Hopeful Heart

My first painting was the water lily. To me, the dark blue water represents the darkest situations. The lily pads represent the foundation that supports the flower – for example, people in my life like my parents and doctors and friends. The flower represents a heart blooming out with hope and love. It is like renewed life blooming out of the darkest situations.

Bold and Courageous

Georgia O Keefe’s art inspired me because of how she painted some of her work, which is zoomed in. So I wanted to do that with this painting. There are a lot of times in the hospital, or in everyday life, that we have to be brave. This painting is a good reminder to me and to all of us that there are times we have to be bold, daring and brave even during times that are hard and discouraging.

Tulips of Love

This was the third painting in this series. Tulips remind me of love and friendship. I love giving flowers to my friends to show them how much I care and how thankful I am for them in my life. I wanted to give flowers to bring joy and express my love for each important person on my journey of healing.

Miracle of Thanksgiving

My last three paintings were a triptych. A triptych is one image, broken into three canvases. This was a new challenge for me. I picked one of my favorite art works of Georgia O’Keefe as my inspiration named: Hickory Leaves with Daisy (1928). I chose to use the wood violet and the oak leaves because they come from Wisconsin, which is the overall theme for the art in the American Family Children’s Hospital. The wood violet is Wisconsin’s state flower. And I wanted to place it in a color palette that reminds me of beautiful fall colors.

I did studies (or sketches) to help me figure out how I was going to do the composition for the triptych and how to lay it out onto three canvases. I needed each painting to be able to stand alone in its composition but I wanted only one main flower to spring out like Georgia’s did. Many of the things I did for these paintings were the first time I tried them and I really enjoyed doing them.

Miracle of Thanks means so much to me. To me it means being thankful for the family and friends in my life, but it also means being thankful for all of the miracles that God has done in my life. I am hoping that miracles and blessings come to people who see these paintings.