YAY! This is my art studio in my new older house. As I write I listen to the new sounds of the boiler creek and surge through the copper pipes.
I just started doing collages, I'm on my 7th. I learned how to collage from my good friend Rebecca. She does creative and clever collages, and bright, vivid paintings! AND she has an Etsy store!
rholmquist.etsy.com
My pink carpet, where I sit. I indulge in possibilities I work well with clutter and details, it is my comfort.
Her face is what I see. I think she is so beautiful, words almost escape me.

The Sacrifice.
Here is the drawing in progress on my art table. i like to have a candle burning, and an "aura-spray" from "Aunt Vi's Garden" handy. The green bloom is for creativity, and was given to me by a dear friend Ashley. It smells wonderful and helps cheer up my space. I will post the finished picture as soon i have one.

Mercy

Oh Mercy!
There is something mystical about this angel, something in the face. I was pondering mercy while i drew. I love it when i have the radio on (102.5) and i hear a song that has lyrics that my drawing illustrates. For example: i heard a song with lyrics that said "your mercy rains". Perfect!! I was on a little roll with these small colored pencil drawings on illustration board.
2 Samuel 24:14
David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

Angel #5 "Breakthrough"

It took me a little while to start painting #5. It is now October, I was having a dry spell. I wasn't motivated to paint, i was distracted by challenges i was facing in my life; i like to call it emotionally congested. On one brazen night in October i just started painting with out any conception of what i wanted to do. I just painted so freely, and broke through the blocks I was having. It isn't very well defined, but "all theses things come from my heart". In the painting the angels' heart is bursting open and everything comes out from there. So in theory I painted out my emotional congestion. My art tends to be like that, reflective, relevant, and necessary. I think I did this painting in a week. Which is rather quick for me. Guess when i am being free and not seeking perfection i am a quicker painter. AAH, the learning curve. Aah, the breakthrough!!

one down, two is a gift

Around the time I was finishing up Angel 1, I was having a conversation with a good friend. now my friend is very smart, has good judgement, and a sense of humor that is hard to compare. When i look at my friend, i see her beauty, i see her gifts and i see a day for her when her self image is not determined by looks. So i decided I was going to do her portrait in my painting, to glorify her features, that is how angel #2 was born. I'd show my friend I thought she was beautiful enough to turn into an angel..or some lofty thoughts as such. SO I took my best shot at capturing her profile, anointing her head with a crown and calling the painting "the gift". It's meaning is we all look in the mirror and wish we could change something about how we look. We fail to see ourselves how God made us, and to him, it is a gift when we can be non judgmental with our selves. To wear our crowns and hold our heads up high. That is the gift, that is what I want for all of us with our self perceived flaws.

in the beginning....there was angel 1

I am currently focusing on angels. I decided back in April of 08' that I was going to do a series of 12 Angels. AKA: Jennlynn Angels. I had this idea, this vision, this achievable goal, to set in motion. Now when I started Angel #1 I had not painted in oh say 2 years. I was dry, and I was hungering to be creative again. After a vacation to California I came home with enough inspiration to light this fire in me, and thus in May I began painting. The first angel I saw was this angel holding a crown of stars. I began painting and if i think back, i remember being joyful within; but painting was painful. It was like realizing how long it had been since talking to or seeing a really good friend. The reuniting was sweet, and I promised I would let her go.

hello world! i am an artist!!!

In life there are times when we face challenges. This is one of those times for me. For most of my life I have been involved in art; my art. I drew a lot as a child and teen, and found a love for color through painting. I have used the paint brush as a poet, as an observer, and an outlet for my searching.
I would create something on canvas or paper, and then file it away. Now by file it away, i mean I put in the basement or in a box. Hidden, undisclosed, silent. For whatever reasons (and yes i know what some of them are) I was shy about my art. Shy in general is a better description. I always knew i could draw, paint, express my creativity, and so on. But I never thought I could let other people in on my "secret". That I in fact am an artist, and I have something to share with the world. It really wasn't until I began my series of Angel Paintings that I took seriously something missing in my art. The ability to let it go. I have had baby steps leading up to this realization. Like participating in an art show at my church, or having cards made. But I have always held tightly to my artwork, and now I am facing the giants that keep my art from being exposed. There within is my challenge. Finding the "gems" that will empower me to give value to my art. Thus affirming I have value as an artist. Thus enabling to me to share my art with people. To expose my thoughts and feelings, with the colors of my pallet, to capture the echoes of my spirituality. To unveil what my intention as a visual artist is. And that is to bring hope, and inspiration into a world of people. I want to capture beauty and translate it. This is where I am right now in my unfolding as an artist, and i am going to blog this journey as diligently as i can. I seek the growth i need as an artist, the freedom and unfolding. So help me blog, I will complete this task.