Amethyst

Another mixed-media experiment for me. One of my favorite parts is the little woman looking down on the main subject and she doesn't even notice. She's too happy and content to give a crap what anyone else thinks of her.

Temperance

My siblings and I decided to do a handmade Christmas this year. I painted my brother's wife's cat for their present. They loved it. 

Best of 2017 Show

Looky! My art is currently hanging at Urban Arts Gallery in Salt Lake City as part of the Best of 2017 show. It will be there for the rest of this month. Check it out! A piece of art makes the perfect Christmas gift--or treat yourself, you deserve it! Your lonely blank walls will thank you for it.

Ada

This time I experimented with collage and color. I drew the figure on the canvas then glued random pieces of paper on before painting. I also wanted to make the colors a little more off than usual. I made her skin lavender and chose complimentary color yellow for her lips and the background. It was nice mixing it up. Artists have to keep trying new things or they'll quickly get bored! I feel the risk paid off. I look forward to doing more collage portraits.

Maggie

Maggie was one of the best things to ever happen to me. She played a role in my emotional healing. She was a Pomapoo. The Poodle in her made her have wavy hypoallergenic hair, the Pomeranian side of her made her want to sit on my lap all the time. While I watched a movie or TV, while I read, she even tried to while I painted. One day I had a stomach bug and stayed in bed all day. She was by my side the whole time. As simple as that was, it meant so much to me. Animals are truly healing. I miss Maggie so much, six or seven years after we had to find her a new home because we were moving. She brought healing and comfort to her next family, who'd just gone through a painful divorce. 

I've been meaning to do her portrait for awhile now. I'm pleased with the outcome. I've had other dogs, but Maggie was unusually special. I look forward to seeing her again in the next life. 

The Mermaid and the Seahorse

At two by three feet, this is the biggest painting I've done in probably a couple of years. I never thought I'd paint a mermaid, but one day I just felt inspired to. I wanted to make the painting look a little whimsical and off so I chose to make the water purple rather than the obvious blue or aqua. I really enjoyed making this one. To get in the right mood, I listened to Daughter, Apoptygma Berzerk, Sia and Temper Trap. Music is important to my painting process.

Flapper Fascination

Here are some drawings I've done over the past couple of years. I'm not sure why I find the 1920s so fascinating. It's definitely a beautiful time in fashion. I think I'm also drawn to the strong women of that era. And the charm. It was definitely a charming time. I've been drawn to this point in history for years, but admittedly, Downton Abbey only fueled the obsession. I hear they're making a movie. Fingers crossed!

Estelle

After a creative slump I finally finished this and I really like how it turned out. I love flappers so I decided to finally paint one. I enjoyed sticking to a softer color palette. I usually paint with bold colors but this time I stuck to pastels. Also note that this is a mixed media piece. I mostly used acrylics but added some wax metallic finish and some touches of gold oil pastel since I didn't have gold paint.

I Heart California

Me at the beautiful La Jolla Beach

A couple of weeks ago my family and I went to California. We had a family reunion in Death Valley, then we went to Disneyland, Hollywood, Laguna Beach, and San Diego. It was a wonderful trip. Do you want to know a secret? California has my heart. I've wanted to live there since I was a kid. And maybe someday I will. Hopefully sooner than later. People seem to have a passionate love or hate for California. While I know it's a flawed place (like any other) I love the mild year-round weather, the diversity, the art, the anything goes attitude, the beaches, the celebrities, the vegan restaurants around every corner. Yup, I love California.

Thailand Trip

My sister and I have wanted to go on an exotic trip together for years and I've wanted to see Thailand for even longer so we decided to take a spontaneous trip earlier this month.

We got to stay in a magical beach bungalow with an oceanview balcony for next to nothing.

The Big Buddha was really cool. 

Two monks were kind enough to let a few of us silly tourists pose with them. 

We got up close and personal with several monkeys. They climbed all over our bags, tried to steal my sister's phone and pulled her hair. It was pretty funny!

My sister and I on the boat heading to Khao Phing Kan and other gorgeous islands.

 Khao Phing Kan, aka James Bond island. It was gorgeous! We also got to canoe through some breathtaking caves.

Visiting the elephant sanctuary was hands down the best experience of the whole trip. I've been obsessed with elephants for many years. Getting to feed, bathe, brush and pet them was amazing. Such a dream come true! 

Kata Noi beach was lovely. We planned to snorkel but the waves were too intense so we played in the water instead.

 Trick Eye Museum was a lot of fun. It's filled with dozens of interactive murals. This is a longtime favorite painting of mine by Van Gogh.

Thailand was absolutely magical and easily one of the best trips of my life--and the icing on the cake is that it can be done on a tight budget. I would recommend it to anyone.

Isabelle

Surprise! Another painting of a woman. I painted her lips blue because I often like to add something unexpected and slightly "off" to my work.

Bathroom

I love Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles, so I thought I'd try painting a room. It was enjoyable and I'm pleased with the outcome. 

Meeting Nicholas Hoult

My sister and I went to the Sundance Film Festival at Park City on Monday. We were thrilled when we spotted Nicholas Hoult, who stars in one of my all-time favorite movies, About A Boy. He's also in other great stuff like Warm Bodies, Equals and X-Men. He not only let us take a picture with him but he chatted with us for a couple of minutes. He was so nice. We also met Shirley MacLaine and Will Butler and spotted Lea Thompson, Zoey Deutch and Billy Bob Thornton. What a surreal day!