9×12 Acrylic impasto palette knife painting
Flower Series 112
$165, plus $18 shipping within the USA
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Outside the USA, I will send you an invoice for the remaining shipping cost. 

Fine art giclee prints are available on Etsy or directly through me. 

The word I picked for 2014 was “change”. I took it to heart, wrote it in all CAPS on my blackboard, and started to drastically modify every area of my life. Things which were broken beyond hope and repair had to go. I escorted some very toxic people out of my life, and the door shut firmly behind them. Some were family members, and a few “friends”. Then, I triple bolted the locks, and swallowed the key. I didn’t want the slightest chance of one of them finding their way back in. It wasn’t an easy decision to make or to live with, at first, but I knew how much better off I’d be without them. Looking back, I was right. I have zero regrets. Life is too short to live in misery, man. It really is. 

Whenever I look back on January and February 2014, I’ll remember what a turbulent time it was for me. I can’t tell you how much my life improved once I put the word “change” into motion. I didn’t know at the time the power of one little word, but it kept me moving forward, and wouldn’t let me look back. Anytime I came up against a situation I didn’t like, I’d think “well, CHANGE it then!!”. If I wrote a list of all the good that’s come from having that one little word with me throughout 2014, it would be pages long.

If you’re wondering, no, I don’t miss them. I thought I would, horribly, but truth is, I don’t. I miss who I thought they should be. I miss who I wanted them to be, I miss their potential, but I don’t miss them as they truly are. Not one of them. And, I certainly don’t miss the negativity they all brought to my life.  

Without all the negativity, suddenly, I was free to concentrate on better, important things, and that I did. The second half of the year was dedicated to changing my business. I haven’t been happy painting portraits or faces for a long while now. I used to paint abstracts, and flowers with palette knives back in the 90s. My mother HATED my abstract paintings. “I don’t get it”, she’d always say. I’d reply, “what’s there to get??!!” She’d reply, “Well, what’s it suppose to mean?” and I’d say, “Why does it have to mean anything?” It was a constant struggle. She wanted me to paint large, fancy oil portraits that you see in galleries and museums. I only have sight in one eye, and an astigmatism in it, meaning I’m near and far sighted, and have no depth perception. I don’t know what she expected from me. It was a lofty goal to say the least, but I tried. For her, oh how I tried. The last thing I remember her saying about my work was that she liked it because..”It looks more realistic.” Hearing her say that made me happy, but not so happy at the same time. 

This past summer, I remember saying to my husband, “If I have to paint another face, I’m going to scream!!” I was miserable, and burnt out. I took a couple days off, and a long hard look at myself. My mother passed away four years ago, and here I was, still trying to make her happy. It had to change. I had to change, and change I did. I went back to my original plan, and picked up the palette knives again. I immediately felt happy, better. I can’t wait to get to my studio every day now. 🙂 My work isn’t as abstract as it used to be, but I plan on starting an ongoing abstract series sometime in the near future. I’m sorta hooked on the floral paintings right now, and I don’t want to stop doing them just yet, but abstracts are coming! 

I have been working on a few abstract landscapes lately. 

I feel like I’ve come full circle this year, and it’s all because of one little word I picked at the beginning of the year. It’s making me think long and hard about picking a word for 2015, I tell ya. 

And now that you know my whole life story, I’m going to take a break until January 1st. 30 paintings in 30 days starts up again then, and I’ll be back to painting and blogging every day for the month of January. Until then, I’m going to rest up, read some books, watch some Netflix, play with the kittehs, and enjoy some time outside the studio. I’ll still check email, and both of my Etsy shops will remain open. I’ll be around to ship out any gifts you may want to purchase for yourself with your Etsy gift cards.  

Happy New Year, everyone!! Stay safe. If you drink, please call a cab or hop on a bus. I want to see you in 2015.