Brenda Stichter, artist

Well, I didn't think I was going to have any more chances to paint this year, but today's adjustment to travel plans and blizzard warnings encouraged me to go to my studio. It was a good distraction for me! Painted from a photo from my niece in the frozen North. Winter Sunrise 6" x 6"  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. Wouldn't this make a great last minute gift idea? 

As I started to write this blog post today for this painting, I was looking back on posts from earlier this year, and from other Christmas seasons, and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude. Once again, this has been a year with significant challenges and trials, but oh my goodness, such blessing. And so I am entering into this Christmas time full of thankfulness and celebration.  14.5" 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.  "Nice and bright on a snowy day," Mom said when I texted her a photo of this new painting. I do think this work is festive and colorful for winter, don't you? What might it remind you of?  One of the ideas that comes to my mind is a cheerful cityscape at night in the winter, maybe full of Christmas shoppers, or a night parade of some kind. Maybe it's New Year's Eve.  When I asked friends on socia...

Out of the Ordinary Once again, a gallery that I like to follow is holding a conference and is inviting artists to send art. I am excited to participate again, though this time, I am intentionally entering a smaller painting to save on shipping costs. (Ha ha!) Here is a description of the conference from their website , THE 2023 SQUARE HALO CONFERENCE: ORDINARY SAINTS—CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION, AND COMMUNITY February 17-18, 2023 | Lancaster, PA at The Trust Performing Arts Center and The Rabbit & the Dragonfly Our conference this year celebrates Square Halo’s 25th year publishing “extraordinary books for ordinary saints.” 8" x 6.5" 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. I plan to put this painting on hold, unless someone buys it before I can ship it to the conference. 😊 Considering the idea of ordinary saints, I chose to paint this work that...

The Gifts My Bible reading lately has been in the Old Testament book of Exodus in the chapters where God was directing Moses about His tabernacle where Israel would worship Him, and giving the tablets on which He had written the ten commandments.  Sold 8" x 8" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper What has really been catching my attention is the completeness and beautiful detail in the tabernacle worship. I noticed that each of the five senses was part of the worship, and found myself drawn to the anointing  oil for the priests and the incense. These were made by perfumers and were a particular mix of spices that was to be blended ONLY for use in worshipping God. (I think it would be another beautiful part of worship if we, also, used a fragrance in our places of worship.) One of the components of this aromatic blend was myrrh. And, of course, that reminded me of the gifts the magi brought to the Christ ...

This morning I did two things that I haven't done in a L-O-N-G time, and this afternoon I did another! First, after getting up at "zero-dark thirty" and finishing dishes, starting laundry and reading my Bible, I sat at my piano and played one song from each of my books of Christmas music. I have not played the piano since I hurt my ankle, and it showed (ha!) but I enjoyed it so much.  Then, as I switched a load of laundry, I looked out the door, and just longed to go walking in the woods. Mind you, I had already been on my feet for chores, but I decided to try it. As an aside, recently, one of our friends had hip surgery with some complications. He is recovering better than one might expect, but my Beloved Husband got a call from him one mid-day saying, "I need help!" He had walked too far and couldn't get back home. But of course, my BH went to the rescue. WELL. I was afraid I would have to make a similar call about halfway home! Wow... that was a tough wal...

Joy (Fruit of the Spirit series)  There is some good news this week - at least, it is good for me! I have decided to try using my ankle (after not putting any weight on it and keeping it elevated for over 2 months!) and it seems to be holding up pretty well. I am walking the fine line (see what I did there?) between getting back into the studio and not overdoing it. It seems to be a tricky balance - oh dear. Another almost pun! Joy (Fruit of the Spirit series), 2015 12" x 12" x 1", ready to hang Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on hand-made, prepared cradled wood panel Edges painted black My birthday was earlier this month, and in spite of much of the day being spent in the recliner, I had a very enjoyable celebration. I got to see both of our adult kids, got to go out (with my rolly-cart) to dinner TWICE, and to top it off, my family managed to find gifts for me that were just right! I have a very difficult time thinking of things I want or need ...

