Day 4- 12 Days of Christmas

I see you swooning over there about my full color floral pieces! (I get it. They’re beautiful!) Well no more standing on the sidelines because today is your day to get one of those stunning pieces up on your wall.

Day 4 of my 12 Days of Christmas event is live- and it’s a good one! Entwined, a gorgeous 16”x20” original watercolor and ink painting featuring an array of yellows and golds, is on sale for just 24 hours! Are you going to make it yours?

Entwined

16”x20” vertical

Originally $800, on sale for just $600 today only! (Link in bio)

Day 3- 12 Days of Christmas

FRAMED original art for less than $400? Yep! All thanks to Day 3 of your favorite 12 Days of Christmas Sale. (Basically like the greatest advent calendar there is without any pieces of disappointing, chalky candy.)

Today’s painting? ASHES No. 2!

An original painting by yours truly created using watercolor, gouche, and various inks.

8”x6” unframed, 12”x12” framed

Arrives custom framed in a gold metal frame with in a white mat.

This painting is part of my eighteen piece collection, ASHES.

(Looking to make it a set? Check out the two other framed ASHES available as well!)

Day 2- 12 Days of Christmas

It’s Day 2 of my 12 Days of Christmas Event!

12 pieces of art.

12 days.

Only 24 hours to snag each piece while it’s on sale!

Todays piece? Double Stuff!

10”(H) x 8”(W)

Watercolor, inks, and graphite on paper

Arrives unframed

This piece is from my 2022 SUGAR & VICE painting collection.

Originally $200, on sale for $150 today only!

Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas

It’s Tiiimmmee! My 12 Days of Christmas Sales Event starts TODAY!

12 pieces of art.

12 days.

Only 24 hours to snag each piece while it’s on sale!

Todays piece? JIGSAW No.19!

The PERFECT little jewel of a painting for you, for someone you love or just because.

Whether you frame it small and tuck it onto a shelf or frame it with a huge white mat to make a statement, this painting has so many beautiful layers upon layers that no matter where it goes, you’ll find yourself stopping and staring at it for hours.

Originally $125, on sale today ONLY for $100. Link in bio

JIGSAW No. 19 is part of the Jigsaw collection where each piece fits together to form a larger painting. Want to give this to someone special but need help with the card? How about:

“Every piece of my heart belongs with you.”

“With you, I’ve found my perfect fit.”

or, if you want to pull out a Jerry Maguire reference “You complete me.”

(I know, I know. It’s like I used to own a stationery company. *fun fact: I used to own a stationery company ;) )

The Easter Eggs of PLATINUM

Come closer. I’m going to share some easter eggs with you!

A big part of connecting with art is being able to talk about it. Every decision I make in a piece has a reason behind it- even some of the “happy accidents” that can occur with watercolor help tell a story. Each piece of the PLATINUM collection has special meaning so I thought I’d pull the curtain back a bit and let you in on the hidden easter eggs.

You already know about the platinum drops (if you missed this, scroll back a few posts) but did you take note of the two main colors seen in all eight of the paintings? Each piece is primarily blue with touches of orange. First meaning is that blue reminds people of water/the ocean. It’s calming and therapeutic and has a rebirth/baptismal element to it. “Washes you clean” if you will. But when I added the touches of orange, that was for a much more literal meaning- a nod to the treatment packaging. Each treatment IV bag had orange caps and deep ultramarine writing. (The color orange also repeated itself in the pill bottles that lined our kitchen counter.)

And did you notice the line work varies more in these paintings than my other work? If you look closely at the flower, the lines lose their vibrance and strength when they’re under the pool. They go from multiple black lines to one solitary graphite line. That’s to illustrate how much of a toll the treatment takes on you. And how about the bold, graphic lines that run across each piece? A nod to the IV lines that delivered the medicine.

Lastly, the blooms themselves. Some are fully open while others are in various states of opening or closing. I’ll keep the mystery behind what exactly each one represents, but what I will share is they represent the emotional shifts experienced throughout the whole ordeal.

Now my question for you is, were these surprises or had you already started to decipher the various hidden meanings in the works?

Why the name PLATINUM?

Why did I name the collection PLATINUM? One of J’s chemotherapy drugs was platinum-based (which is used to treat cancer by interfering with the DNA of rapidly dividing cancer cells.)

It is incredibly effective, but also incredibly long lasting; remnants of platinum will remain circulating in his blood for the rest of his life. I named the collection PLATINUM to acknowledge the fact it never leaves- both literally (it will remain in his blood) as well as metaphorically (even after it’s over, the experience forever alters you.)

If you look closely, you’ll see drops of “platinum” floating around each painting. Difficult to photograph, but absolutely beautiful to see in person when it catches the light.

PLATINUM journal snippet

“The delay between blinks- how he keeps his eyes closed just a bit longer than normal. The subtle throat clearing to hold back nausea.

How he’s stopped fighting me when I tell him to take it easy. Or to take a nap.

The little barely perceivable winces when they put in another IV.

I wish I could do this for him. (Of course then I know it’d just be him sitting here wishing he could do it for me.)”

-snippet from one of my journal entries during chemo infusion

The PLATINUM collection goes live July 12th. A percentage of all proceeds will be donated to University Cancer and Blood Center to help another patient with the costs of treatment.

My newest series: PLATINUM

Vulnerability is hard because it has the ability to hurt. It puts your guard down and makes you susceptible to scrutiny.
To judgment.
To gossip.

But it’s also the only way to connect. To show your true self and to build bonds and grow. It’s a bit ironic, but you can’t actually grow stronger until you admit when you are weak.

I started painting this collection to work through the wide range of emotions I was experiencing after learning my husband had cancer. In a matter of what felt like seconds, my healthy 39-year-old husband went from “no cancer/not even thinking about cancer” to somehow “has cancer and is undergoing surgery and chemotherapy.”

My brain just could not wrap around how quickly our life had changed, how helpless it all made me feel, and how scary it was.
I also wasn’t sure if I was ever going to share these paintings (much less offer them to be collected) but now that they are finished (and we are gratefully on the other side of things) I realized it would be untrue to myself if I didn’t.

So July 12 PLATINUM will be released. For everyone who has battled cancer, loved someone with cancer, or lost someone to cancer- this collection is for you.

*A portion of all the proceeds will be donated to Athens University Cancer and Blood Center to help others with the costs associated with treatment.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I hope it’s wonderful and filled with love, joy, and flowers.

Pictured above:

"My Funny Valentine No. 2"
watercolor, graphite, and ink on cotton paper, 5.5"x5.5" unframed
$125
(Available through the studio)

How to become an art expert. Kind of.

Do you ever look at art and just think "I don't get it?"

You aren't alone. (A LOT of people feel that way.) But that's one of the things I love so much about this series! Sure there is a backstory (you can read that on my site) as well as hidden Easter eggs, but you don't actually have to know ANY of that to fall in love with these paintings. You don't even have to "understand" anything- you just have to be willing to look and let your imagination run wild.

Because there are no right or wrong answers- just YOUR answers.

(Be careful though! Once you have one of these on your walls and start asking friends what they see, you might trick them into thinking you're actually an art expert.)

📷 ROARSHOCK Card VIII, $925 unframed (frame is available) watercolor, graphite, inks, and acrylic on paper, 18”x24” (send me an email or contact Metal + Petal to claim for yourself)

Let's treat those walls with art

It’s almost 2023 and your walls are looking sad. Let’s fix that.

Select paintings from ASHES (the series that this particular red, white and black piece is from) are available on my site, in Athens at Metal+Petal, and in Nashville at Galerie Tangerine.