Night sky

The night sky holds such beautiful mysteries. From a young age we are encouraged to "wish upon a star," a distant mass of light twinkling and existing both in the present and the past. 

Several years ago, I spent a summer working at a summer stock theatre in a tiny town in New Hampshire. It was lovely and slightly isolated there, and the Milky Way was visible on any clear night. 

That is also where I saw my first (and second!) shooting star. 

God created the infinite heavens and the Earth, and our understanding of both is still so finite. But I believe God made these beautiful mysteries for a reason - it's what hopes and dreams are built upon. 

print available here

Inspirational Christian Prints

My new line of inspirational Christian art prints is something I've been thinking about and working on for a while.

I really wanted to be able to share my faith in a beautiful and meaningful way.

I chose some of my favorite verses, and ones that really inspired striking imagery. 

Each is hand painted in watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and/or ink and then scanned into the computer. There is a little bit of photoshop clean-up, usually on the lettering, so that it prints cleanly (watercolors tend to have finite overbleed), but I really wanted to capture the original colors and brushstrokes as accurately as possible.

By offering them as prints, I'm able to make as many as I want or need of each and allow them to hopefully inspire and encourage many others. 

Most are offered as 8.5" x 11" prints in the shop, and I hope to add 11" x 14" soon. 
I have several more in my sketchbook already that I'm excited to paint soon!

Do you have any verses you'd like to see as a print?

Art Crush: Michelle Schneider

My newest Art Crush is Michelle Schneider of The Art of Michelle. 

I discovered Michelle through a favorite blog of mine 6th Street Design School, and I have been obsessively reading Michelle's blog and staring at her work ever since. 

She works mainly in watercolors and her work is so fun. Her charming illustrations capture the most adorable little moments.

I asked Michelle what it means to be an artist and a Christian. 
In her own words:

My faith has always been integral in my work. I whole-heartedly believe that painting is my professional purpose in life- even before it was my profession. It's something that I've always prayed most fervently about and what I hold closest to my heart. My values in business must always reflect my personal values and belief in honesty, purity, and quality. I believe in developing my best self and delivering the best quality product I know how to create.

Her line work is delicate and adds lovely detail to the pieces. The graphite line work makes you want to get right up in her work to see all the intricacies.

Michelle did a series of 12 bird paintings recently; each is thoughtful and whimsical, and the birds have the sweetest individual personalities. Here is the video she made about the process. 

She also occasionally works in oils, which makes me totally jelly since I miss working with them so much. Can you see the delicate pencil lines? Gorgeous.

Michelle makes lovely house portraits and each includes vintage music and book paper somewhere in the painting. The way she incorporates it into the work is brilliant  - she really uses the pattern and direction in very meaningful ways. 

But this right here might be my favorite piece: Here is her own house imagined in the snow. It's so adorable and the tiny cardinals are such a sweet touch, and it's so full of love that it brings tears to my eyes. 

I have found her work to be such an inspiration; she speaks often on the blog about her work being informed by her faith, and many paintings have direct tie-ins / are inspired by scripture. It's a beautiful way to let God speak through her talents.

Here is Michelle's shop and her blog. 

All work and photography by Michelle Schneider.