Beautifying my World

If you’ve ever visited my home, you know how much I value color. (See photos of the inside of my home). My builder seemed to prefer off-white for the walls, and I knew myself well enough to know that I would quickly go crazy with those surroundings. Within a week and a half of the closing, I had color on every wall! It looks great, and each room now gives me a different feeling when I walk in. My kitchen is a fantastic green, my studio a calming ocre, and the guest bathroom a fun robin’s egg blue with brown accents. Of course, paintings adorn the walls – you might think you were in a gallery here.

With all of that said, it’s kind of interesting that I’ve lived here almost a year, but I’ve just now done something to beautify and add color to the outside of my home. I’m going to guess that the reason lies in the deep-rooted fear I have of killing things that start out green.

Passion and Purpose…

As I look ahead, I am filled with anticipation and wonder at what is in store. What will I create in the coming months? Will my paintings be ones that will inspire people to see life a little differently, to appreciate the beauty of a moment, or maybe to even get out their old paintbrushes and be a little creative?

I hope so.

I hope that people see my work and love God more. Even typing this seems a bit strange, but it really is my desire. See, God has given me every shred of talent that I have, and He has called me to make art. He has blessed my career and allowed me to somehow do this amazing thing that many people just dream about: doing what I LOVE for a living… I am determined to not take this blessing lightly, but to use it to its potential the best that I can.

I encourage everyone reading this right now to consider what it is that makes you feel fulfilled.

Photos of my Home

These photos of my home and studio were taken about a month after I moved in August of 2007. I love my home, and my studio provides an amazing workspace where I can be organized and creative!

Behind the Scenes of “Unblemished”

The Inspiration…

I saw this painting in my mind more than 2 years before I began painting it. I was reading I Peter 1:18-20:

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.”

I got a vision for a painting of God holding a lamb, both loving him, but also knowing He had to let him go. The lamb, of course, is Christ. We are also all biblically like the lamb in the painting, and God is our shepherd who loves us.

Next, you’ll read the incredible story of how this painting came to be, complete with never-before-seen photos of the day of the shoot. I still can’t believe how it all happened…