What I Painted This Week and How It Felt

This week has felt really good.

At the beginning of the week, I booked my tickets to Italy for an artist residency (!!!), and I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around it. I’ve never been to Europe, and the idea that I’ll get to make art in Italy doesn’t feel real yet. Getting into the residency doesn’t feel real either. It’s something I’ve quietly dreamed about for years but always assumed wouldn’t be an option for me....and then it all kind of happened and September will be here before I know it. The fact that Caedon is coming with me makes it even harder to believe. I haven’t tried to make sense of it yet. I’m just letting the excitement sit where it is.

The Great Horned Owl

I’ve always wanted to paint an owl, but I never made the time to do it. When I first started planning the Remembrance and Memorial collection, I thought about including one and decided not to. Over the last few weeks, I had multiple people ask for an owl, and it felt like the right time.

The Great Horned Owl ended up being a really challenging piece. Honestly, it was probably the hardest floral animal painting I’ve ever done. Working flowers into something so strong and stoic pushed me in ways I didn’t expect, but I stayed with it.

While I was painting, I kept thinking about what owls represent to me. Wisdom. Watching over someone. A quiet strength. I tried to hold those ideas as I worked and let them guide the piece rather than forcing anything.

The Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I also painted a new hummingbird this week, specifically a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

I love hummingbirds. My current hummingbird piece is one of our most popular designs, and people often choose it because it reminds them of someone they love. Sometimes that person has passed. Sometimes they’re still very much here. I hear those stories all the time, and they always stay with me.

It felt important to paint a new hummingbird for this collection. Something familiar, but new. Something that still carries that feeling of connection and presence that hummingbirds seem to bring into people’s lives.

My Studio Rhythm

I paint Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday each week, and I’m very intentional about keeping those days calm and peaceful. I never want outside stress or heavy emotions to affect my work. I really believe people can feel that energy in a painting.

Before I start painting, I meditate. It helps me stay grounded and clear. I want my work to communicate joy, love, and peace. That means I have to protect that space for myself first.

When I finished both pieces this week, I felt really proud. There will always be things I want to adjust or explore differently, but I’m genuinely happy with where my work is heading and with the time I’m able to spend focusing on my craft. That feels like a gift.

Outside the Studio

Outside of painting, the best part of this week was being home with Caedon & Drew.

Caedon is fully in a race car phase (in all fairness, he has been since he was 1). We race RV cars inside and outside, his bike is a race car, we race cars all over the house, we play Mario Kart, and his favorite thing to watch on TV is NASCAR (seriously). No one that knows him will be shocked if he grows up to become a race car driver. Everything is fast. Everything is loud. It’s fun and joyful in the best way.

If I had to describe this week, it would be this: Good. Happy. I feel so much lighter.