Brenda Stichter, artist

Deeper Still My return to 4" square paintings was accompanied by nervousness - it has been a while, can I still do this? Honestly, any time I am out of the studio for a while, or doing all one style of painting, I get hesitant to get back to work.  4" x 4" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. I had just finished this little one and was going through some emails at the end of this work day, when I saw an opportunity to enter a competition with no entry fee. It is hosted by an art supply company with a gift card as an award, and I can always appreciate new art supplies! So I thought I would enter.  Unfortunately, the theme is eerie paintings. (You would think it is October or something.) While I certainly don't think this painting is eerie, I thought that, if someone saw it with that already in mind, they might. But then I needed to assign it a title for the competition. Wel...

Unspoken I remember, and maybe you do too, when a musician chose a new name and became "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince". He was known that way because the symbol he chose as his new name was unpronounceable - unspoken, one might say.  6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint with composition gold leaf on ArtBite panel Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. Romans 8:25 - 27 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.  In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings . And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. One of the artists who I met in 2018 at the Cape Cod workshop/retreat for artists of "serious art and serious faith" had recently moved from painting representational...

Extravagant Extravagant. It is a term that many of us these days would see as almost wrong, wouldn't w e? We should be frugal. Careful. Thrifty. Probably a minimalist. 30" x 22" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper, composition gold leaf Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. Recently I was moved to tears over and over in a church service we were attending. There was a group of men  there   from a rehabilitation facility - they come almost every week - and I could see them several rows ahead of me during the whole service. I was so struck with their beautiful, awkward, exuberant worship during the songs. Most of the congregation, like me, worshiped too, but our hands were at our sides or quietly lifted, and our bodies were not moving much. At the end of the service, the most expressive of the group of men chose to follow Jesus, and he broke down weeping. His brothers immediately surrounded ...

Swoop I can tell you all about the process of this painting, but you may have to tell me what meaning you see in it.  Maybe I was daydreaming, I am not sure, but I "saw" two birds swooping down behind tall grasses, and there was a cloud of colored blossoms in front of them. The birds actually were swooping around more like barn swallows do when they fly close to the ground when we are mowing. They were very, very fast, and they came close at very steep angles.  It is not at all obvious, but there are two birds here. One is just pretty much obliterated by the grasses.  There is an area of our back yard where my Beloved Husband planted a huge number of wildflowers for me this past spring, and they are growing tall and a little bit crazy on the edge between our mowed yard and our pasture. I think some of them are nearly 7' tall! I took some photos of that band of blossoms to help me with this painting.  It is not my usual process, but on this painting I painted from the...

Pink Mountains Yesterday I saw a quote on social media by an author whose work I enjoy. Sadly, I cannot remember which one! But the idea was something like this: When teaching someone to write, I tell them to write without planning or thinking it through, and with a time limit. The time limit gets them started, and often very good writing comes from this prompt.  (I know my words are clunky here - I sure wish I could find the original quote!) I used this idea to start this little painting. I decided to paint without a plan and to just start as if I had a time limit. It was a great starting point for me, and the resulting little work is a fun one.  4" x 4" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view on my website.

Color Swatches In preparation for an event, I am doing some paintings in different palettes than I usually do. I had color swatches to match, and it was a challenge that I don't often face trying to get my acrylic mix to disappear when I painted them on those little swatches! It was fun for me to work on it. Did you know that acrylic paint changes color (darkens) when it dries? So when you mix, it is important to make the mix lighter than you want the end result to be. I am really pleased with the way this particular piece has turned out.  12" x 12" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on canvas panel Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. The event that I am preparing for is a wedding and I have had my mind on weddings quite a bit, as a result. I recently started reading in the New Testament gospel of John, and one of Jesus' first public actions as recorded in John was to provide wine for a wedding. John 2:11 Jesus performed this first s...

