Learning to See
It all begins with perception.
People often ask me what inspires my paintings.
As a little girl, I picked up a paint brush and began pushing paint around, simply out of curiosity. Discovering the endless possibilities of color combinations fascinated me. Eventually, I found the processes therapeutic. The paint captured my full attention and became a quiet place where the world slowed down, I could process life and reconnect with myself.
As I continued my color exploration, I was drawn to photorealism for the endless colors uncovered upon further inspection. For not only the technical challenge it presented but how the attention to detail encouraged me to slow down into the present moment, to take in and truly see the world.
Painting in this capacity took learning to see.
The kind of seeing that reveals unexpected details.
Details that invite presence.
Presence that grounds me.
Grounding that heals!
As I learned to paint, I discovered that art isn’t simply about mixing colors or mastering techniques. It begins with something much simpler, yet far more profound.
It begins with learning to see.
This mushroom demonstrates that kind of seeing that can reveal the inner details of a simple mushroom. The way light shifts through the cap of a mushroom to illuminate the gills.
As an artist, I don’t just look at a landscape, rather I uncover the way morning light stretches across a hillside. I see the unexpected violets hidden in a shadow, the warmth reflected in a quiet stream, and the delicate textures that give life its depth.
A face is no longer just a face. It becomes a story told through expression, light, and the smallest details that make each person wonderfully unique.
The longer I paint, the more I realize something unexpected. Painting wasn’t changing the world around me. It was changing the way I experienced it. Changing the lens within the way I viewed the world.
I found myself lingering a little longer in nature. Watching the light shift through the trees. Noticing the colors in a sunset that I would have once called simply “orange.” Finding beauty in ordinary places I had passed a hundred times before.
Art has a quiet way of removing the distractions that keep us rushing through life. It invites us to slow down, to observe without judgment, and to appreciate what has been there all along.
I believe we all have the capacity to see this way. Not because we are all painters. But because we are all capable of wonder.
That is the heart of Follow Your Art.
Through these paintings, journals, and creative experiences, my hope isn’t simply to teach you about art. My hope is to help you discover what art has taught me, that when we learn to truly see the world around us, we begin to understand ourselves with greater clarity, compassion, and curiosity. We learn to enjoy and truly see the greatest masterpiece, the world we all live in and the inner beauty we all hold within us.
Now, more than ever, I confidently call myself an artist. Creating portraits, animals, and landscapes that carry story and soul. I lead with emotion, depth, and the belief that our art knows the way, even when we don’t.