Kim in Maine

This is an illustration of a woman who chose to spend a summer on her own on an island off the coast of Maine, in a rustic old cabin, collecting rainwater for drinking and using propane for heat. I used my friend and neighbor Kim as a model, because, besides being lovely, she also strives to be self-sufficient in all she does. Thank you, Kim!

Turning Points

I was so grateful to the King family for allowing me to photograph them for this painting. The Spoken Word message talked about a man who had been diagnosed with a grave illness, but it became a turning point in his life for the good, and how he learned to cope by relying on his faith, his friends, and his family. Matt King was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer a few months ago, and has a very poor prognosis. Yet, his family has grown closer, and I felt such a spirit of peace and acceptance when I entered their home. They all know their father probably won't be with them much longer, but they know where he's going, and that he'll be waiting for them to return and be with him. And I believe they also feel that they'll be okay without him for a while, as they stay here on earth. My yoga teacher told me the other day that her brother was best friends with Matt King before he died in a car crash five years ago. When she learned of Matt's terminal illness, she cried and asked him how he was doing. "I'm doing fine, really. I'm looking forward to hanging out with your brother again!"

I was grateful I had the opportunity to paint the family all together, while there was still an opportunity in this mortal life.

The Bridge Builder

This is a portrait of Will Allen Dromgoole. Yes, she is a woman. She wrote a poem called "The Bridge Builder" which reminds us of our responsibilities to younger generations.

Poppies!

This piece always reminds me of the Wizard of Oz--"Poppies! Millions of poppies!" Thanks to the Lott family for finding time in their schedule to model while climbing the Reher's front yard hill. It wasn't covered with poppies, but that's why I'm a painter, not a photographer. Can you see the tiny butterfly Lacie is pointing at?

Our Nation's Heroes

This painting was featured on the Memorial Day broadcast. This WWI flying ace is David Endecott Putnam, a youth who became one of the most successful plane fighters of the war. He has been remembered in letters he sent home to his mother, which were always upbeat and encouraging. He stated that if he were to die, he'd be called home happily when it was his time. His time came before the end of the war, when he was in the process of rescuing another American fighter plane. I was glad I was able to find a picture of him smiling.

"I Know My Father Lives"

Reid Nibley struggled as he wrote the song, "I Know My Father Lives." He kept trying to complicate and embellish the piece. I had similar trouble with this piece. I drew it from several different views of Bro. Nibley, with varying backgrounds, and I just kept getting more and more frustrated, until I literally screamed! It just wasn't working! It was only when I erased it all and went to the simplest way--taking a picture of my husband sitting at the piano, then varying the facial features slightly to resemble Reid Nibley--that it worked out at all. I kept the background so simple that it was unnecessary to include in this print. Ironically, that's the same thing that happened with the song. Once Reid erased all the extra notes, it came out in its true form, which was the simple way we sing it today.

A True Pioneer Mother

Jane James, a pioneer woman, lost her husband one frigid, awful day as she and her family were crossing the plains. After they buried him, her daughter recorded in her journal how, despite her heart being broken, she loaded up the children and kept moving towards Zion. It is always painful to hear stories such as these, or like the one President Monson related during conference. I'm glad I have not been called upon to endure such horrible sacrifices in mortality, but I see people all around me whose loved ones have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses, or who die in accidents, and must continue on and be an example to their children. Yet I know we all receive blessings of rest in the next life, and that families can be together forever.

Thanks to my dear friends Christine (and Scott who posed but was eventually cut due to budget), Jessica (who jumped in at the last minute to be a pioneer girl), Kaiden and McKinley!

My Grandma

I was so glad to have the opportunity to paint my sweet grandma for this week's Spoken Word! It was about interviewing the ancestors who are still living as part of your family history research. I have felt strongly about this with my grandmother, and I spent a lot of time with her a few years ago, while she was still so talkative that we sometimes wished we could get her to stop. She repeated the same stories over and over, so you could recite them word for word while you listened. I'm glad she pounded them in our heads then, because now she doesn't speak. She doesn't know who we are or where she is. I am so grateful that I know the stories of her life that are the most important to her, and need to write them down so that others will know them as well.

For this painting, although the room, the chair, and my niece Megan were all photographed on location, I had to find older photos of my grandma actually interacting, smiling, raising a hand, etc. Nowadays she just sits.

I love and miss my grandma. I hope she's happy inside her mind.

