Brenda Stichter, artist

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.  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 the edge there, I couldn't help...

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.  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 has tied in with the concept is from ...

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....

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! 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 that, in fact, I was already fighting a sl...

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...