I always love looking back on old work. Painting can be such a reflective medium for me. When I see old work from ten years and even a year ago (like the painting shown above,) I am flooded with memories; I feel the emotions I felt while creating a piece. I remember the words of the book I listened to while painting it. I smell the shared student studio I worked in on campus. I feel the urgency I felt to complete my work for the show. And that's just the beginning. From start to finish, from a photoshoot for a painting to the end of an exhibit of painting, those memories are all intertwined in the brushwork of my paintings. 
The painting above is the second painting from my BFA show last year that I wanted to share with you. You can see the first one here. This painting Thou Burning Sun with Golden Beam comes from a lyric the hymn All Creatures of Our God and King! It was one of my first pieces from the show that really came to life in my sketchbook.
One of my favorite candid photographs (ever!) from my photoshoots for painting reference was from the set of photos for this painting. These girls were just so wonderful to work with. They absolutely exceeded my expectations. I had six of them there that day to help, and you know we had fun doing it! I love that this picture captures that. (Thanks again, girls!) You'll see them appear again in paintings throughout my future posts, but the painting above features two of them, sisters, second from the left and far right.