Isn't She Lovely? This morning I went for a walk in the woods early, since it is supposed to get hot this afternoon. It is starting to show fall out there, and oh how I love it! I was intent on noticing beauty as I walked, and at least so far today, that pursuit is sticking with me. (As I type, I am watching a hummingbird at our feeder.) I saw intricate yellow and orange blossoms, sunlight hitting a tree trunk just so, and leaves starting to turn red (oak), and orange and yellow (sassafras). And then something more... I stopped because I felt the wind on my face, and I turned into it with my eyes closed to enjoy it. I stood in the sun, feeling the wind, and I heard  dry corn leaves rattling, and the gentle roar of wind high up in the leaves in the trees. As I neared the house, I thought of trying to find other beauty that was not primarily visual, and so I picked some leaves from a couple of varieties of mint plants to smell, and then I went to our lilac bushes and reached for the ...

How Sweet it Is painted at Sweetwater, en plein air Won a prize and sold! This past weekend was a large paint out in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I got to participate and completed paintings every day of the event. It was surprising, and delightful to receive an award for one of my paintings, and to learn that it sold to an executive of the company I represented in my work! I still feel like I am finding my own voice in representational painting, so this was very encouraging to me.   Some still available, contact me for info. Electric Boogie en plein air at the VS Huguenard Gallery 12" x 12" acrylic on panel simple frame I Can See Clearly Now en plein air at the 122nd Fighter Wing Memorial 8" x 16" acrylic on panel simple frame (regular price $250) I Hear the Train a'Comin' en plein air at St Francis University 12" x 9" acrylic on panel simple frame (regular price $215) The Things We Do For Love en plein air at Freimann Square 12" x 12" acryl...

Breaking News What a beautiful sunrise we had the other morning! Twice I was caught by it as it changed, and I wanted to find a way to paint it very simply in order to share the glory I saw out my window. It fit right in with my daily Bible reading, too. I read this from Ephesians. Ephesians 5:8-10  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—  for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—  discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.  12" x 12" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website.  I painted two paintings of this sunrise; one is 12" x 12" and the other is 4" x 4". I have been working on being expressive in my more representational paintings and yet keeping my work simple and finding a "new voice" for modern landscape painting. I think it may be too big a task fo...

Glade What a delightful weekend we had! We had a trip to northern Michigan on the agenda in order to drop off my painting that has been accepted into the Great Northern Art Explosion. We got to visit our beautiful daughter on the way to and from, since she lives about halfway there. And on the way, I received an email telling me that my painting in the  Acrylic International Biennial Juried Exhibition was awarded a prize! This was completely unexpected in this highly competitive exhibit, which is on display in the Kenosha Public Museum in Wisconsin. I am so grateful.  4" x 4" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view or purchase on my website.  Glade is a return to my little 4" square palette knife painting practice. As I have mentioned before, these little ones are a good way to return to the studio when I have been unable to paint in a while.  Evidently, it is difficult to discov...

PowerPoint " ... the point from which the power is emanating... " I sure enjoyed working on this painting! Lately, painting my abstracts has been hard work, and I have had fewer paintings to share. (I have had a bunch of plein air work to share, but not as many abstract paintings.) As I looked at this mostly blank but textured canvas, I thought back to another painting that I found satisfying to paint, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope , and thought I would try to paint with the same freedom I felt when I worked on that one. Well, the results could hardly be more different, and the experience was very different, too, but I do feel that I achieved a painting I like while feeling the joy and freedom of painting.  24" x 24" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. You can see a bit more of the interference colors in  this photo. If you could se...

The Wind and the Waves There was a day in our Door County adventure when I was really struggling. I had a situation which led me to be so very discouraged, and I was discouraged for an entire day. Rats. But my Beloved Husband took me for a drive, and we found a deserted public access site on Lake Michigan. We sat there with the wind driving the waves that crashed on the shore and (as we learned later) kept the kayak tours that normally launch at that site grounded for a day. As the wind blew through my hair, it seemed like it started to clear my mind a bit. I cannot help but wonder whether my Loving Heavenly Father sent that wind to blow away the mess in my mind, and start my refocus. It made me think of this short story in Jesus' life.  Luke 8:23-25 and as they were sailing He fell asleep. Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake; they were being swamped and were in danger. They came and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to die!” Then He got up and rebuke...

