A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things .
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Photo Gallery
Below are a few things that I have created for others. If you would like to work with me to create your own personal item, please contact me.

I would love to add to my gallery. If you have an item made by me and you don't mind being displayed, please send me pictures. You can even write your own comments.

Fine Art
My first creative passion is painting. I enjoy using both acrylic and oil paints. I have studied and created fine art since childhood.

For Jeanell who loves stars and anything zebra print. I painted this geometric inspired painting for her bedroom. She wanted something to match the purple and red color combo she used in her room. She also decorates with a lot of metallic's. I started out with the idea that I was going to use a zebra print for the base. I then divided it into 6 vertical lines and one horizontal line and changed the way I painted between each line. You can't tell from the photo, but I also used metallic silver and gold paint in some of the accents. I finished it off with a star pattern, to incorporate as much of her personality in the painting as I could.

For my husband the musician, I painted this for his music studio. His main instrument that he plays so well is a guitar. This is just an abstract, music inspired painting in which I incorporated his favorite colors and a lot of texture.

I was honored when my friends came to me and asked if I would paint a picture for their baby boy's room that was on the way. They gave me a brochure of the color palette they were going with that came with one of their crib covers. They also mentioned that they wanted something that would grow with him or that they could use in another part of their home if they ever changed up his room someday. I love to use color and shapes and nature in a whimsical and abstract way. I was inspired by the cycle of life for this painting. In the center of the painting is the egyptian symbol for life. There are also several whimsical details. Below are three additional small pictures of dinosaurs I made just for Breckin to go with his decor, he is now three years old and a familiar buddy in our lives.

The assistant director of the school I worked at, came to me hoping for art for his new office. He showed me this photo he took of one of our infamous preschool students doing a familiar stunt. Jumping off a gymnastic horse into the foam pit. I new I had to put it on canvas. This painting captures the wild, daring spirit of a little boy, and hangs in David's office. This little boy is now 12 years old and probably still has the same wild spirit.

When Tyler bought his first home he needed some art to go on the walls. I painted this masculine geometric scene. I used darker colors with gold accents.

When Kelly and Josh bought their first home it was an exciting time. Kelly found two paintings that she loved at Bed Bath and Beyond, but they were way overpriced and didn't match her color scheme. She took pictures of both of the paintings for me and explained what she liked about each of them. I combined ideas from both of the paintings in one, and did it in colors that would match her own home, and in a scale that fit a large wall. It turned out perfect and the best part is that she got a beautiful "hand painted" piece of art for her wall. What is hard to see is that I added texture to the canvas before painting on it to give it some dimension. I used real leaves from different types of trees and added paint to them to make the initial imprints on the painting, then manipulated them from there, it gave a really cool texture to the painting.

When Steph moved from Colorado to begin a life in California it was a big step. She wanted a painting for her bedroom in California that would go with her color scheme. My inspiration for this painting was combining images from both states, to represent where she came from and where she was going. Mountains, rivers, snowflakes and air balloons for Colorado, combined with palm trees, the big city, the famous bridge and lots of sunshine for California. This painting has lots of layers, details and texture that make is special.

This painting hangs in Back Bone Recording Studios. After visiting the studio and getting a feel for the space. I researched equipment that is used in recording studios. The recording engineer is also a guitar player so I used that instrument as the main focal point at a really cool perspective to bring you right into the painting. Around the painting are other common pieces that symbolize the creative process of recording music. I wanted the painting to be masculine and something for all future recording musicians to enjoy.

Kids
When I was a child I grew up around horses. I remember neighborhood sisters that used to gallop around on all fours neighing & imitating horses. When I started teaching pre-school aged children, I watched a familiar scene of them galloping around the playground. You wouldn't believe how many children come to school without a jacket. I got the idea to start personalizing hoodies for children. What fun it would be to have a costume that you could wear everyday, surely a child would remember to grab there jacket if it were something they enjoyed wearing. These are a few I have made. They make fun gifts for baby showers, they are unique, thoughtful and personalized. I now make a variety of different animals such as dogs, ponies, lions, tigers, zebras and leopards and more. If your interested in a personalized hoodie, please contact me.

I created this navy blue, brown, and yellow "lion" hoodie for Dominick in celebration of the wild child he is. I combined felt and yarn sewn around the hood to make the lion's mane, and I used animal print fur to create the ears. On the front is a lion's head patch with Dominick's name underneath and on the backside is a picture of a full size lion and a removable tail with the words "wild child". So cute and when he wear's this jacket he can get into full character.

Sami loved the color pink. One of my earlier hoodie designs were of horses. I used a gray and pink hoodie and sewed in the horses hair and ears. Above her name is a horse patch and on the backside is a removable tail with the word wild.

This hoodie was made for a friend of mine who was expecting a baby girl. For the baby shower I created this zebra hoodie in these hip colors of gray, pink white and black. I used zebra print fur to create the ears and accent the pockets. I personalized it with the babies name "Sophia" and on the back is a zebra with a childlike print of the word. Sophia is now 3 and enjoys her stylish hoodie.

This wedding was done in a purple and green color scheme. The bride wanted 5 necklaces that would go with her bridesmaid dresses and she wanted them to be a unique gift as well. These are hand woven seed beads, swarvoski crystals and glass drops in a variety of deep purples in a choker style with adjustable chain that matched her dresses and flower bouquets.

For my own wedding I made my bridesmaids necklaces and earrings to go with their dresses. My made of honor wore a brown dress with a turquoise sash and the necklace reflected that. My other bridesmaids were reversed and wore turquoise dresses so their jewelry was done in turquoise with brown crystal touches. All the necklaces had a sterling and turquoise swarovski crystal pendant. It was important that I made their jewelry in a style that was something they would enjoy wearing after the wedding.

Amanda chose long blue bridesmaid dresses with intricate bead work. She wanted necklaces and earrings for all her girls that wouldn't be too much with the already adorned dresses. She sent me a swatch of her dresses and pictures. I found the exact same seed beads that were used in her dresses and came up with a few different designs. She chose a simple "Y necklace style with a crystal and glass pendant. I also made a slightly different design for her junior bridesmaid that matched her style of dress. I made a necklace for her mother's dress from a picture she emailed me, and also a delicate necklace for the bride, made of pearls and crystals.

Chantel and Dustin had a destination wedding in Mexico. Chantel wanted to have jewelry made for all of her female guests to thank them for making the trip. She had an idea that she wanted to have a variety of tropical inspired jewelry made that her guests could wear during the wedding and enjoy after.

She wanted 16 sets and had a budget to stick to. I introduced her to the mother of pearl shell pendants and sent her a link so she could select the ones she likes for each individual person.

She chose 9 different pendants with one for herself. All the pendants were hand painted and ordered from the philippines. I designed the necklaces and matching earrings around the pendants. Six different styles reflected her guests. Friends, bridesmaid, mother's, teens, child, bride.

We also purchased shell coin purses as the gift wrap for the jewelry