My brother Chas wrote a song called healer and sent the music to me so I could write some lyrics for it. I love doing that and we enjoy the collaborative effort.

This song is basically about how a person is born into this world, pure and light and full of hope and wonder and then as time goes by they become a little jaded because of the sin and darkness that are here on Earth. They make some bad choices and are influenced by some of the wrong things and some of their beauty fades as well as the memories of spiritual things.  The great thing though is the Savior knew this would happen to all of us and He’s there to fix everything really. We can become clean and healed and beautiful again with His help. He loves us more than we can comprehend. Here are the words I wrote. (more…)

Last autumn my husband and I were enjoying a beautiful day in the warm sun and noticed a whole bunch of bumblebees dancing around on some flowers. Of course we had our cameras with us and this is one that he photographed. I decided yesterday to draw it and this is a close up of the finished piece.

I think that often we overlook some of the most beautiful of Heavenly Father’s creations simply because they are small. There’s so much to see on this great big planet that sometimes we forget to look down. A whole world of beauty exists just outside our normal range of vision.

I just drove down an absolutely beautiful highway at 2:00 in the morning. It’s been rainy all day and as I was driving home these massive clouds were just rolling across the road. The moon was shining through them and every now and then I could see glimpses of clear sparkling stars shimmering in the sky. It was breathtaking. Because the moon was so bright I could see the mountains through which the road passes and great masses of clouds were just resting all over them. The clouds almost looked like they were tired and decided to take a break from the efforts of hovering in the sky.

I think sometimes that the reason nature is so fascinating is that it’s beauty is transitory. It shares with us these moments of stunning asthetic perfection and then in almost the blink of an eye it changes and we are left only with the memory and the sensation that we are part of something amazing.

I LOVE hiking. It’s finally warm enough and the snow has melted enough that I can go again!  I went on a great one today. I got up, showered, ate breakfast and just took off. That, I think, is the best part about being a full time artist. I make my own schedule. Now I’ll spend the rest of the evening finishing my painting and hopefully starting a new one.

It was amazing to see all the new growth on the trees. They’re turning green now! Just 2 weeks ago I went up the same trail and everything was brown. The ground was all muddy and sloshy and eventually I hit snow and decided to turn back. Snow is no fun to hike in without snow shoes. But today everything was green and the ground was dry and I had a great time. I am so grateful for springtime. For that matter, I’m grateful for all of the seasons because without winter I don’t think I would fully appreciate the springtime.

11" x 14" Prismacolor and Water Color painting

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I like this one a lot better than the last one. I agree with Shane’s comment in my last post when he talked about the forground plant having something to say. It looks to me like he’s reaching out to sort of get a feel for the world but he’s a quiet type so he doesn’t want to bother anyone. He’s not pretending to be anything he’s not but he’s still not sure where he’s going or what he has to say to the world. He’s just glad to be alive.

I just got back from running. I had a wonderful time. It was the best run I’ve had in quite awhile. I decided to not think about how fast I was going or how far I would get. I just let myself fall into a rythm that felt good. I let my muscles do what they wanted to do and I let my mind go where it wanted to go. I found myself gazing up at the beautiful mountains. I breathed in the cool air that wafted down over their slopes and felt it move through my hair. I watched the clouds move across the sky and it felt as though my legs were doing exactly what they were built to do. It was as though they had a mind of their own and they knew exactly what to do without any help from me. It was awesome.