Brenda Stichter, artist

 There is a quote  about spring  in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis: " And when he [Aslan] shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." And in The Screwtape Letters , "He [meaning God] gives them the seasons, each season different yet every year the same, so  that spring is always felt as a novelty yet always as the recurrence of an  immemorial theme."  When I posted this painting on social media, I had this to say about it: " Hoosier spring is redbuds in bloom, lilacs, mushroom hunting, lime green trees against aqua skies... it's rejuvenation and hope." And I didn't even mention the dogwood trees, violets, dandelions, and so much more. I would never have called spring my favorite season, but maybe it is. The riot of spectacular color - especially the spring green with the purple and magenta blossoms - just satisfies something in my soul! $215.00 plus shipping and handling 12 " x 9" Painted with artist quality heav

More Better The other day I started a post about this painting thinking it was finished. But after looking quite a bit more, I knew it was not, in fact, finished. NOW, (I think) it is finished! This is one of those paintings that has so much texture, and so much iridescence that I wish you were seeing it in person.  $1350.00 plus shipping and handling 30" x 30" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. This is the verse from the New Testament that grounded this painting, by which I mean the words of the verse were part of the first layers of paint on the canvas.  John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful." My original direction for the painting was to paint borders around most of the words and fill each area with different color and texture and glimmer. But I

Fish 1-5-3  Well, this one is quite a bit different from anything I have painted before, wouldn't you say? I have been pushing pretty hard so far this year with my work, and so I once again have quite a few canvases and panels underway in my studio. 8 of them, if I am counting properly. And of those, only three are at the very beginning stage of the first layer of paint. The other five all are in progress. Whew! $1400.00 plus shipping and handling 24" x 36" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on canvas Click here to view or purchase on my website. John 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.  I had been reading in the New Testament book of John, and knew I wanted to paint about this verse from the last chapter. I know that seems like an odd verse to be inspired by, but I couldn't help but notice the specific number of fish that were caught

That Time I Tried Plein Air Painting on Pikes Peak Maybe you remember my story of how I tried plein air painting on Pikes Peak last September. We were on our way down from that (literally) breathtaking site when we were pulled over by park rangers because our brakes were overheating, so I got out my plein air kit and was soon 'in the zone'.  Just a short time into my painting, my Beloved Husband said, "I think that was thunder," and we barely got me packed up and to the car before the fury broke out.  $250.00 plus shipping and handling 12" x 9" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on panel Framed Click here to view or purchase on my website. Until today, I hadn't decided whether to leave the painting in its unfinished state because of the fun story, or finish it. I guess it STILL has a good story.  The trip up Pikes Peak was both beautiful and scary for me, since we drove our own car up the narrow, winding road. (How often do cars go off

In Passing I have given a complete make-over to the painting I am sharing (again) today. I liked many things about this work when I first released it several years ago, but it was time for a refresh. I have posted this painting to my social media platforms, and asked what people see in it now, and have gotten many imaginative comments. It has been fun seeing this one through other people's eyes. Sold 8" x 8" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Composition gold leaf Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. I still like the title for this piece, too. Now it serves to remind me that it has been updated - remade, so to speak - and its form was, and is, in passing. It has been a good activity to keep my hands and art mind engaged between larger works, as I have enjoyed updating and putting touches in places where more, or sometimes less, was needed. Another artist recently spoke about how much time i

Here is another work that has been a long time on the easel, and now that I am considering it finished (I think) I am struggling for a title for it. I started with a group of three canvases, all the same size, and gessoed the surfaces for texture and then under-painted them with the first layers of gold paint. My concept for all three was the same, Fear Not.  $1350.00 plus shipping and handling 30" x 30" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Composition gold leaf Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. As you might remember, one of the earliest layers on many of my paintings is often made up of words which help me find my direction as I paint. The words on this painting were "fear not little flock" from  Luke 12:31-32  But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Another thought that h

One of two paintings from the same inspiration, Duly Noted comes from this prompt:   something that recognizes the beauty of music, and praise through that medium, particularly the piano.  What a treat it has been to work on this theme! My mother is an accomplished pianist, and my daughter and I also play, though not with Mom's ear and skill.  So it brought me joy to use abstract painting to express praise through piano music. ( Duly Noted was painted with my daughter's piano teacher in mind.) 24" x 18" Can be displayed either vertically or horizontally Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on gallery wrapped canvas, edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. One of the first ideas I had was to work a suggestion of piano keys throughout the whole work. (Can you see them?) The musical staff with five lines also makes an appearance, crossing with the piano keys to form the cruciform structure on which the painting is built.  In

Then Sings My Soul "Just don't paint over that," recommended my son. I often show him works in progress, especially if I am stumped for my next step. He knows very well, that if I cannot see what is next, sometimes my next  right   step is to cover a large part of what has been painted to see what moves me from what shows through.  SOLD. Commissioned painting 24" x 18" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on gallery wrapped canvas, edges painted black Includes composition gold leaf Click here to view on my website. In the middle stages of this painting, I was loving the colors, but I couldn't see what came next, and I was wondering whether I needed to "tone it down". I looked at it from different angles for a couple of days, and when I added gold highlights on some of the textured passages of the painting, suddenly I saw what my son had been seeing all along. The painting began to sing.  I had a very particular prompt for this w

