Brenda Stichter, artist

Divided and Distracted This past weekend was my Art Show, Sale and Open House, and it was wonderful! Though the traffic was slow in coming, the conversations were rewarding, and quite a few paintings sold.  In spite of the good results of the weekend, now I am all wound up again with trying to tie up the last of the Open House paperwork, getting my household back in operating order (!) and starting preparations for our next big adventure - an upcoming trip to Alaska. I just feel overwhelmed and distracted with so many things to catch up on.  So today I am sharing a painting that I have shared before, Divided and Distracted (original blog post here)  because I think it expresses some of my thoughts today!  24" x 20" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on deep gallery wrapped canvas Ready to hang Click here to purchase via my website.  I look forward to getting back to regular studio time soon - at least I hope it is soon! - and

2019 wall of 6" x 6" paintings Maybe you haven't seen through social media yet, but I am hosting an open house here at my home and studio April 26 & 27 this year. We have had this event twice before, and it is a LOT of work, but I love sharing a large group of my paintings with a large group of friends, both known and new.  To get to our home, find the Warsaw Walmart on US30 and State Road 15, and head north. We are on the east side of 15, and will have a large sign out like this one from a couple of years ago.  Last year, I offered a special 'coupon' to those who came to the event, and it made me so happy to offer it! It made me be able to celebrate giving a gift to all who came. And I plan to do the same coupon again this year! (I guess one could say it "sparks joy"... heh heh!)  I will be updating information on my website event page at  https://brendastichter.com/event/121111/studio-open-house   and on my Facebook event page her

Playing With Purple "What are you reading this year?" A friend posted this question on social media in January, and it got me interested in reading more and logging what I read for 2019. I used to read a lot and I loved it, but more recently I had not gotten as much reading time in. Well! One thing that traveling does is give me a lot of time to read in airports, on planes, in shuttles... you get the picture!  With both of our kids in seminary, we actually have a lot of books floating around our house (and theirs, too) and my reading has expanded in new directions. Even though I find these new books stimulating, sometimes when I travel I default back to books I have read and loved in the past. Do you do that too? SOLD 5" x 5" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Click here to view on my website.  I know I have mentioned this book often, but one of the earliest "art books" that I remember

New Every Morning #20 I am still celebrating being back in my studio! Today I decided to revisit some of my studies in order to work on some new larger pieces. I worked on the Lemon Tree  concept today, but I think there is still a ways to go with that one. I actually worked on four pieces - I am so glad I can have more than one painting underway at a time.  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 have mentioned before how much the practice of a daily painting - a warm-up, you might say - helps me. It is great to have small substrates ready to work on to get myself going when I see all of my paint and (ahem) mess. And I also love the theme that I have chosen to work with on these daily works. I am reminded that no matter how much I have messed up yesterday, and even if none of my paintings works today, and when I don't accomplish what I hope to tomorrow, still

Wait... As I lay on the couch in my mother's new home, my mind was repeatedly on a couple of verses from the Psalms. This was one of them. It is a verse I taught my son before he could read, using hand gestures to aid his memorization (which means that I can now remember it - I am not sure whether he can or not!)  Psalm 27:14 (NASB ) Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. The message from the Lord was loud and clear, and very much needed. (He always does know what we need, doesn't He?)  6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on Art Bite panel, mixed media elements This is one of the first times I have used "mixed media" or collage techniques. (Copyright notice is on the back of this painting for the Bible passages.) I am still using iridescent gold to represent my Heavenly Father, and of course, the composition of this piece is intended to move the eye around to all of t