Fortitude, 2017 Only one blog post this week, but I want to share two paintings you may not have caught when they were first released.  16" x 20" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on deep, gallery wrapped canvas Ready to hang Click here to view or purchase on my website.  I can't remember whether I have shared this painting often, but it is a favorite of mine for the autumn. It was first released on my daughter's birthday one year, and it includes a lot of her favorite colors and is titled with one of her favorite words, Fortitude. And I would say that fortitude, as a characteristic, is one of her strong suits! 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast  the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died f...

Glad Autumn, 2021 Once again I am posting from my recliner, which might seem pleasant if I were just taking a break from a full day in the studio! But since I have been spending so much time here, it is a bit more a matter of discipline than a restful break. From here, though, I can see many of the beautiful colors of fall, and also the surprising early snow we have had the last few days. While I don't think I would choose to be spending this much time in a chair, I am certainly grateful for the comfort of my chair and home, and the ability to use my computer while I am here. 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.  I painted Glad Autumn in November of 2021, ( click here for the original blog post ) and I still really like this painting. It feels bright and magical to me. I can imagine fairytale adventures happening in this place. Ca...

Broken, 2021.  Do you remember Broken, this large painting on a broken canvas? Maybe you remember that this canvas was damaged in shipping (and quickly and generously replaced by Jerry's Artarama), and that I was ready to discard it, but my Beloved Husband suggested I paint on it as it was. He saw the potential for beauty in its brokenness before I did.  The photo really doesn't give you a good idea of this painting.  The colors blend together in interesting and lovely mixes and shapes, which are not very clear in the picture.  You cannot really see the sparkling metallic  accents which represent both broken dreams and hopes, but also God's plan to bring about something glorious from the broken.  48" x 18" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.8” deep gallery wrapped canvas (that is broken) Available, $1300.00 Contact me for more information. Our daughter has a sweet kitten that is a "wobbly cat". Have you heard of this before? It is ...

 Before autumn completely passes us by, I would like to share this little sunflower painting. I don't remember whether I have shared it in these venues before or not, but it is a pleasant little work that has bold brush strokes and colors.  6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on panel Ready to frame Click here to view or purchase on my website. This year my Beloved Husband helped me plant sunflowers along our pasture fence. Most of what we planted bloomed and now their heavy heads are hanging. I expect that the birds will appreciate the banquet of seeds as it gets colder.  As you might remember, the sunflower has been a reminder of Ukraine on social media this year, and when I see this painting, it reminds me that there is still a cruel war taking place there. I hope I will remember to pray for the people in this ugly conflict whenever I see my sunflowers or this painting.  And, of course, the bright yellow of these huge blossoms is what ...

  Across the Pasture en plein air Earlier this year, as you might remember, my Beloved Husband and I headed to New Mexico so that I could attend a convention for plein air painting. (Painting outdoors) I had never done much of this kind of painting, but we had wanted to visit Santa Fe for a long time, so when the opportunity arose, we chose to go. I did learn a lot while I was there, and started practicing more plein air painting when we returned to an unusually busy summer.  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.   In spite of the full load of commitments we were under, I was able to go out quite a bit to paint. Quite a few times, I was painting on our own property, and it was a delight! (I am actually looking forward to getting out there again when my ankle heals, though it will probably be cold enough that I will wimp out.) I hope you can ...

New Every Morning #39, 2020. Hello, friends. Long time no see. I know I have not blogged for a very long time, so I have decided to update you on where I have been and share some paintings that you may or may not remember.  6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on hand-made, prepared wood panel Ready to frame Click here to view or purchase on my website. At the risk of complaining, I will mention again that for the last many weeks I have been "sentenced" to time in my recliner, or else sitting with my foot in a bucket full of ice and water. At the end of July I somehow hurt my ankle, but I was pretty sure it was not a big deal, so I didn't seek any medical attention. After a while, I sought the advice of "Dr. Google", as I like to call him, and began self-treating my aching limb. In September I finally went to a specialist, and since then we have been treating my ankle, and I have been unable to paint, or do much else, for th...

New Clearing I am once again posting from my recliner. I feel very thankful for a comfortable home where I can rest and heal safely from whatever it is that I did to hurt my ankle! (I remember the day, but I thought it would be fine and didn't go to the doctor right away, so we don't have a very clear picture of what happened to it.) And isn't it remarkable that I can be in touch with you as I sit here, since we have the internet and laptop computers and phones that can move to wherever we are? This past summer was a full summer for us, and several times we had trees down due to storms going through. The last storm that did damage to our property took down a huge tree in our pasture and a bunch of the stately giants in our woods. My heart was crushed by that devastation, because I love our woods. (Just to let you know, I have only been back there one or two times since the storms because of the aforementioned ankle injury!) The last time I walked there, I climbed through lo...

