Brenda Stichter, artist

Ebb and Flow This painting started out as a daily painting, following all of the rules that I had set fo r myself, but I just could not make it into something I liked. So today I decided to see whether I could make it more pleasing. It has become so colorful, and when I saw the photo icons of it on my phone, the painting reminded me of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Can you see that in the flow of the painting?  Even after only a weekend, getting back into painting seems to be more difficult. I find that at the end of my work week in the studio, I usually have about four paintings in my head that I am eager to continue with, but by the beginning of the next week, I am dredging my mind for ideas. I have lost the flow of my work in the days full of different responsibilities.  Sold 11" x 14" 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. One good thing that is coming fr

What Was I Thinking?  This daily painting practice has been so good for me, though if I am honest, it has produced a painting or two that I am less than proud of. I have been practicing with a particular set of colors, painting on an easel with limited space and tools, and working with different compositions - all intentionally to reacquaint myself with these things, and prepare for demonstrating what has almost become second nature to me. That means painting with other people in the room, and talking at the same time! What was I thinking when I agreed to do this again? (I have actually enjoyed these kinds of opportunities in the past, and it is really, really good for me to get back at it...)  11" x 14" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Click here to view or purchase on my website. An overbalanced, almost threatening composition was my starting point with this painting (which I have to

A Big Hug  "How about Plot Twist?" I have been wanting to have a name for the solo exhibit that I am privileged to share, and I keep trying to come up with just the right name. I often have the same problem with naming paintings, as you know if you have followed me for very long.  NLA 11" x 14" 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. A Big Hug is the second of my return-to-daily paintings. I am doing more of these in preparation for a demonstration and presentation of my art which will be happening next month. Lately I have been working mostly on larger, more involved paintings which I do love, but it has been fun and freeing to return to these small "alla prima" paintings.  Part of this daily process, for me, involves deciding quickly what I want to paint about, and how to present it in a way that is accessible for those who look at my wo

Enter the City "What will your focus be for your presentation?" I was asked quite a while ago now if I would be interested in presenting and demonstrating my painting practices for the Fort Wayne Artists Guild, and I agreed, giving myself a couple of months to prepare. Well, that time is rushing up on me, and I feel the need to get busy! One of the things I have decided to do is get back into some daily paintings, in order to know how much I can accomplish in the given time. So this is my first return-to-daily-paintings example.  11" x 14" Painted with acrylic heavy-body paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. It is a good thing that I am practicing, because I had intended for this painting to go in one direction, and it seems to have had plans of its own (ha!). I find that the painting has shown some of what I have been reading and thinking about as I have (finally) finished reading a book that was

Restore Me "We are rebranding our office and I am really wanting to capture a magical dancing feel..." One of several swing-and-a-miss contacts in the last little while, this was a message from a potential new collector who was interested in one of my paintings. I have been trying to decide whether these almosts are encouraging or discouraging. Since I get to choose, I will choose to be so thankful that someone was interested in giving one of my works a new home.  Whatever It Takes Today I got on the road early for another swing-and-a-miss; I missed a deadline for getting my paintings to one of the venues where they will be exhibited! I was very embarrassed about missing my deadline. I think it is so challenging to keep all of my ducks in a row when working on administrative details, family responsibilities, and the inner drive to paint.  In this venue, sometime during the last year, a volunteer curator contacted me with great excitement telling me that TWO of my paintings we

Childlike This yellow painting is simple, but busy. It is cheerful, and yet parts are subtle - so much so that I couldn't capture them on this photo.  It is also a playful size. The shapes and colors are bold and interactive with each other, and connected but also separated by the white lines that have been added.  SOLD 12" x 36" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.75” deep gallery wrapped canvas Click here to view on my website. This long weekend, my roles were those of wife, daughter, aunt, great-aunt (!), driver, navigator, and a few more similar things - not artist. We took the long weekend to drive to visit my mother in beautiful Minnesota. Even though they have had a drought there much of the year, there was so much beauty to feast our eyes on! The traffic was, well, less pleasant, but at least  on our way home  it was not quite as bad as we had anticipated.  One special treat was meeting my 2 week old great niece for the first time. She is not

Every Good Gift BoldBrush July 2021 1st prize for abstract If you have followed me for long, you know that now and then I tell you about work in my studio that is not cooperating, or is not finished when I had hoped it would be. And I have also told you about how I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork and computer time spent as a "full time artist". Well, today my painting on the easel is not ready, so I am sharing virtually (for which privilege I am very grateful!), completing paperwork for upcoming in-person events, and hopefully also painting and prepping canvases for my next paintings. And I am taking this opportunity to update you about lots of recent happenings.  Some very exciting news, which you may have already heard if you follow me on social media, is that this painting, Every Good Gift, was awarded the first prize for abstract by the BoldBrush painting competition! This is a huge monthly competition with 2500 or more paintings entered, and I feel