In Daddy's Arms

This is a painting that I did for my good friend Mary. Her son in law (pictured) died in an accident a few months ago, leaving behind three young children and his wife. Mary is one of the most admirable women that I know. She deals with her trials in such a dignified manner. I am blessed to belong to a book club with Mary. She has some health problems and while most of us car pool to book club, Mary has been driven to and fro by her beloved husband Steve. I am sure that the reason for this is that he wanted to make sure his wife arrived safely and got into bed early. Steve now is battling a brain tumor. Now just as he made sure that his wife was taken care of for many years, she is at his side making sure that he is taken care of. Mary and Steve are what I would call kindred spirits. When the club heard that Mary's daughter had lost her husband they all wanted to do something personal for her family. The ladies of the club, commissioned me to do this painting for Mary's family, because we all truly love and admire her. We pray for your family Mary and hope that this painting will bring you some measure of comfort. We love you.

Feed My Sheep

I have had the reference photo I used for this painting for many years just sitting in a drawer. I received it when I was doing a commissioned piece for the Toone family. This was not the photo I used at that time but I asked them if I could make a copy to use for myself at a later date. Of course they said I could but it was not until Mike (pictured) Toone was sustained as our new Stake President that I felt inspired to paint it. The feeling as he stood in that conference was palpable. The spirit was so strong as we listened to our dear friend Mike bare his testimony. On a more personal note, he was my bishop as I went through the trial of divorce. I will always be grateful that I had a bishop at that time in my life who had such great compassion. There were times when I felt like a lost sheep as I entered into the singles world in the church. Mike made sure that I continued to have great opportunities to serve in our ward and made sure that I felt loved. President Toone takes his responsibility to "Feed My Sheep" to heart and for that our stake will be blessed.

My Family is Strength

I have photos of just about every family member flexing their muscles. When looking over these photos and painting this picture I realize that my family is strength. We have individual trials but as we face them together we are strong. I find my strength within the walls of my home!

Looking Into the Past, I See the Future

There aren't to many pictures of a great, great grandfather with his great, great grandchild. I loved the look in Gove's eyes as he looked into Papa's eyes. I tried to capture the magnitude of this moment with paint and charcoal.