Brenda Stichter, artist

Wild & Sweet "Ouch! Tough love!" That is the way I started an email to a friend and art mentor today, after telling him what a struggle it has been to get back into abstraction. I know people don’t get this, but man! it is so much harder to paint abstract paintings than it is to do paintings that are ‘recognizable’.  So I have been ‘fighting’ with a very large painting since Thanksgiving, and doing the sweet little 6” x 6” representational works in the pauses. Part of what has made painting the large abstract difficult is the deep view of Christmas that I have been looking at this year. I referenced it earlier when I shared the metal version of O Come Emmanuel. I have been so aware this year of the raging war for humanity that is beyond our physical sight. The war that was won with the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. Though the ultimate battle is won, the skirmishes still continue for each human soul, and it is dark and it is wild. Or maybe, wild and sweet.  SOLD

Abstract 029, 2018 - Vintage Collection Wow, December! It is so tough to keep up with everything I need to keep up with! And my guess would be that I am not alone in that. It turns out that it is a good thing I started sharing my older paintings that haven't been seen very often! I painted this abstract painting on black canvas in response to a challenge from my Beloved Husband. It definitely took me outside my comfort zone, but also was SO much fun! It reminds me of one of my favorite art quotes by Hans Rookmaaker:  Art is a form of play rejoicing before the face of God.  The Creative Gift , Hans Rookmaaker 16" x 20" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on black 3/4" canvas  Ready to frame Click here to purchase via my website.

Christmas Snowman On a lighter winter note, here is a Christmas Snowman. He is one of my representational collection I have been doing for Christmas giving this year.  "I am doing some small representational paintings for Christmas giving until Christmas. Would you like one? 6" x 6" acrylic on Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame" (Contact me to save shipping and handling) Click here to view on my website. There are still some of these particular paintings available. Let me know if you would like one of these! Shadow Couple To Grandmother's House We Go Bleak Midwinter

The First Noel, 2019 I painted The First Noel in 2016, and there is a good blog post about the original (before the update) painting here . As I read what I wrote when I first worked on this piece, I can see that the some of the same thoughts still carry through.  6" x 6"  Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on Art Bite panel ready to frame   Click here to purchase on my website. Yesterday, my son shared a song with me that has, surprisingly, been impacting me for two days. It is a metal song , and if you are not a fan of metal music, it will probably not be something you enjoy. It is, admittedly, a bit disturbing. But, as I posted on my personal Facebook page, it tells the Christmas story in a powerful way. "If metal music is offensive to you, you will not appreciate this song, but oh my goodness! I don't listen to a lot of metal, but I keep playing this. This is Christmas! Not cookies and stockings, but warfare to rescue humanity

Beside Still Waters Here is another of the 6" representational paintings I have been painting, and offering at a spectacular deal. This one is Beside Still Waters, and is very meaningful to me. I feel like it does a great job of communicating peace.  Psalm 23:1-2 ESV The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters. SOLD 6" x 6" acrylic on Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Click here to view on my website.  Contact me to purchase without paying for shipping and handling. 

No Worries, 2016 No Worries, 2016 - Vintage Collection Recently a dear friend of mine has been faced with breast cancer. She is brave and does not want to be seen as "she-has-cancer". She has recently finished her treatment, I am thankful to say!  When she was at my house recently, this painting caught her eye. (She already has a lot of my paintings! We think maybe her house could be considered a Brenda Stichter gallery of works... )  24" x 24" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on hand-made, prepared wood panel Ready to frame Click here to purchase via my website. Since my friend was drawn to this painting, it has caught my eye again, and I am remembering what I like about it. Also, as I look at it this time, I see a Christmas painting, with "every good gift coming down" from heaven! James 1:17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom

To Grandmother's House We Go "The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing .... For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited." C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory To Grandmother's House We Go 6" x 6" on Fabriano watercolor paper, ready to frame SOLD If you have a landscape photo you would like me to consider painting, send it to me to look at! If I paint it, I will tag you . Bleak Midwinter Bleak Midwinter 6" x 6" on Fabriano watercolor paper, ready to frame SOLD In the Bleak Midwinter BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In th

Shadow Couple Shadow Couple with holly Here are two more of my paintings from my holiday special... I am painting small representational works on paper, and offering them for $50.00 (plus tax) shipping included. What a deal! The first one sold out within a day (woo-hoo!), and these are already posted on Daily Paintworks and Facebook. Let me know if you are interested in one of them.  Three Sheep 6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Three Sheep is sold.

