These two painting may be my favorites simply because I love my boots and hat so much. I'm a country girl at heart and sometimes I wonder why I ever ended up in New England. Of course I only have to look under my own roof to find the answer to that, but still, sometimes, especially in the dead of winter, I kick myself for moving east instead of south.
I did the painting of my boots first. It was in the spring I remember, because the daffodils in the basket we had brought home from church after an Easter Sunday service. The basket used to sit on my dining table with fruit in it. It's since been replaced by a ceramic fruit bowl. It must have been empty at the time, or I just didn't want fruit in the painting. I'm not sure which. I arranged the items on my patio and took several photos. I was in no way fast enough to complete a painting in one sitting. In fact for the first few years I was averaging about one painting per year. Honestly! I was that slow. It wasn't until I starting taking formal lessons that I began to speed up. I enjoyed doing this painting very much. I had thought the leather texture of the boots was going to be hard to capture, but it just kind of happened effortlessly. The basket was a different story. I must have repainted it at least five times. But I was really happy with the final outcome. My hat I started when I was visiting my family in Michigan in the summer of 2011. My parents have a beautiful house on Harsens Island. It's one of my favorite places to be. I put my hat on the back of one of my moms porch rockers and placed the rocker in front of one of her flower gardens and took several photos. The hat turned out to be more challenging than I thought it would be and I'm still not really happy with the outcome. I look at it and think, I could do more with that. But I've heard some say that artists always do that. I was very happy with the flowers. I love the color. I took some artistic license at the end and changed the color of the rocking chair. In reality it's a shade of light green, close to sea foam I believe. It's a pretty color but it didn't really work with the overall color scheme of the painting, so I made it brown. The best part of these two painting though are the frames. They aren't shown in these pictures, but they are beautiful. My dad hand made them out of original wide pine floor boards that we took up from our house in New Hampshire. I swear my dad can build anything! I will get a picture of them up at some point. They really are worth seeing.
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 About 10 years ago my husband and I took a weekend motorcycle trip, meandering from our home in southern New Hampshire up to Lake Placid New York, over to Plattsburgh and then across Lake Champlain to Burlington Vermont and back home. If not for the rain the last 4 hours, it would have been a perfect weekend. But, the majority of it was absolutely beautiful! While we were in Lake Placid I spotted this church sitting high upon a hill. It was lovely, so I had Kenny stop so I could get a photo of it.
Not long after that I was talking to a good friend about how I didn't really have a "hobby". She and her mom are both artists and so she suggested that I try my hand at oil painting. Willing to give most anything a try, I agreed. She took me to the store to get some basic supplies and told me to find a photograph that inspired me. Immediately, I thought of the beautiful church in Lake Placid New York. And so it began... This painting of the church in Lake Placid was my first. It was done in 2008 and I think it took most of the year to complete. The process was fun, frustrating, encouraging and challenging. The cool thing was, I started looking at the world around me. Really looking. At shapes and colors and shadows and light. Since then I've taken lessons and read and studied as much as possible to develop my skill and ability. I still find the process fun, frustrating, encouraging and challenging. And I still love it!  There are some people who you’ll feel an instant connection with after just one encounter. Frankie was one of those people for me. This painting that I did of her and her daughter was one of my favorites to do. It’s a 12×12 oil on canvas.
Frankie lives in McDowell County WV. We met when I was on my 2nd mission trip there. We spent 2 days working together and sharing stories about our lives. I was deeply impacted by the reality that is Frankie. That may not make sense, but I don’t know how else to say it. And she’s complicated too. She has a fearsomeness that makes me sure if I ever needed it, she’d have my back. But she has a vulnerability that makes me want to tuck her under my wing as one of my own. God has taken a thread of each of our stories and woven them together; and I’m so glad he did. When I completed the painting I had it framed and sent it to Frankie as a gift. This past June I had the privilege of going back to WV, spending time with Frankie in her home and seeing the painting hanging on her wall. Frankie has a story of her own that I think is worth telling. I’ll share one poem that she wrote, but the whole of her story is hers to tell. Jan 17, 2014 This morning I took time to have a talk with the Lord and as we spoke I began to write and I made it into a poem (My Testimony) Lord you know I’ve lost my way, I’m at your mercy while I pray…I know I haven’t done my best when it comes to serving you; and I beg that you will hear my plea and help me carry through, “You know all my troubles, my heartache and despair…and when I called out to you I felt you wasn’t there.” Just as I spoke those words I froze and my heart began to say, “I am the one and only and I have not turned away; You my child have chose your road, you forgot I gave you two; I laid them there as you were born, the rest was up to you; I have seen your troubles, your heartache and despair; You know I’ve not abandoned you, for I am always there; I gave you peace to ease your mind and your heartaches don’t you see; For every time you felt so lonely you would always come to me; Your despair only makes you stronger, and it lets my will be done; You know I’ll never forsaken you, you’ve known me since you were young; Rest your heart with me my child for I give you signs every day, and if you choose to follow them then I will guide your way; I have always been with you and I’ll never turn to leave, GREAT things will happen you will see, if you choose to follow me.” Thank you Lord Jesus for the reminder!!!! – Frankie |
AuthorI am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. I am an artist, a wife, a mom, a hygienist, a youth leader, a masterpiece, a mess, a woman. I am seeking to bring glory to God through my artwork and my life. Archives
April 2017
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