Our Spirits Must Catch Up With Our Bodies

This was a painting for the Easter message of Music and the Spoken Word this year. I thought it sort of odd subject matter at first. A man was on tour of the Amazon jungle with some natives as guides. They traveled well for two days, but on the morning of the third day, he found them all sitting or squatting, holding still with solemn expressions. The chief explained that they were waiting for their spirits to catch up with their bodies. If you think carefully about Christ's crucifixion, and what happened with him on the morning of the third day, you'll make a connection, even though it was never mentioned in the Spoken Word.

Prodigal Son, or Coming Home Again

I was delighted to be asked to paint an illustration for the Spoken Word right before Conference! This was a neat opportunity. Thanks so much to Anya for once again coming through with great costumes, and to Lamar and Martin for posing in the "Bible clothes" and "Jesus shoes" and standing barefoot on gravel while staring into the sun. I enjoyed working on folds of cloth, and on stonework in the background. I worked more on composing the whole shot on this one than I have on many in the past. I wanted to give the composition more of a dynamic feel, both with the positive and negative space.

Car Crash in the Snow

I know this cop in my neighborhood, and his family was available to pose impromptu as well for this picture. Thanks a lot to the Winds, and to Randi for bringing her Hummer and acting the part of the irresponsible driver. She's really actually very responsible, and would never crash her Hummer into a car head on.

It snowed the day before I took the picture, and it snowed several times after I took the picture. When we got together for the photo shoot, though, all the snow was melted, and the sun was blinding. It made it a little harder to paint the feel of blizzard and chill. I think it worked out okay though. What do you think?

"Myself" in the mirror

Thank you to Stophiann for posing for me! It's hard to find black models, and she's one of the most beautiful models I could get of any race. I was very excited to paint darker skin. I love how browner skin has blue and purple undertones. Paler skin has more greenish undertones. No wonder black is beautiful!

Henry J. Kaiser

Although I don't usually enjoy painting cars, ships, or buildings, I thought these cars, the Henry J. and the Kaiser, looked pretty cool, and I'm glad they don't look terrible in my rendering. I also got to learn a bit about Kaiser. I wish sometimes that I had his confidence. He made quite a success of himself, despite a lot of challenges.

Living Within Our Means

Thanks so much to Matt and Val for volunteering so quickly for this painting. I sent out an email to a few couples, and they responded enthusiastically within 1/2 hour! They're great models, and even let me paint their beautiful family room. Their daughter has modeled for Kit Kittredge, painted by Walter Rane, so this is small potatoes compared to that, but I still really appreciate it!

Angry Brothers

Thank you to the two brothers, Mike and Matt, who worked around their very busy schedules to meet with me and let me take their picture. This is an illustration of two brothers who lived in a one-room cabin and had an argument. One drew a chalk line on the floor, and they agreed to stay on their separate sides of the house. They never spoke to each other again after that, until the death of one brother 62 years later! Can you imagine being so idiotic? I'm sure glad Mike and Matt have a great sense of humor to allow me to paint them so angry at each other. They are actually great friends.

The Lincolns Relax at the Theater

Although this is Ford's Theater, I did not paint the president and his wife on a date with disaster--this is just a date, an evening when they could unwind, enjoy the performance, and rest from their cares of being head of state in a country in turmoil. I ache for the president, both then and now, for having to try to solve all the country's, and sometimes the world's, problems, and I think they deserve a break every once in a while.

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

I was hoping that, despite my limitations, this painting would still convey the hope, the bonding, the strength, and the support these men gained from singing spirituals about their Lord together, despite the desperate and demeaning situation they lived in.

I don't know enough black men to have painted this one by setting up live models. I really don't even know one. So, I had to compile this painting using a campfire and a few people sitting around it from the internet. I checked out books about black people from the internet and connected them to the bodies I had, and added a few more around the campfire, then changed their clothing and lighting to match the scene. It had to be a looser style to accommodate all the changes and imprecise scrap, plus, I wanted to have it a little looser to show the energy of the men singing the spirituals. I didn't feel it was my best work, yet I've received compliments on this piece, some saying that this is a "notch above" my other paintings. Wow, thanks! I was hoping that, despite my limitations, it would still convey the hope, the bonding, the strength, and the support these men gained from singing spirituals about their Lord together, despite the desparate and demeaning situation they lived in.

