Panguitch Quilt Walk

The first group of pioneers came to Panguitch on March 16, 1864, from Parowan under the leadership of Jens Nielson. They followed the route over the rugged Bear Valley, a part of the Spanish Trail. Crops were planted, but the season was short and they did not mature. The winter of 1864 was extremely cold and the snow was deep. The closest supplies were either in Gunnison, 115 miles to the North, or Parowan, 40 miles to the west over the difficult Bear Valley Road.

Seven men, Alexander Matheson, William Talbot, Thomas Richards, Jesse Lowder, John Butler, Thomas Adair, and John Paul Smith left Panguitch to go to Parowan to get flour and food for the starving colony. They had two yoke of oxen and a light wagon which they had to abandon at the head of Bear Valley because of the deep snow; they then proceeded on foot. The only progress that could be made over this frozen, crusted snow, was to lay a quilt down, walk to the end of it, relay it and walk again. In that way they reached Parowan.

Alexander Matheson recorded in his journal,"We decided that if we had faith as big as a mustard seed, we could make if and bring flour to our starving families. So we began the quilt-laying in prayerful earnestness. The return trip was harder with the weight of the flour, but we finally made it to our wagon and oxen and on home with thankfulness to the Lord of His goodness. The whole settlement welcomed us, because we had been gone longer than expected. There had been prayers, tears, and fears which turned to rejoicing and cheers."

--The Panguitch Quilt Walk Marker

Steel Worker

Lloyd Newell's father worked in a steel mill for 40 years because he loved his family and wanted to provide for them. They were the thought that kept him going at work.Thank you Bryan for being my model--again--and doing this with such short notice!

No Swimming

Kenny, a fictional fourth-grader in Christopher Paul Curtis’s book The Watsons Go to Birmingham, learned this lesson well. On a hot summer day in Alabama, Kenny could not resist the temptation to go swimming, despite the No Swimming sign and warnings about a whirlpool. But Kenny could see no danger, so he decided to swim anyway. At first, he was only going to step in the water, but when he caught sight of a turtle, he decided to swim toward it. Before he knew it, he was caught in the vicious whirlpool.

Reflecting on his near-death experience, the boy said: “There’s one good thing about getting in trouble: It seems like you do it in steps. . . . It also seems like the worse the trouble is that you get into, the more steps it takes to get there. Sort of like you’re getting a bunch of little warnings on the way; sort of like if you really wanted to you could turn around.”

Thanks to Trilea's neighbor Mo for letting my son Braeden and I use their backyard pool. And thanks to my husband, who made sure I understood the physics of how a whirlpool really works.

Mother's Day

Here is an experienced mom comforting a younger mom who is stressed over raising her two little boys. “When children know they are loved, it covers a host of parenting mistakes.”

Thanks to Summer and her mom and kids for helping me on such very short notice!

Musical Sheepherder

I loved this story. This solitary sheepherder in the mountains of Wyoming had few possessions, including an old, out-of-tune violin, and a battery-controlled radio whose batteries were almost dead. He wrote to the director of the Philharmonic Orchestra, asking him to start his next radio-broadcasted concert by playing an "A" really loud, so he could tune his violin before the batteries ran out.

I mentioned this project to my new neighbor, who seemed to know a lot about modern-day sheepherders. As it turns out, her husband's family have been sheepherders for years! Travas was willing to model for me, so I felt like I got as close as I could come to the genuine article.

Tuesdays With Morrie

Mitch Albom visited Morrie Schwartz every Tuesday for years. Even though he was old and dying, Morrie always had a great attitude about life.

Magic Paintbrush

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to illustrate another Chinese fable for the Spoken Word. Chinese designs and colors are fascinating to work with. This time it was "Ma Liang and the Magic Paintbrush." I used my son Jacob as a model, even though he in no way looks Chinese.

Ma Liang was an orphaned boy who loved to draw with anything he could find, including sticks on the beach.

One day, an apparition from the ocean gave him a gift--a magic paintbrush that would paint creatures that came to life! But he was only to use this power for good, or it would turn disastrous. And to Liang's credit, he did use the gift for good, and tried to keep it from evil hands.

Slow Dance

This was a series of three extra-wide paintings illustrating a poem by David L. Weatherford. We panned across each one slowly, trying to hit each point as they were read in the poem. Thank you to the Emigs for willingly modeling for me, and doing such a great job!

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
Or listened to rain slapping the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
Or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask “How are you?” do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’Cause you never had time to call and say hi?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It’s like an unopened gift thrown away.

Shopping Madness

I didn't realize I had stopped posting these paintings for the past six months! So sorry! Life got a bit crazy, and we had a new baby girl.