Stavkirke, en plein air Last weekend my Beloved Husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, and we took nearly a week celebrating in Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan, and it is very well worth a visit! We enjoyed everything from dramatic and beautiful lakeshore views to art galleries and events.  6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. Of course, part of our week away included some plein air painting! I was thankful for my BH's help with set up and tear down, and just general encouragement as we worked against high heat and bad air pollution from the wildfire smoke in northern Minnesota and Canada. One of the days, the heat and smoke lifted unexpectedly, so I painted this amazing Stavkirke. Here is a quote from a website about this place: "The mysterious, beautiful, imposing Stavkirke church is one of those pla...

Between-the-Lakes en plein air What a weekend! I participated in a three day paint-out event with the Northern Indiana Plein Air Association, and it was enjoyable - and it helps that one of my paintings sold before I even got to post about it. The first day of painting, I went to a park where I found a pavilion to work in. It was great, because I had shade and a light breeze throughout the time I worked, as well as a picnic table where I could spread out my tools. I don't have to have that extra space, but it is sure convenient sometimes. This park area looks out over a marshy access between two lakes, which I enjoyed painting.  8" x 16" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on panel Framed in simple, natural wood frame Click here to view on my website. Old Molasses Factory- SOLD The second day, I painted something completely different - an industrial site. And what fun that was! As you can tell, the first day was sunny and bright, and the second was ov...

Hangar Pilot Around our house, there has been a "rule" that I cannot paint over older paintings until I have used up all of my fresh substrates - or at least all of the size that I want to paint. My Beloved husband made that rule, and actually, I sometimes count on him to help me with my painting vocation, because I cannot always pick up on what he can see. Sometimes I am ready to give up, and he helps me keep going. Sometimes, he will help me choose which shows and competitions to be part of because he can see the benefits and costs that I am too involved to see. I am so very grateful for him! 12" 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. Well, and I am celebrating this, the time has come for another reclaimed surface - another paint-over! (Though I must admit, I just bought more substrates for a solo exhibit that I am scheduled to have next year. ...

Your Call is Important to Us As the USA celebrates 250 years this weekend, I am enjoying the celebrations, patriotism, and the general feeling that my society is (mostly) happy to be celebrating. In spite of the heat wave here in northern Indiana, the events, concerts, and fireworks are continuing, and I am glad. I am thankful for the blessings and freedoms that I participate in because of the sacrifices made over the last 250 years. What a privilege to live here.  2 paintings to be used either together or separately, vertical or horizontal orientation 36" x 48" each Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. As I posted last time, my Beloved Husband and I have had a lot going on lately. If you follow along with me on a regular basis, you know that we have had an employment change (since selling the family business) and that we have lost some people who were dear to us. What I ...

Please Stay On the Line I am releasing a new diptych today! I will be sharing the paintings to my website separately (for marketing purposes) so my blog and newsletter readers will get to see the works together before anyone else does.  2 paintings to be used either together or separately, vertical or horizontal orientation 36" x 48" each Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. The first of these paintings, Please Stay On the Line has a slightly less balanced feel to it, and it reminds me of the uncertainty of waiting without knowing when the next part of the answer will come. Both parts of this set started out with canvas activated with Bible verses, and much of that background shows through. I used tools and colors I rarely use, and it took concentration as well as conversation with family to pull a painting together that I am pleased with. Here are two translations of a p...

As Seen Along the Back Roads 'Is this "readable"?', I asked my family. Since I have been working on a large diptych for the last several weeks, and doing some plein air painting, this is the first small studio work in a while for me. I took the photo that I referenced for this painting several years ago, on an evening when my Beloved Husband and I were meandering home after watching the harness racing up in Amish country. 6" x 6" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on cradled wood panel Edges painted black Click here to view on my website. Lately, it has been a little tricky finding a good rhythm for painting, between lots of plein air events, new places to display my work, new work schedules, and miscellaneous summer activities. Maybe the craziness will actually help me as I have to squeeze painting in between other things - maybe I will get better at painting faster. Or, maybe not...  One of the last plein air events I participated in ...