Portfolio

Some examples of things I've done along the way....

Painting aside, I do love me some crafting. You could never guess who these letters were for. These were my first set, and now I've even found an awesome distributor that can do all different fonts, sizes, and thicknesses (as Shelley learned with Caroline and her crazy alphabet wall).


This is actually my first real painting. Tony saw a piece of artwork that he loved and I thought - "hey, that would be a good graduation present". Then I saw that it cost $5000. I went and bought a canvas and some paint brushes and took a whack at it. The result is below.

This one is actually a portrait. If you asked me to do a portrait from a creative standpoint, it would be along these lines - but of course nothing like this. This is Kaylie Marie. She is one of a kind.

I haven't done people (I do love hands, but faces are difficult for me) - but I would be willing to try, and if the result looked like a 90 year old hooker, you would not be on the hook for the pricetag.

I do love landscapes with vivid color. This one is the drive-up of my Great Aunts' house in Jellico, TN. I would always tag along with my Mom when she visited in the fall and the trees were so beautiful.

This last one is kind of an aside. These were little initial nameplates that I did for all of the girls that hosted my first baby shower. This picture actually reminds me that I need to get crackin on the 7 or 8 more that are needed as a result of all the birthings.

So here are the examples of past work. I can do straight lines, but they take me longer than something that is more abstract. And I'm up for anything - bring it. I love texture and blended colors and I can scale about any picture to any size. The giant painting that I did for my parents started out as a faded Polaroid.

Here I go...

I'm making the jump - ready to actually paint something for someone for something.

In the past, I've been very reluctant to take any sort of commission - I would make a painting for a friend just as something fun for maybe a birthday or a special occassion. I felt that painting for profit would be exploiting an outlet that brought me joy, and that would result in the eventual dumping of the whole thing. I loved it that way - then.

Fast forward to now. "Then" was two kids ago. "Now", there is no such thing as a spare moment between squeezing as much time with my kids in as possible, and when they are in bed there is housework and prepping for the day ahead always staring me in the face.

Kind of funny, but this has all resulted in an about-face in my thinking. Before, taking any sort of commission made it feel dirty, now it gives it purpose. If I get a little something for my painting, I can take it and put in the boys' college accounts, and the guilt over "things undone" in that 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm timeframe before I go to bed isn't so prominent.

That's why I'm calling this site "Painting for Learning". I really am, in more ways than one. I'm painting to expand my horizons. Before, I would only make a painting for a friend or family member that I wanted to make because it appealed to ME. Now, I might be working on stuff that is a little outside my comfort zone. Also, I'm painting for my boys' learning - because let me tell you, between two daycares there ain't a whole ton to be throwing into the college accounts these days. Bring the learning ON.

So there. I'm for hire. Now how do I get someone to hire me? I'm starting out cheap. Like that's anything new.