These are a drawing and a painting of the same scene--a mother trying to buy Christmas gifts with screaming children and crying baby, fighting against other shoppers--just picture Black Friday. In the painting I was able to add in the other shoppers fighting over a pony.

Many thanks to Jerusha and her family for modeling for me so willingly. Some didn't even have to act, they were just naturally fussy! Thanks also to Meg and Laura for acting like bitter rivals when they are the best of friends!

Pay it Forward

My caring and auto-savvy bishop kindly posed as a man whose car breaks down on a country road on the way to an appointment, and he has no idea how to fix it or what to do.
An old pickup truck drove by, and the driver stopped to help the man. I found the model for this by who owned this great old bronze pickup truck.
When the car was fixed, the man offered to pay the mechanic for his services, but the stranger kindly refused. He told him instead to go and help another person, and to pass it on.

Thanks Neal and Bishop for posing. You did great!

A Boy and His Dog

This story is simply about a dog greeting a boy as he comes home from college, and how pets can be a part of the family. I felt that about my dog Butch as I grew up--sometimes he was the only person I could confide in! I had two days to produce this painting due to a mix-up, but I was glad it turned out okay. Thanks Barbara and Ethan for your quick response!

Metro Music

A writer for the Washington Post decided to conduct an experiment. He asked Joshua Bell, one of the world's most famous violinists, to play for 45 minutes in a subway station in Washington, D. C. During that time, only seven people stopped to listen. What else are we missing?

Serendipity--A Boy, a Father, and a Treehouse

The story behind this picture is basically that the boy having an opportunity to plan and build a project with his dad was more meaningful than the end product. I absolutely had to use my son for this one, since he's been begging me for a treehouse, even though we don't even have a tree!

Joshua 4--Eben-Ezer

When Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land after 40 years of traveling in the wilderness, he asked them to gather together 12 stones to build a monument. That way, their children could look at it and be reminded of the miracles God had given them, or it would prompt a discussion with their parents, asking why it was there. To me, this is why I blog--so that my children can know the great miracles that God performed in behalf of my family.

My models were so sweet--Mark and Ann and their boys--one of whom played an old woman! And Rolf and Sally and Steve. Thanks for all getting together in Bible garb and hauling stones for me!

Alice and the Caterpillar

I was so excited to have the opportunity to paint Alice! The week I moved to this house, I met a girl named Aiden, who was so cute I knew I'd have to find an opportunity to paint her sometime. She reminded me of Alice in Wonderland any time she wore a headband in her hair. So five years later, I finally got to use her as Alice. She was perfect! My children and husband were all excited about this illustration too. So much, in fact, that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to everyone's expectations. I was nervous to paint it for fear of ruining it. Hopefully I was able to rise to the challenge. I am pleased with the end result.

The Boomerang Principle

I got to illustrate an Aesop's Fable! This is the Ant and the Dove. An ant falls in a fountain and is drowning, when a dove sees his plight and drops a leaf down for the ant to climb on and save himself. The ant then saves the dove by biting a hunter who is about to catch the dove, causing him to drop his net.
I was delighted to illustrate this one. I wanted to try it from a fun perspective--from up high, instead of eye level. I was able to design the leaves and branches, with the sweeping curve of the fountain and the branches encircling the ant on the single leaf in the middle. I was also happy to be able to use the children's book style with thick ink lines surrounding realistic shading and coloring, similar to what I used on the Emperor's New Clothes paintings.Many thanks to Emmanuel for posing as the hunter for this shot!

Michelangelo's Masterpiece

I was not aware of this, but apparently Michelangelo's "David" was sculpted when Michelangelo was 26 out of a piece of scrap marble that someone had already tried to carve.
I used the same model for Michelangelo that I did last summer when I sketched him painting the Sistine Chapel.
Now my kids see the "David" statue on TV or in a magazine and say, "Look, Mommy, I saw your painting!"

The Good in Goodbye

This was a very sensitive topic to illustrate--the West Virginia coal mine collapse in 2006. Martin Toler (in the yellow) wrote a comforting goodbye note to his family on the back of an insurance form before he died. Thank you to all those who were able to make it to the photo shoot for this! I was only able to find four models, one of them being my husband, so I repeated one model twice--see if you can tell which one he is!

This was a challenge to paint in watercolor, since my color scheme is usually light and colorful, and this was dark (coal mines are usually black) and gloomy. I was pleased I was able to pull it off and still preserve some color.

All Is Well, Patience Loader and her father James Loader

I painted this to accompany a story of a pioneer, James Loader, who never made it to Zion, but helped his family on the way so that they would make it there without him. This story was told by his daughter, Patience Loader. Thanks tons to Eric, Heather and Erica for modeling, and to Gordon and Linda for letting us photograph your authentic handcart!

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!