Brenda Stichter, artist

All Around Me All Around Me. Do these words hold memories or thoughts for you? I remember a children's book that went with a song, and I remember the book because I loved the illustrations.  It seems to me that there could be so many connections made with the title All Around Me - so many different ways to see what I have painted. I hope that some of the things in my mind show up for you as you look at it.  While it is true that I have been struggling to put words to much of what I thought about, I can tell you that the painting has been on my easel for so long, and that it has so many layers and so much texture. I can mention the fluorescent and metallic paint and the marks made by pencil and Stabilo Woodies. I can even talk about the compositional choices. But those things don't help me get to put the THOUGHTS into words. 24" x 24" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view on my we...

Any Day Now 2025 I am excited to share all twenty paintings from the Any Day Now series that I painted in October 2025. (Well, I had to finish the last one in November, but still...) I have found that my mind has changed a little bit. Every day I find myself seeing things differently, and I am watching more often for the thing that will remind me of my loving Heavenly Father. It is delightful, and I hope I will keep that habit for quite a while.  As you probably remember by now, each of these paintings is 4" x 4" painted on a cradled panel. I had the same 6 or 7 tubes of paint on my drafting table for the entire month, and used only those colors for the whole set. I worked at using several different compositions, and if you have ever taken a class with me, maybe you recognize some of the ones that we have studied together.  There are two Bible passages that I used in this series:   John 14: 1-3  “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In...

Any Day Now 1101 - Windows Well, the end of October was wild around here! I finished the 20th painting in the Any Day Now series on the first day of November, though I had hoped to get them all done in October. It has taken several days for me to be able to share this last painting, mainly due to a new-to-me phone/camera, which is a struggle for me to manage. (And I am afraid I will have to sell this one and get a different one. RATS!) Part of the Any Day Now series celebrating flashes of the sacred in every day beauty.   4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. This last (probably) little work is about windows - and NOT the windows on a computer screen! I have experienced much of this gorgeous autumn through the many large windows of our house, and I am so thankful for them. Having lived in or visited homes with only a few, small windows, or with curtains and...

Any Day Now 1030 - Clouds This will be a very short post today! I will be working as a docent in my local art association gallery, so I have to watch the clock... Part of the Any Day Now series celebrating flashes of the sacred in every day beauty.   4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. I have been noticing spectacular cloud formations this autumn, and have wanted to paint them, but in an abstracted way. One day I took some photos of the sky because it was so blanketed with small, lumpy clouds. It was so interesting, and hardly looked real or natural! Of course, that is the cloudy day that I decided I wanted to paint.  Can you see the similarities between the cloud photo and today's painting? Somehow, this painting was more challenging to paint than many of them h...

Any Day Now 1029 - Golden Hour My mother loved green and gold. She would have loved the view from my front window this morning, as the rising sun threw long golden beams across the grass! Artists recognize the term "the golden hour" and we like to catch the especially warm light that we see in the evening just as the sun is about to set. But there is a golden hour in the morning, too, and that is what I was watching this morning. It just feels like even the air is gold! 4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. Yesterday, one of the artists I follow (and I cannot remember who) posted something like, "the artists' goal is to paint something that looks effortless".  In a way, I agree with that statement. I think there is something very appealing in a painting that looks simple to paint, but makes me feel something. (I personally am not fon...

Any Day Now 1027 - Cascade My to-do list had my attention today, and not my Any Day Now painting for this series. I had probably 20 things on the list, (which will not get done) and painting was not near the top. But I glanced out the window in our family room, and our big old hickory tree caught my eye. It has turned a glowing yellow-gold, and the wind was making the leaves almost flash and shine as they moved.  4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. The tree is huge, and it has branches that kind of hang down around the lower parts of the tree, and one of those branches looked like a cascade of shimmering gold outside of our window. It was so beautiful, and it drew me away from my list to instead celebrate autumn once again this October.  It has been tricky for me to figure out how to paint somewhere between abstraction and representation as I have done th...

Any Day Now 1023 - Books Today, the beauty of books is the subject for my Any Day Now painting. And I don't mean just books, but also story, the library, and the Book - meaning the Bible.   4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. There have been so many "chance encounters" between me and the written word in the past week, and I really, really enjoyed doing this little painting. I have been into the physical library more in the past week or so than I have in a long time. (I use the digital resources from the library regularly.) My mom's kindle collection has been on my reading list, too, recently. I have also reconnected with a friend and we are sharing some reading notes, which is reminding me of favorite authors and books. And I don't know how I would make it through a week without my morning time reading my Bible.  While I wouldn't...