Newly Commissioned Painting, "Creating a Sacred Space"

25" x 58"

Acrylic and mixed Media on Canvas

Private Collection of Nancy Rabe

Fine Art Giclee Prints available here

When Nancy came to the art studio to pick up this painting, she jokingly said, "Thank you for my baby!", but she actually hit the nail on the head with her remark.  Parting with my pieces reminds me of the feeling of giving birth, in a sense that you are sending a piece of you out into the world, off to live a life of its own after you have so lovingly worked on its development.  But it is absolutely a labor of love. 

A shot of the painting in progress, which I stretched on the wall of my art studio. 

The title of this painting comes from an infusion of a few elements that came together.  When Nancy approached me to create a piece, she was looking for something to fit the entryway of her newly built home, one she and her husband had designed and watched go up over the past year. Nancy already had an image in mind of this beautiful landscape, majestic in its serenity. As I explained my process to her and in an attempt to make the painting more personable and meaningful, I asked her to provide me with building plans of the house, which I made multiple copies of and used in the background to build depth and texture.  The plans are almost completely covered up, but there are places in which these are barely visible, like on the tree trunks toward the center/right here:

In addition to being a woman who is dedicated to her family and career, Nancy is an advanced yoga practitioner and teacher who I have had the pleasure of getting to know at Exhale through our mutual love of yoga. In fact, we both realized we were twins in class one day when we showed up wearing the same pink t-shirt that said the words, "sacred space" on them. Our friendship has unfolded into a beautiful and natural appreciation and respect for one another and the joy that comes from our spirited family of yoga practitioners. 


The notion of a sacred space is complex, encompassing a range of aspects: architecture, geography, core beliefs, community stories, and not least of all the receptivity of one’s soul. When several of these elements come together, the results are breathtaking. I felt that through the loving and thoughtful construction of their home, Nancy was creating this space, a sacred space, for her family and the legacy they will leave.


Sacred truths require faith. G. K. Chesterton has described the phenomenon of faith as being like the sun: one cannot look at it directly, but everything else is seen more clearly because of it. And it is in this domain of knowing and yet not knowing, of understanding more than we can explain, of mystery, that sacredness resides.

Newly Commissioned Painting, "Root Your Feet in the Ground; Scatter Your thoughts in the Wild Air""

52" x 52"

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

Private Collection of Melissa and Mark Margolin, Dallas TX

"The creative mind plays with the objects it loves."

Carl Jung

I was commissioned to do this piece for a couple who was drawn to my painting, below, after seeing it in Origin Magazine's September/October issue: 

They needed more earthy tones and wanted a large square size to compliment the color scheme in their entryway and this piece was born.  

The title comes loosely from something my yoga teacher emphasizes frequently. It is so beautiful to realize how much the physical practice of the asanas, or poses, translates to life off the mat.

Newly Commissioned Painting, "And Then Came the Day"

36" x 48" x 1.5"

Oil and Mixed on Canvas

"Everything in life is pointing us back to our true nature." 

-Stephen Cope

I was so happy to create this painting for the Niemeic family. Maggie, who I have known and loved since high school, has always been a bit of a poet and dreamer herself...that's part of the reason I think we became friends. We just "got" each other and to find a friend who gets you is a priceless gift. It was a pleasure to collaborate with her on this piece because she was looking for something to fit a specific space and was interested in my abstract cheery blossoms. However, she wanted to incorporate some aquas/turquoises into the mix as well as excerpts from some treasured writings she had collected over the years.

Her request could not have come at a better time because I have been dreaming of painting something like this for quite a while.  Similar blossoms to what I have been loving to create lately but with a totally different color scheme. The colors have been dancing in my head and I love to incorporate the written word into my paintings...here the words lie under the images, barely visible to the naked eye, yet so essential in creating the text and the meaning of this painting. I write in my paintings as a literal means to process my feelings and emotions and express them through my art. Now in this painting Maggie was able to do that with me. I am so grateful for her giving me the opportunity to bring this image to life.

Detail shots are above and to the left. As always, if you want info about a custom piece, just email me.

New Painting, "Beauty for Your Eyes to See"

"Beauty for Your Eyes to See"

24" x 28"

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”  

Irish Blessing

This painting was commissioned for a baby nursery.  Ellie was born a few weeks ago on September 16 and now the world is a brighter place.  I hope she enjoys gazing at her new paintings...this is the first of two and the second one is nearly finished.

Where There is Love, There is No Darkness

24" x 36"
Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas
SOLD


This painting is a special one because it was commissioned by a husband for his wife as an anniversary gift. It took him several weeks to figure out a composition that he thought she would really love and one that would compliment the decor of their modern home. The style was a bit of a stretch for me, but I really enjoyed working in a more abstract method and feel like this piece has pointed my future works in a new direction.

Since I knew the couple before I worked on the painting for them I know how much they adore each other, and when I came across the Burundian proverb that says, "Where there is love, there is no darkness", I knew that had to be the title of the painting. The proverb's simple clarity really struck a chord with me. From its inception, this painting was created with love. It may sound a little hokey, but while I was working on this, I feel like that light of love was working through me and manifesting itself on the canvas. I hope it brings Lulu and Pryce many years of happiness.