San Juan Capistrano visit

San Juan Capistrano

History...click on image to view larger print size...

Beautiful flowers

Real thing
Pastel Study in my living room...real life is just so much more exciting!

Oh yeah more amazing flowers. Don't you just love the amazing shots here?

8th International Art Exhibit

It's finished!!! Right now it is sitting underneath layers and layers of bubble wrap so I can't show you the full finished framing effects but...here's the idea. Thanks again Alan for all your hard work at getting it back before we shipped off. Now if I can just get my photos together for the juried show...

Color Blind Art 1

2D Design/Color Theory Spring 2003

Illustration Collage Spring 2004


My Dad is colorblind (he sees Blue), my mom is partially blind in one eye and has a 'black hole' in the other, and I see things 'artistically'-or try to at least. The lower piece is a collage illustrating the way we all see things.

The top two are of a color grid comparing hue. The black and white shows how significant the blue and red colors are. Granted this isn't a true color test because it is paint but you can still pick up interesting comparisons from the perspective of value on each hue.

Pre-Maryland Art 1

Drawing Class-Fall 2002







These 4 shots (above) are of a piece for Drawing Class. This focus was titled nontraditional art. So here is my nontraditional utencil-cut paper silhouette and bouncy ball painted white. I enlisted my uncle's help and we welded the stand for my "world". At the time I was working part-time as a substitute teacher, I had been married for 3 months, ran my first 5K, and been sealed in the SLC Temple.


3D Design Spring 2003 2003 -"Yoga Lady"

This was for my 3D design class. The goal was to take 3 shapes and integrate them into one. If you squint when you look at it you might be able to see where I was going with this. This is the backside of a woman with her hair blowing to the left shoulder. She is in a sort of squating position with her arms in front of her torso... perhaps it's a stretch but remember I had a week and a half to do it and it started out as a leftover supporting beam from a house. It wasn't intended to be an anchor but I got a lot of those comments during class critique. Ah well.

Artwork 5

Guymon Finland Painting Commission 2007

Paintings...this was my first realist piece in acrylic. I am currently working on a still life of fruit in oils and loving every minute of it.

Artwork 4

***Favorite Sky Piece***

***If I had felt full liberal licence when creating I would have cut off all but the right side first 4 bldgs. The balconies are my absolute favorite and I love it so much because my reference photo was grey and dirty (it was January) so this was all created in my head. I didn't realize the colors and everything until it was finished. I had one of those wait did I really do that moments when it was finished. I feel blessed to create these pieces. ***
Anderton Segovia Landscape Commissions 2006

Artwork 3

2006 Study of Robert E Lee with Bible, not sure of original artisit...

Cornell University Library 2006 Commission--least favorite piece ever but that is a long story. I do really like the way the clouds worked out on this one...

Artwork 2

"Delaware", Seda Farm Scenes 2007
"Mary", MacDonald Portrait 2007

These two pieces were created for people I love. I have the utmost respect for these two women and will forever cherish their friendships. The first pastel scenes are of farms in Delaware. If you haven't had a chance to go to Delaware I would definately recommend it. It's just lush with landscape material.
The second pastel is of my dear friend's mother Mary. Mary was diagnosed with cancer around Thanksgiving and passed away at the end of January in 2007. She is such a poised and elegant woman on the photo despite the chemotherapy treatments. I felt the most beautiful peace whenever I worked on this piece. To date it is my fastest work 45 days and my largest too. I feel such joy whenever I think of the time working on this piece. I went through some real personal trials while working on this and I am grateful I had Mary's portrait to release those heavy emotions into.

Artwork

2004 Study of "Mission Cloisters, San Juan Capistrano" by Alson Clark(1876-1949)

Katelyn-2006

Remembering the Great Things of God-2008

These pieces are all part of my private collection. The first is my first pastel study, the second is of my oldest daughter, and the third of my husband and daughter. The last piece is for an international juried art exhibit for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I need it to be completed by October for the deadline (yikes because I started last July!). It really would be an honor to have it in the show but if not...it's wonderful to try anyway.

Background Info

Well I decided to branch out and make a blog dedicated to my artsy side. Can't guarantee it will be that exciting but...I will do my best. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I like to do art. Always have, always will most likely.

I first caught the artbug from my grandmother. She loved paint in oils. She was pretty good actually. One day in the car I remember her pointing out the mountains surrounding my house and showed me how the ridges looked like fingers curled in. She said, "See Stacey, you're growing up in the palm of God's hands." I have never looked at mountains the same since. That is what art is to me. Remembering the great gifts from our Heavenly Father in the world around us.

My uncle also has a tremendous artistic gift. He helped me weld a shield in high school for a humanities project and again it opened my eyes to the way materials can be manipulated. That same year in school was the first time a teacher ever expressed that I might have a raw talent. I was a sophomore in high school. As a junior I was invited into the AP Studio Art class based off some continuous line drawing exercises. I received a 3 for my portfolio that was judged by instructors from Princeton University. That summer I traveled throughout Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Lichenstein, France, and England taking in as much as a 17 year old can. I followed up my senior year with AP Art History and received a 4. I thought that was the end of my art escapades.

In astronomy I was asked to create a constellation from the stars and write a story to back up the image. I guess it sort of beat out the usual dot to dot imagery and my class was rather impressed. My friend April was in the class and asked me to draw a portrait of the Beatles for her dad for Father's Day. I guess that was my first commission. Again I hadn't put any faith into my abilities and tried to let it go.

My husband encouraged me to take it up again when we got married and I switched my major from Biology to Illustration. Quite the transition. I learned a lot in those classes but I think the most useful was the Color Theory course from Ann Stevenson. Thanks Ann. My husband and I were moving to the East Coast and I was still a semester shy of graduating with my Bachelor's so I thought I might be dropping it once again. Little did I know what would await me in Maryland.

I looked into transfering and realized I would be repeating my generals all over again rather than taking more art classes so...I withdrew before the courses even began. Nate noticed I started to decline in enthusiasm prompted me to look into private classes. A little present from my friends at Google and Voila STA School of Traditional Art popped up. Of course I couldn't bear to lose yet another night of the week away from my husband (I was working 6 days a week and recognize Sunday as a day of worship) so he suggested we take a class together. It was a success and I feel I owe most everything I know to Alan Fink. Thanks Alan for the best 4 years in art.

There you go my story. Now let's see some pictures...