ART & STORY
Narrative Mixed Media Painting
The Wild
Is a Beautiful Place
Deserts and wild places hold treasures—buried deep, waiting for those willing to wander. But these unpredictable lands unsettle even the strongest hearts. Any journey through them will demand both humility and endurance.
When I look back on the most transformative moments of my life, they’ve risen from these very places—where sustenance must be sought, and strength refined.
Here, answers do not come quickly, but revealed only through the journey—and by the One who goes before and behind. The Creator shaped these lands too. What He formed is good—holy, even in its harshness.
Once I’m on my way, my instinct is to wonder if anything good can come from this place. But I am gently proven wrong, again and again. Beauty dwells in this wilderness. Life stirs in the silence, flourishing beyond the reach of comfort.
“I see the world as a carefully designed composition, where lines, colors, and shapes create harmony and contrast.”
My creative drive is to capture these arrangements and convey the beauty often missed in the chaos. Mixed media painting allows me to tell stories with layers. Every piece begins with a problem, and through a process of addition and subtraction, failure and discovery, the truth is told. I elevate wilderness landscapes and the life that thrives there, often with parallels to Scripture, resilience, and surrender.
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I’ve always viewed the world around me as something made, designed, and arranged. Colors and lines have been placed just so. Shapes take up space or leave it empty. Every dark makes light more brilliant. Each hue has a unique relationship with another, fighting and befriending. What my eyes perceive is more than a haphazard collection of chaos. These seemingly isolated pieces are just fragments in an ever-changing kaleidoscope. Brilliant, making sense, designing compositions of glory as it moves in light. My creative impulse is to make what I’ve seen and visually convey that which leaves me speechless.
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Though I’ve explored various media, I keep returning to what best captures and communicates what I see. Mixed media provides a way to tell a story. I begin each piece with what I’ve been given — scraps, used and new materials, and an in-the-beginning idea. The building initiates as a problem presents itself — something that threatens cohesion and beauty. It is only through a string of decisions and the stewarding of hope and failure, that the layers begin to expose what I’m learning. Cosmos out of chaos. I find I’m going to wrestle with it before I embrace it, hate it before I appreciate it, be offended by it before I find it beautiful — much like life. The process pulls me back to truth every time. Each piece I create holds a story and tells of a sojourn through which God has led me. I’m continually learning to hold things loosely and trust there is purpose in the mess — something this introverted perfectionist fights against. My work provides a window into that surrender.
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I primarily work with acrylic paint, but within each layer are intentionally embedded fragments of paper—torn from old books, painted papers, product labels, handwritten letters, advertisements, and other discarded scraps. This curated collection of paper is as meaningful and beautiful to me as the paint itself. I’m drawn to the letterforms, lines, and textures that emerge from this mix. Every piece of paper and every brushstroke plays a part in telling the story.
Tatted 2
Heidi's Montana
Oh The Depth
Storehouse
Twenty Ounces
Raven
Juniper
If I Say
Going, Going, Gone
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