M Y
L I F E
I was born into a wonderful family on a farm in South Dakota. Even though I was the youngest of three, we were so close in age that our interests seemed to fit together rather nicely. I was not the typical artist who spent all day drawing/painting. Nope, I found my creativity through the garbage dumps. There were days when I watched my grandparents spring clean and pile up the garbage. . . I, however, would run out there and sort through the "junk." It was heaven to me! I'd round up handfulls and run into the trees (forest belt) to create something with my finds.

On Sunday mornings as i woke up to the sound of mom practicing the hymns for church, I would stare out at the trees blowing in the wind. I had bad eyesight. . . so it was all pretty blurry to me. I'd turn it all into a theatrical performance as the leaves would turn into people in action. I was easily entertained. . .

. . . and I loved my childhood ! ! !

Although I had a love for creativity and could spend endless hours digging through the garbage and designing something new with the old, I did not completely reailize the potential I had with art till high school. It was then that I won a scholarship for a summer art camp which changed my life. . .

My love for nature and the great outdoors pulled me into pursuing biology in college. However, it only took one semester to realize that mistake, and within a year, I was off to the big city of St. Paul, MN to the College of Visual Art.

After graduation, I moved to Seattle, WA. It was a very hard move as my father had been diagnosed with cancer about a year prior. But it also was an easy move as I knew that it was where God had led me to go at that time in my life.

Phillipians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
On January 19, 2005, my father lost that fight and is now with my father in heaven. It has been a difficult road since then with many emotional ups and downs. My art basically stopped for a while but I soon came to realize that I was only hurting myself by floating in this sea of self-pity. Christ is and has been with me always, and although I do not always feel him near. . . I know that he is taking care of me and guiding me step by step by step.
Through it all. . . my voice in art became evident. I no longer struggled to find my style. . . it became me. Much of my background growing up on a farm, going for long walks at sunset and just looking at the landscape around me. . . I do not create with many straight lines. I began to write and illustrate my own childrens book and within a couple years I completed Under the Morning Star.

My oil paintings are a bit different but still have some of the same qualities in line, form, and rhythm as with my illustrations. It reflects more simplicity yet intricately woven details seen throughout all of nature. This reflection is something that has fascinated me all through life and I have come to discover that God is that great reflection. Through his creation, I am able to sence the freedom and life that he longs to give. There is something about applying paint to canvas that is quite challenging. . . to capture what is seen and felt and then to express that emotion onto a 2D form. . . an emotion and feeling that is so deep and so real that it cannot be expressed verbally. . . to accomplish that task is an absolute joy.

My dream for the future is to express on canvas and through childrens books that in life, you can have joy. . . you can have hope and laughter, even in the midst of trials and suffering. . . and that one would step away from their overstimulated and overspending life and just look around at all the small and simple things, the things that will surprisingly bring you joy and reflect that freedom that your heart truely desires.

Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

Thank you for reading a little bit about me.
You can visit my blog at ladypetunia.blogspot.com
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