What's New

The Holding Room

I expanded the colors in the background, letting the palette breathe a little more. The core colors I used were white, black, burnt umber, burnt sienna, light pink, Naphthol crimson, Naples yellow, and light blue.

That soft pea color I kept coming back to—one I really enjoyed—was a mix of light blue permanent, Naples yellow, and white. It felt like memory made visible.

July 20, 2025

Paired with the music: The Zombies; "The Way I Feel Inside"

I pulled "Float On, Ladies" off Instagram. The response? Crickets.

But maybe that’s because this piece wasn’t made for the scroll hole.

It was made for the ones who feel too tender for the noise of Instagram.

For the hens trying to float. For the quiet resistance.  So here she is again, in case you missed her the first time.

So what's this piece all about? The innocence and vulnerability of my hens, floating in the shadow of industrial scale. It’s about softness persisting in systems not built to hold it. So float on, my ladies…. And I will do the same.

Music Pairing for this piece: "Only You" by Yaz

July 18, 2025

PAINTING NOTES: 

The sky began with a wash of burnt sienna and dioxazine purple. Then I layered a light cadmium orange wash over it.

For the water: I've learned to avoid squeezing straight from the tube—it falls flat for me every time in the acrylic world. Mix your colors. Start with Naples yellow and a trusty primary blue; add a touch of white to soften the colors. That’ll take the edge off.

But if you really want to hit that water color—don’t overwork it. Let the dioxazine purple wash underneath do its thing. Go easy with the Naples yellow and primary blue on top of it. The washes are where the magic lives.

Summer checklist: inflatable banana? ✅ Dog loafing in the background? ✅ Yep. We’re good.

(i have this banana every year for summer, the banana will make a painting)

July 1, 2025

After I decided I was going to take down my “who am I” post… Questioning why I ever thought this was a good idea.

 I did a quick sketch of something that always makes me feel happy and relaxed—one of my portraits, looking lovingly at her hen. And just like that… I feel like myself again. 

Talked myself into letting the post stay—for now at least. But still feeling a little too exposed.

back to my sketch... I’ve always loved catching those little moments—when someone looks at their pet with so much tenderness, or when you overhear them talking sweetly to them. Those moments always stop me in my tracks.  They feel like the softest part of being human.

July 1, 2025

So, I tried the whole “who am I” post. I’ve avoided doing it because I never quite knew what to say… and, honestly, it always feels a little like opening yourself up to quiet judgment. I posted it. I appreciated the support!!  I was so close to taking it down. Instagram is hard sometimes. The quiet pressure. The second-guessing. I guess I just feel more comfortable hiding behind my paintings. But… here’s what I tried.

So this is me...i'm someone who loves being home, painting, thinking, and doing things that amuse me.

I once hosted a dinner party where I asked everyone to wear creepy animal masks, which I had laid out beside each plate. It felt like dinner theater. 10/10 would do it again.

I love self-deprecating humor. What I don’t love is when someone doesn’t realize it’s a bit and thinks they’re invited to start insulting me too. (No ma’am. This is a one-person show.)

I wish I could watch scary movies. It looks so fun—the screaming, the laughing, the jumping. But I get scared embarrassingly easy and then those images live rent-free in my head for eternity. 

My favorite food is a plain Helmann’s mayo sandwich. Just bread. And mayo. Yes, I know. I’ve accepted it. 

Also—I have one magic trick. Just one. But it works every time, and it absolutely blows people’s minds. I live for that moment of, “WAIT… WHAT?!” Makes me feel like a wizard.

So that’s me. Welcome.🐰🎭🐻

(Music choice: Blind Melon; No Rain)

July 1, 2025

Digging this new way to share. I think Instagram will hold my more finished pieces, and this page? This is my...think it through, stay loose, figure it out later’ space. Instagram always feels so… finalized. But here—I can brain dump.

I’m noodling on some ideas—blinged-out bulk carriers (not sure how far I’ll take it, but some will float to the surface for sure). Feels good knowing there’s a place for the messy. … dishes in the sink, hens to put away... but at least the ideas have somewhere to live now.

And Honestly… This Feels Different...This space feels good. Really good. I guess I always had it—just didn’t use it. Painting is working through things… the worries, the noise, the heavy stuff. i guess...sometimes it’s a party in my brain. But there's a lot of heavy lifting going on when I paint. 

But this… this space feels lighter. A place to think. To draw. To write.

