The Tortoise and the Hare

 It was Christmas time. I was at my uncle's funeral. I already had a very important job I was working on that had a tight deadline. My art director asked me if I would be interested in illustrating the Tortoise and the Hare, due the day after my other big job. 

I couldn't say no!

This aired on Music and the Spoken Word on January 7, 2024.

I felt very blessed to have work over Christmas break, even though it meant less time that I could spend playing with my kids. We made it work. And I fit this project in whenever I could. Thanks to my husband for helping me push the backgrounds so they were more exciting!

Washington, D. C. Temple in the Fall

 My friend Sandy wanted a painting of the temple where she and her husband Paul were sealed, and to remember the event, she wanted it set in the fall. I really like how it turned out.

Women of Faith

These drawings were for a Music and the Spoken Word broadcast on July 23, 2023, for Pioneer Day, recognizing two pioneering women in the world who did great things.

Fe del Mundo

 Sirimavo Bandaranaike

The Fable of How the Hippo Lost His Hair

This aired on Music and the Spoken Word on April 30, 2023.

 In an old fable, the hippo had long, beautiful hair. He would show it off each night in the light of the fire. Both the lion and the jackal cautioned the hippo about vanity and staying too close to the fire, but the hippo refused to listen to them. One night, the hippo's mane caught on fire, and he had to run to the river and jump in to extinguish the flames. All his hair was burnt off! That is why hippos like to stay in the water, because they are ashamed of missing all of their hair.

What a fun idea to illustrate! I found old illustrations of woolly rhinos and mammoths to base the idea of a hairy hippo upon. We also played a bit with AI generated images to get some ideas!

Why is There a Hole in Your Ceiling?

 This was for a Music and the Spoken Word broadcast on October 23, 2022.

A leak was fixed in the family's bathroom, but they eventually came to ignore the remaining hole, until a neighbor friend came to their house and asked, "Why is there a hole in your ceiling?" Similarly, we tend to get used to our own bad habits and forget about them, but we shouldn't get complacent about fixing the holes in our own lives.

Thanks to Deseret and Clarissa, who let me come take pictures in your bathroom!

The Importance of Work

 This was a painting for Music and the Spoken Word on Sept 4, 2022.

It illustrated the importance of hard work. A boy walked along a country road, looking at the corn fields on either side. On one side, the farmer was not working his field, and it looked neglected, stunted, and drying out. On the other side, the corn was tall and healthy, and he could often see the farmer working in the field. 

My son Micah is starting to learn how to work hard, including modeling for me, as I have used him a lot as a model in the past few years.

Anna McClelland

This was a painting for Music and the Spoken Word that aired on Pioneer Day, July 24, 2022. 

More than a century ago, two sisters, Lucy and Anna McClelland, lived in a small pioneer settlement in the American Intermountain West. As she grew into young adulthood, Anna, who was two years younger than Lucy, determined to leave home and become a teacher. Her parents reluctantly consented, and Anna started a heavy load of classes at the academy. In her own words, she “didn’t have much fun.” 

Meanwhile, Lucy stayed home and worked to help support the family, but her sister was never far from her mind. Specifically, she worried that Anna wasn’t smiling enough—and not just because of her demanding schoolwork. You see, Anna had three front teeth that were badly damaged, and her family had never had enough money for dental work. Lucy wanted her sister to have the confidence to stand in front of a classroom and not cover her mouth when she smiled. So Lucy saved her pennies for a year and sent Anna $17.50 to get her teeth fixed—a small fortune in those days! 

Anna wrote: “If [Lucy] could realize how much it did for me and how I appreciate it. … I could now be with people without being so ashamed.” Anna became a teacher in their frontier town, and she never forgot her sister’s selfless gift.

This was a story about Lloyd Newell's own ancestor, Anna McClelland. I was grateful to my friend Rachel for being the model for Anna, and for her beautiful smile, even when she is having a bad day.