  Lost & Foundry Admittedly, I have been falling behind with posting and other online chores lately. The good thing is, I am still not too far behind in my painting goals for the year, which, since it is only February, is to be hoped for and expected! $240.00 plus shipping and handling, framed 9" x 12" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on wood panel Click here to view or purchase on my website. Last week we had some spectacularly gorgeous days, and I chose one of them to do a plein air painting, since I had not painted outside for a long time. I painted near where my Beloved Husband works, and when I went in to say hello to him, my brother-in-law (with whom my BH works) said to me, "Get a coat on, or you'll get sick!" I argued that it was 65 degrees outside and it felt delightful to be out without a coat! Well, I was disappointed to find that I was completely worn out after painting for a couple of short hours. What I had forgotten was

It's About Time Early in my work as a full-time artist, we met some new friends from Cuba. It was so uncommon to meet someone from Cuba at the time, and they were staggered with the abundance and relative affluence they encountered here in the United States. In spite of our almost-non-existent Spanish, we were able to host them during their time near our home, and show them some of our favorite places.  My paintings were exhibited at a coffee shop then, and we took them there to see them. Can you imagine how humbling it was for me when that new friend encouraged me to continue working with my hands, and then prayed that God would bless "the work of [my] hands"? Obviously, it was very meaningful to me - I still remember it.  Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands! This painting, as with most of my paintings, has layer after layer that has been painted over. It is nearly unseen in the f

Winter Wheat On the road to Fort Wayne, right along the four lane highway, there is a lovely old farm. I can't tell for sure, but it looks to me like no one lives there any more. I try very hard to see it every time I drive by, and I enjoy seeing the seasonal changes in the hilly fields that lead up to the two old houses. Probably my favorite time of year is when the winter wheat is ready to harvest. Last year (I think it was last year) I finally decided to photograph the farm, which is quite a challenge on such a busy road, but when I got there, the view was obliterated by the smoke from the extensive wild fires that hung in the air. Do you remember how that smoke covered so much of the Midwest last year? $350.00 plus shipping and handling 16" x 12" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. I loved working on this painting! I loved looking at the photos to try

Canaan "Your flight was canceled," read my email late last week. To be honest, I had not even thought about the heavy fog blanketing the area, so I was a bit surprised. What makes it even odder is that I am a (hangar) private pilot, so I ought to be very aware of weather, but I just wasn't. $100 plus shipping and handling 6" x 6" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. One good thing to come from postponed travel was more time in the studio. I have been trying to keep working on some new goals and plans this month, and the delay gave me opportunity to continue moving (slowly) toward them.  This small abstract was one of the works that I was able to complete in the waiting, but I couldn't find a good name for the work. So, of course, I asked social media for some insights. Once again, there were so many good answers, and my favorite one was Canaa

Everything But Broken Hearts "Could you paint abstracts en plein air (outside)?" For quite a while - a few years maybe - friends have asked me this question. And I guess I have usually said, "I suppose I could... ", but I was thinking I didn't know how I would do that. Well, good grief! As I was walking out the door the other night, I saw Art Fair on the Lake , a painting from 2015 where I painted an abstracted landscape. It was painted at an art fair, though I was not outside. But it was not a studio painting. I guess I have been able to do this for quite a long time! (Can you think of others of my older paintings that are obviously abstracted landscapes? There are actually quite a few!) $100.00 plus shipping and handling 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. "I think this is finished. Can you see what it is?" I asked thi

Wild Blue Yonder 2019 was the year we finally decided to make a family trip to Alaska, delivering a new RV to a business in Anchorage. Both of our adult kids took time off from work and arranged to meet us as we picked up the new vehicle, loaded up, and started driving to meet the Alaska highway and to explore a few places along the way to Anchorage. From finding and fixing things that weren't working on the first day of travel through the flight home, it was an unforgettable trip for many reasons. This painting is based on photos taken on that trip.  $215.00 plus shipping and handling 12" x 9" Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on panel Ready to frame Click here to view or purchase on my website. Just last week my Beloved Husband and I met friends for a meal, and my friend told me about a TV series that she has been watching called Landscape Artist of the Year. It is a British show and several episodes are available for streaming. Well, I started th

Ancient Hymn, vertical  Over the weekend, I posted this work in progress along with a verse from the Old Testament that formed part of my inspiration for the painting. I was so pleased with the huge number of responses to my WIP post. Some of the responses really sparked new concepts and title ideas in my mind. The Old Testament verse I had used was ‭ Isaiah‬ ‭60:1‬ Arise, shine, for your light has come,  and the glory of the Lord shines over you.   $1300 plus shipping and handling 18" x 48" or 48" x 18" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website. But probably a larger part of the inspiration for the painting comes from the New Testament. A passage in Colossians is sometimes called an early hymn, and it was part of my focus for a couple of months.  Colossians 1:15 - 20 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everyt

On the Road Again On the Road Again $100.00 plus shipping and handling 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.   Here is what I said on social media about this first painting of 2024:  On the Road Again. My first painting of 2024. 6" x 6" acrylic on paper For four days between Christmas and New Year's Eve my Beloved Husband and I drove to Colorado and back to retrieve some paintings. The weather was very different each day, and I loved the harvested fields, the mountains (obviously), the changing skies and clouds, and even the precipitation. I "saw" this little work while we traveled and finally got to paint it today. ‭‭ Isaiah‬ ‭30:21‬ and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” How do I put this into words? I don't know, but I c