Joy Is the Flag Flown High 20" x 16" acrylic on paper, $560 Available by contacting me directly.  If you follow me on social media, you may know that I am sidelined with an injury these days. I have to sit with my ankle either elevated or in an ice bucket, and it is curtailing most of my activity, as you can imagine, so this painting that you may have seen before will be my feature for today's blog post.  First, I am choosing to share this painting that is so joyful just because it has been challenging to find my own joy the last week or so. Not only am I grounded, but I have a close friend who has had serious difficulties from a cancer surgery at Mayo clinic, a friend who is walking away from his faith, and several other somewhat urgent prayer matters. (Well, one good thing is that I have plenty of opportunity to pray right now!) In response to, or maybe in fighting against some of these things, I am choosing joy. (Click here for the original blog post about this paintin...

This morning I was up a little before my usual time, and I decided to read from my Dad's Bible for my quiet time. As I opened the pages, I found several pages of notes that he wrote, probably in preparation for teaching a Sunday School class. It felt strange to have Dad's thoughts being so 'alive' in my hand, when he has been gone for so long. (Dad passed away in 2000.) I love it that I have his Bible and notes. His hand moved across that page writing those notes, just as I had seen many times as I was growing up. His thoughts written there reminded me of adult Sunday School classes that I had attended when he was the teacher. It was almost as if time folded back on itself for a little while this morning.  48" x 18" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.8” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. You might notice my 'signature' use of three interlocking circles in this work, if yo...

Full of His Glory, 2018 My plan for today was to make good progress on my newest larger abstract painting, and maybe even to finish it, and to write a good blog post telling about it's story. I also wanted to let my readers know where my art is currently displayed.  Well! Today took a lot of very odd turns! This morning, a crew came to finally remove the enormous tree that had fallen into our pasture, damaging our fence. It took 3 large pickup trucks, 2 loads each; a big dump truck, 2 loads; a giant front-end loader; a chipper; and 7 men in hardhats wielding chainsaws and other tools to get that thing off our fence! They will be back to finish tomorrow, and I am so glad my Beloved Husband did not try to do it all himself.  After several other small interruptions, my daughter called - THERE WERE SNAKES IN HER BASEMENT! She has just bought a house, and we are helping her get it into move in condition, and she has snakes. Just to be clear, neither she nor I are snake lovers - at ...

We'll Be All Right 2nd Prize for Abstract Work at the Hoosier Salon  Well, I wonder whether you have heard my big news yet? I have the privilege of having a painting in the 98th Annual Hoosier Salon Art Exhibition , (click link for online sales of these paintings) and even better, my painting was awarded 2nd Prize for Abstract Work! This is actually a VERY BIG DEAL, and I am just overwhelmed with thankfulness. My Beloved Husband and I went to Indy for the evening reception, where I joined a group of very skilled and many very well-known artists both on stage and in the gallery after the award ceremony. What a beautiful exhibit! (And what a late night after driving back home the same evening!) The exhibit will be showing at the Indiana State Museum until October 23. Also, you can click on this link to see the video that is posted with my painting there.  Plein Air favorites I also have quite a few representational and plein air paintings that are now available on my website, ...

Hello friends, I wanted to take some time to answer each of the following questions more thoroughly, and maybe I will have the chance in the coming weeks, but this week has not allowed for as much computer time as some. I really also wanted to make sure you had the chance to try to win the giveaway painting! So I am sharing some collages of much of the work that is available on my Daily Paintworks gallery as well as a copy of the questions and answers given. I hope you enjoy reading my answers! DPW SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What did you want to be growing up?   Well, the first thing I remember wanting to be was a cowboy, and when I realized that girls could only be cowGIRLS, I was severely disappointed! I really could not decide what I wanted to be, but when I was entering my second year of college with an undecided major, my Dad said, "You know, you will always be drawing. Why don't you study [commercial] art so that you have a way to earn a living, and then if you still ...