Untitled,  Special deal! ONLY AVAILABLE AT THIS PRICE UNTIL THANKSGIVING 2019! I am considering doing some representational small paintings before Christmas. This one is 6" x 6" on heavy watercolor paper. These paintings will probably not be on my website, and may only be posted to Facebook, Instagram, and Daily Paintworks. Please contact me for more information if you are interested! Now sold. Click here to purchase. Do you have favorite landscape photos that you would like to see painted?

Be Not Dismayed, 2018 Be Not Dismayed, 2018, Vintage Collection The title for this painting is a phrase from the song God Will Take Care of You. It brings back memories from childhood as well as from my young adult years, and has a gentle, rocking melody that seems to offer comfort musically, as well as comforting lyrics.  SOLD 30" x 22" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. Yesterday, an Amish family near our home lost their two young children to a farm accident. They were run over by a truck driven by a 23 year old driver. My heart breaks for these people. I was up quite a bit last night praying for all of them. I wanted to paint something in response, but have not been able to do that today. But I did think of this painting from 2018.  I am facing something that I find very frightening, too. It is a minor medical procedure that will probab

Roses, 2015 - Vintage Collection Roses, 2015 – Vintage Collection I have noticed that quite a few of my Vintage Collection paintings have circles – or at least the abstract version of circles – in them. When I see them grouped together like they are on my website, it is very noticeable. I am ok with this, actually. It is fun to see them show up this way.  Roses has been a very popular painting, has won some awards, and it has a few fans that are especially fond of it. I would guess that it is at least partly because it is more recognizable than some of my work. I am currently in NC at an art event where I will be taking a workshop by a nationally known instructor on painting abstract flowers. It will sure be fun to learn more in this setting! Sold 36" x 48" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on gallery wrapped canvas, framed in simple frame Click here to view on my website. Since I am exhausted, and I still want to leave you with something bea

Abstract 004, 2013 Abstract 004, 2013 – Vintage Collection Today is the day I leave for Art of the Carolinas in Raleigh, North Carolina! I hope it is a great experience, like it was the last time I was there. My Beloved Husband had taken me to AotC for my birthday, and I experienced workshops by nationally known presenters, demos by product reps, interaction with MANY artists, and great prices on art supplies! This year I have a list of items I already have as well as lists of things I want and things I want to try, and I am signed up for new workshops on drawing, underpainting, negative painting, and florals. I am excited about the things I will be learning.  20" x 26", 27” x 32.5” framed Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Framed Click here to purchase via my website. Abstract 004 is a painting I did in a workshop setting last time I was at AotC. I have to admit, though, I couldn’t quite c

New Every Morning #31 I am interrupting my "Vintage Collection" posts for this little autumn New Every Morning painting. It just has to be posted while there is still some autumn color!  New Every Morning #31 Today in northern Indiana we have heavy snow. It seems a little earlier than sometimes, and as much as I love the beauty of it, I must admit to a tiny bit of concern about our travel conditions for this week. We will be driving to NC and to FL this week! I will be attending an art trade show and I do look forward to being in “art world” at Art of the Carolinas in Raleigh, NC. (Will you be there?) 6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on Art Bite panel Ready to frame Click here to purchase via my website. My time reading the Bible this morning started out in 2 Corinthians. Verse 2 offers a greeting of grace and peace, and I am so aware that I need grace and peace! I have been thinking about how seemingly little