A Good Dose of Humor

I needed a couple who had been married for years and who shared a lot of jokes together for this painting. I instantly thought of my aunt and uncle. Although they haven't spent their whole lives together, having only found each other about eight years ago, they are the perfect couple, and they are always cheerful, despite all the crazy stuff life throws at them. Plus, they are my biggest fan club. Whenever my paintings come on TV, they cheer and clap! I was very happy to paint them.

Uganda

I was asked to paint a story that happened in Uganda. I have some old friends who are serving a mission right now in Uganda, currently in the Congolese area. They took picture after picture of the people they served, and I was astounded how beautiful they are. I don't think I did them justice--I will have to keep trying.

In this story, some American businessmen build a children's facility for the Ugandan people. They have to run to the store for some handsaws. In Uganda, the foreigners are called "Mazungu," and it was common practice to overcharge them at the shops because they didn't know any better. This shopkeeper, however, told the men, “I see with my eyes a mazungu, but in my heart, that’s not what I see,” and she charged them a fair price.

Silas Marner's Second Chance

These two paintings are about Silas Marner, the main character of a novel by that name by George Eliot, who was actually a woman writer, if you weren't aware, which I'm sure you were.

Anyway, it is about his second chance at life. The first is a painting depicting his love of gold, because it was his only friend after feeling abandoned and alone from humanity. After it is stolen, he goes into a deep depression.

The second painting is when little Eppie comes into his life, with her golden hair reminding him of his gold coins that he loved. He eventually turns around and loves another person again.

I was so grateful to my friend Trilea for letting me use her daughter for Eppie--isn't she beautiful? And her grandpa got to be Silas. He actually played Johannes Brahms over a year ago for my charcoal drawings--did you recognize him?

Twas the Night Before Christmas

I was so excited to have the opportunity to paint these! The first piece is about Clement Clarke Moore, going out on his sleigh on Christmas Eve to bring home one more turkey for his wife, who was cooking up turkey dinners for those in need. As he rode, the jingle bells on his horses inspired him to write a fun little poem for his children, called "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

I found a great photo with backlighting to use for these beautiful horses, and I combined the background with different elements. I think these are the best horses, trees, and snow that I've painted, and I am really pleased with the atomspheric perspective with the faint house and trees in the background.

It's interesting, when I receive these commissions to paint historical events, that I learn much more about it through the research. I learned that they had six children at the time he read this to them. His five-year-old girl (whom I have portrayed in red in his lap) asked him to read it again after he was done. Sadly, she died when she was twelve.

I needed to find a family who fit the profile the best so I could take their picture for this painting. Moore was 42, his wife was 29, and his six children were between the ages of nine and zero. My friend Amy Brown's family fit this almost perfectly, but there were only five children, so I used Brooke as a twin for Mandy. (Mandy's in yellow, Brooke's in pinkish-purple.) They were so sweet to model for me! I joked with their son that he'd have to be in ringlets, since that was the style in the 1820s. I decided to be nice and only give him longish hair.

Noel Regney

This first painting is of Noel Regney. He was a French soldier during World War II who was forced to join the German army. He was able to join the French underground, but the horrors of the war haunted him for years to come.
After the war, he moved to the United States where he met Gloria Shayne playing the piano in a hotel lobby in Manhattan. Although they hardly even spoken the same language, they were married a month later! They later wrote the words and music to "Do You Hear What I Hear" together. Aren't Noel and Gloria perfect names for a couple of Christmas carol writers?
This was especially meaningful because it aired on Music and the Spoken Word on December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day.

Straw in the Manger

My wonderful neighbors and friends, the Hernandez family, posed for me, despite their busy schedule. They are a beautiful family from Mexico who are teaching their children well and bringing them up with blessings the parents never had as children. I am so impressed with them and all they do, and so grateful they could take time out of their busy schedule to model for me.

Being Grateful

My dear friend Kellie sent me a cheerful shot of her and her daughter the day I was asked to illustrate a story about how being grateful for our blessings makes us happy. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use her in the painting, so I asked her to take a second picture of herself writing her blessings in her journal. She got me the photos that same day! Kellie is such a sweetheart, and her daughter is adorable! Hopefully I did them justice in these paintings.

Ray Charles and Ma Beck

This is my first real attempt at painting the beautiful skin and facial features of black people. I don't think I have perfected it yet, but I think I made a fair attempt. (Sorry, no pun intended.)
Incidentally, living in Utah, I don't have many culturally diverse neighbors and friends--almost everyone I know is caucasian. If you are or if you know anyone who would like to model for me, especially those of non-caucasian descent, please leave a comment!

