I so often appreciate people who not only take an interest in my work but also take the time to tell me that they like it, love it, or better yet spend their very hard earned money on purchasing my art that they then give an honored place in their home.
It's humbling, it really is.

Lately, however, I've been thinking about my business model and was about to set up a whole section of the website dedicated to how to hire for commissioned work....and then as I thought about it, I have decided NOT to go forward taking commissions.

Maybe it's bad policy, who knows - but the reality of the way I work is simple: I do better work when it's only me and my God-given inspiration moving forward on a work and what things I'm going to apply to that work to get it to speak in the context of how I want it to speak.

This is not so easy when I take commissions, in fact I find it down right impossible. People like very specific stuff for their walls and that's great, but it seems that once I am confined to doing a very specific thing I find that all my creativity seems to be lost on making sure the new painting looks like what the client wants. Some artists are very good at this and I'm really happy for that - I'm just not of that caliber and while I recognize that it would take some practice to get there, I'm just not that interested in how to be creative "inside the box."

So this is where it's at - I'm being paid not for my labor, but for my vision...that is what my clientele is purchasing. This is important because I know that I am giving the best of my talents simply by doing just what I know to do: create MY vision on canvas and nothing else.

So I whole-heartedly appreciate those who buy my work, I am forever in their debt and that's mostly because I understand what they are acquiring. They are not asking for anything in particular, they are being moved by the things running around in my head and that's really something to be thankful for.

In May of 2018 we finally made the big decision and built a large 28 x 16 art studio on our property. It was the best decision we ever made, but I think it's always going to be a work in progress as I begin to discover the best way to organize the studio to work for me while I'm doing the greatest pieces of art that I've ever planned (because those ideas are still sitting - waiting to be in progress)

It's a much needed space as we moved from our 2000 square foot home to the self-contained apartment above my husband's parents. While we sacrificed a ton of space I have to say it's still the best decision I ever made...we downsized quite a bit and spent quite a bit of time and money fixing up the much neglected space. It has demanded of me a level of creative thinking that I've never done before and much to my surprise, the more creative your problem solving in your home, the more charming the little space has become. I'm very comfy and the best part is to look out our back window and see the studio.

For now, however - it's January and without any electricity (which translates as heat and lighting) the studio had to be closed up for the winter and I'm relegated to making small pieces of art that I can accommodate on my dining room table. It's not a sacrifice at this point, but yet another opportunity to think creatively.

So the space is nearly complete and I'm looking forward to the great pictures I'm going to post in the days and years to come. It's been a pretty awesome journey so far.

​Here's to new adventures.