I always thought I was showing up as my full self on Instagram… until I started writing here. Maybe it’s because probably no one’s reading this. The guard drops.

So, blinged-out bulk carriers, that's where I'm at for now.

June 30, 2025

"Float on, ladies” in progress… I will be adding more of these painting sketches and behind-the-scenes directly to the "What’s New" page on my website, so I don’t clutter things up over here.  

💾 gonna be serving up fresh updates… 1998 style.

(Music Choice for Creation: Modest Mouse; Float On)

June 30, 2025

Ever wonder if a hen likes to sunbathe? Oh… they LOVE it. ☀️🐓 The first time I saw it, I thought something was terribly wrong. Flat on her side, staring into space. Her eyes dilated—I panicked. Ran for help. Turns out… she was just having the best day of her life.

June 2025

Just dropping this here so I don’t lose it. She’s running. I’m running. We’ll finish this eventually.

June, 2025

Mama Duck is coming back to Duluth for Tall Ships?! 🐥🚢 I haven’t seen her all puffed up in years—the last time I went, she was deflated from the wind. Fingers crossed she stays afloat this time!

June 29, 2025

A quiet awakening. A slow crawl out of the hole. Seeing—truly seeing—the lives most hens endure. That knowing never leaves.

June 2025

A collector shared a photo of their space (which made my day!) they encouraged to share a space that matters to me...and I love that idea, so here is mine...part studio, part time machine, part dog nap zone.

I either paint inn complete silence (while listening to my dog snore) or I pop in a dvd that I've been carrying around for years that somehow survived decades unscratched. It's a time warp when they play and keeps me company.

I paint or draw most days. I put my supplies away at night so when morning comes, it feels like a fresh start...nothing waiting or the feeling I have to fix something. I clear it all away every night so it always feels like a blank canvas the next day.

Here's to blank canvases, old dvds, and fresh starts.

(Music Choice for Creation: Morphine; Candy)

Original Artwork, 36" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas, 2025, "Family Portrait" Part of the "Portraits From Another Room" collection

"Family Portrait"

Part of the Portraits From Another Room" Collection

Each chose their favorite animal and I surprised them with a sketch, it was fun watching them circle back to see if they could see themselves in it.

(Music Choice for Creation: Bjork; Human Behavior)

Homegrown is in full swing at SOLCA

May 2, 2025

Dropping off my painting "Holding Love Close" at Zeitgeist for the Gender Joy Art Show. Thank you to YWCA Duluth for organizing. 

My piece celebrates compassion and care, challenging the idea that softness is weakness, and honoring the courage it takes to love openly. 

To me, this show is about the joy and strength of being your truest self. It's a space where tenderness is strength, and being vulnerable is being brave.

May 1, 2025

The hens have an art show date! Looking forward to having "Chicken Stories" at Spirit of the Lake Arts for the Pop-up Chicken Art Show during the Homegrown Music Festival this week in Duluth, May 2-3, 2025.

Enjoying "April Showers, May Flowers!" Exhibition at the Nordic Center Duluth where blooms are everywhere, and my hens are right at home.

This show reminds us of the beauty and wildflowers that grow when we let nature lead the way. 

Painting chickens is close to my heart. Their intelligence often goes unnoticed, but they are emotionally sensitive creatures with powerful memories and deep bonds.

A special thank you to Art Reach St. Croix for the moving exhibition. 

I was honored to have "Weight of the World" in the show, a piece where a yellow pear delicately balances a red apple on its stem. A meditation on strength and fragility, weighted with the tension between balance and collapse. It reflects the quiet, daily act of holding it all together. 

It was truly moving to witness the work of so many incredible artists.

April Fools got me this year, and it was a good one.

April 1, 2025

The hens are headed to town! "A Life Meant to Wander," "Reaching for the Sun," and "Among Giants" will be part of the upcoming "April Showers, May Flowers!" Exhibition at the Nordic Center Duluth. 

Each piece honors chickens as sensitive, intelligent beings with stories worth telling, a celebration of dignity, curiousity, and freedom that blossoms when we allow all creatures to live as they were meant to: gently, among wildflowers.

March 31, 2025

I am excited to be exhibiting my piece, "Weight of the World" as part of the "Mental Health, Finding Creative Solace" Art Reach St. Croix Exhibition at 2 locations Art Reach St. Croix and Washington County Historic Courthouse. "Weight of the World is part of my "Nature of Us" collection, a series that reflects healing and shared human experience.

March 20, 2025