I had fun using warmer colors and a new sponge technique with this piece. It's a 24x18 and will look perfect her living room!

Uplifting flowers

I recently saw a poster with this design at the Sacramento airport and loved the flowers on branches design. So simple and uplifting I think, so I gave it my own twist. I took a picture of the poster to show how I got my inspiration. And yes sissy Krissy, I love to paint one for you in reds : ) I'll make it match your living room! Love you!