Provision, 2017 Provision, 2017, Vintage Collection  Last night was a night I had been looking forward to for quite a while. I had some paintings in a benefit art auction, and my Beloved Husband and I were in attendance. As it turned out, several friends were there too. It was a fancy, delightful evening, and the auction was a success. When my large painting came up to be sold, the auctioneer asked me which verse of scripture I had in mind when I painted it. I couldn’t quite remember, and answered, “Mark 8:20”, and the auctioneer mentioned it was where Jesus invited the little children to come to Him.  SOLD 30" x 30" painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5" deep, gallery wrapped  canvas Click here to view on my website We had a beautiful morning today, which allowed me to take photos of several older paintings outside in full sun. It is an opportunity that I need to take advantage of, since winter in northern Indiana is usually very c

Encamps, 2015 Encamps, 2015, Vintage Collection  Stop! Before reading any further, take a minute to look at this painting from 2015, and try to understand or feel something from it. As I often do, I turned to google for my preliminary research before starting this post. I just want to be sure that I am not misrepresenting something or unconsciously plagiarizing from someone. When I looked at an image search for the word “encamps”, I found a lot of images that all had words on them. So. Many. Words. I did not notice any images of artwork that did not contain words.  22" x 28" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Click here to purchase via my website. Framed Encamps with steps Yesterday, my friend and fellow artist, Sandi, took me to get coffee for my upcoming birthday. What a treat! We had such good conversation, and the coffee and pumpkin bar were good too. (By the way

Last Supper Vintage things are popular these days, aren’t they? I know several people who furnish their living spaces with antiques and thrift store finds, and as a matter of fact, I have quite a few well-loved things myself. (My Beloved Husband and I love to go to antique stores when we have the chance, and we each have things we look for. I collect pillbox style hats, and he seeks out the antique automobile hood ornaments. We also have a particular set of dinnerware that we keep our eyes open for.)  Since we will be traveling a few times over the next little while, I have decided that I will post some of my favorite older works that have new stories, or just haven’t been seen much. Consider this my Vintage Collection of work for now! Last Supper, 2017, has long been one of my favorites, and as I reread the original blog post for it today, I thought, “That was really good. I remember that day well…”  A year or two ago at an open house event at my home and studio, a young gi

New Every Morning #30 Wow! I have hit the 30th painting in the New Every Morning series! I wonder how long I will keep working on this series. I suspect it will be for the rest of my painting life, because I love doing warm-up paintings, and I love the theme of painting something that reminds me that whatever this day holds, GOD's mercies are new today.  SOLD 6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on Art Bite panel Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. I think it should be easy to see that fall color and fall leaves are part of our morning here today. What a beautiful season! This morning, my Beloved Husband and I were talking about which seasons are favorites with us. We find that it changes as we go through different stages of life. Does that happen for you, too?  Our woods in autumn is what I see in this work, with the fence and path on the way back, and the pond in the pasture. I love that these simple things can remin

Replacement Jasper I have spent a couple of days preparing for a trip to Art of the Carolinas, where I plan to take some workshops, and purchase lots of art supplies at great prices. (Who else plans to be there?) After lots of schedule manipulating, brush cleaning, and tool packing, I had a little time for actual painting... One of the paintings I worked on today was the second replacement for my grouping of stone paintings representing the foundation of the New Jerusalem, found in Revelation in the New Testament. The stone I repainted today was jasper.  Sold 6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on Art Bite panel Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. As I did when I first worked on the series of stone paintings, I looked at a photo of jasper stones to try to give an impression of this stone in a abstract painting. I also wanted to have a connection with the other jasper painting I did.  Here is the passage in

    Fear Not How can I even begin to put my thoughts into words? Be Still was what I was thinking as I neared the end of this painting, but how can I help you to understand what Be Still was to me - how it influenced what I painted? My heart had been heavy in the last few weeks with an unnamed fear. I prayed about it frequently, but struggled to shake the feeling of dread. I am well aware of the fact that the Bible is full of "fear not" statements, and I intend to live by faith - thus the almost constant prayer.  SOLD 36" x 36" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Click here to view on my website. This work on my easel waited, daily challenging me, as I struggled with the concept and how to pull   my thoughts  together. I wanted to express eternity - creation - turmoil - depth - variation (as in  James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials...   As an aside, I have