Watercolor Painting

As much as I love creating digitally, creating in the physical realm is very rewarding. Although I haven't taken a course in painting before, I enjoy the calming practice of watercolor painting.

If It's to Be, It's Up to Me

16x20 Commissioned Watercolor Piece, May 2021

After completing a semester and a half of online courses, I missed the immersive experience of in-person classes. When I heard LMU was still teaching courses online for the spring 2021 semester, I decided to pause my college education until I could go back and receive an in-person teaching experience. During this time, I began working full time at CT Agency. Because I was working from home and choosing my own hours, I had a lot of extra free time on my hands.

I decided to do something with this time and my childcare/nannying background landed me a job as a private art teacher once a week. Although I began this job as a way to fill free time and help pay for rent, teaching art lessons for Sultana-Bliss became one of my favorite parts of the week. Her mom, dad, and two older brothers were always home during our lessons and I quickly became very close with them. Their family is full of love, abundance, gratitude, and joy and I am forever grateful that they welcomed me with open arms.

I was heartbroken when they moved to Portugal in May of 2021. However, I was excited to watch them begin a new chapter of their lives. Before they left, their dad asked me to make a piece that could be hung in the kids' new room with the phrase "if it's to be, it's up to me." Those were his only guidelines, and the rest was up to me.

I decided to make the text the main focus of the painting. I love painting nature elements and knew that kids memorize better when they are provided with meaningful visual aids, so I decided to paint some hard-working honeybees to reinforce the phrase.

Chicago Skyline

16x20 Watercolor Piece, July 2021

Gift giving has always been my love language. I love making meaningful pieces for friends and family. My family grew up sailing on Lake Michigan, and sailing is still one of my sister's favorite hobbies. I decided to paint a unique version of the Chicago skyline for her:

Mother Butterflies

8x10 Watercolor Pieces, May 2021

I made these two butterflies for Mother's Day to give to my mom and someone I consider my second mom, Mrs. Garvey. When our house sold because of my parent's divorce, my mom did not have a place to move into yet. Mrs. Garvey, who had also recently gone through a divorce, welcomed her in with open arms .

I decided to make two butterflies to represent their recent life events. Caterpillars create cocoons to stay in until they are ready to emerge as beautiful, new butterflies. Mrs. Garvey's house served as a cocoon for both my mom and Mrs. Garvey, as it was their space to rest and find themselves again after their divorce. They both helped me realize that life experiences are only as "good" or as "bad" as you perceive them to be. Sometimes looking for the good in a seemingly bad situation seems impossible, but they have proven otherwise. To

commemorate their strong faith and spirituality that carried them through their journeys, I added the phrase "You can't break a woman who gets her strength from The Source."

Now, every time they see the paintings hung up in their house, they are both reminded of the strong, resilient, and beautiful women they are.