Warren Buffett

Handmade Gifts

My friend Brooke was sweet enough to pose for me on this. Isn't she beautiful? The context of this painting was a young newlywed woman who receives a beautiful, handmade, crocheted blanket from an elderly friend as a wedding gift. It goes on to extoll the virtues of handmade gifts, with which I wholeheartedly agree.

The neat thing about it was how I got to go visit two elderly ladies in my ward in order to find a model. The first had just lost her husband, and even though she didn't want her hands photographed, I did get to talk to her for about an hour about her husband and things past and sacred. The second woman is she whose hands I painted--Josephine. She crocheted a beautiful dress for Brooke before she was born.

The blanket I used was actually given to me by an elderly friend, Daisy Peters, when I was married. She has since died, so I wasn't able to use her as a model, but Josephine was kind enough to repair some loose yarn pieces where the blanket was coming undone. So, I not only got to visit several sweet sisters, and paint a nice painting, but I also have my blanket fixed, so I can use it again and remember my friend Daisy.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Maud lived in the beautiful Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. I loved the crocheted sweater vest I found her in from an old photo. I want one just like it!
Although her Anne of Green Gables books, and other books about young women, are famous the world over, at the time she wrote them, she had to face rejection. She is proof positive that persistence pays off.

And So We Endure

These are a little different than most of my paintings, because, well, they're not paintings at all. I was asked to do three sketches this time, and they overlapped them onto color photographs. Michelangelo here (as modeled by our good friend Kent, but with much more hair) was set in front of the spacious ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
This is Samuel Whittemore. He joined the Revolutionary War when he was 80 years old and fought against the invading British army, and he lived through it and became a captain! He was the oldest revolutionary soldier. Brian's dad, who just turned 81, was the perfect choice for my model, especially since I saw him one Sunday at his granddaughter's mission farewell to take his picture. The next week his image was on TV, and we were at his grandson's mission farewell and the whole family got to see him as a revolutionary soldier!
Although I didn't use any of my friends or family as a model for Marie Curie, she was still exciting to draw. Her husband died suddenly in a chemistry experiment gone bad, but she stuck with the research they had done together and was awarded the Nobel Prize.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Thanks especially to the Allreds and their extended family for posing as all the onlooker townspeople, and to the actors at Valley Center Playhouse for posing as the emperor, the pole-bearers, and the tailors. You're awesome!The first painting, The Tailors, is a throwback to my first real "style" I came up with in college. I really admired Mercer Mayer and Maurice Sendak's illustrations, so I practiced drawing like them for a while, and it sort of evolved into my own style.The second painting, The Parade, sort of merges my old style with my newer, softer style.
Somehow I managed to paint these while sick with a 24-hour flu bug.

Did You Hear The Bird Sing?

Our good friend Sylvia helped me out with these pictures. When I received this assignment, my husband immediately thought of her to pose for it.
Her cute son Adam was a great actor as well!

I was delighted to find a prolific photo documentary of these Chicago monk parrots on the internet.

My Father's World

Maltbie Babcock, a talented priest in New York in the 1890s, would often take breaks from his job during the day to walk, hike, or run through the wilderness. He felt he could be closest to God when he was surrounded by his beautiful creations. I often feel that way too. Babcock wrote the hymn, "This is My Father's World."

Keep Going

This could be a painting of Agnes Caldwell, a nine-year-old pioneer girl who trekked across hundreds of miles to reach Zion. Or, it could be a portrait of anyone who has wanted to give up, but has kept going, and met their challenges head on and won.

The Song of the Land

I just picked this up today from the American Fork Steel Days art show, where it received 1st place in the professional drawing division. Hooray!

Walt Whitman wrote "Leaves of Grass" over a century ago, yet he really had a grasp of the unity that we'd need to feel as a people today. He praised the laboring people of the land using the metaphor of music. He wrote of the sweeping strains and pulsating rhythms of a mighty nation at work and at play. “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,” Whitman proclaimed. He acknowledged mechanics, carpenters, masons, shoemakers, woodcutters, mothers, “each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, . . . singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.”


--"I Hear America Singing" from Leaves of Grass.

The Star Spangled Banner

The Dawn's Early Light

If you're a fan of Francis Scott Key (as I am), I hope you like this one. I enjoyed trying to create the colors of the morning, but still having remnants of the battle at Fort McHenry that happened that night.