Brenda Stichter, artist

New Every Morning #48  I am so glad to have a new painting to share with you. It has been way too long since I have finished any abstract works, and so I have decided to share some small paintings that I will be doing as practice as I prepare to present a workshop in early August. My understanding is that the workshop is already mostly sold out, which is pretty exciting!  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 on my website. For whatever reason, I have been especially drawn to green lately. I suspect partly it is all of the gorgeous greens I see from my home. We recently traveled to Colorado, and while the mountain scenery is stunning, I was so pleased to return to the northern Indiana landscape. I find such beauty in the quieter views, and the often overlooked scenes, which in Indiana means lots of green. So the first layers of this painting are painted in a trans...

Winona Lake Park en plein air Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in another plein air event near our home in northern Indiana. It was a pleasant event - not a competition, but we did have a place to showcase our paintings that were completed during the day.  I was able to complete two pieces during the event and display them with the works of the other plein air painters. If you are interested in purchasing either painting, please contact me.  Each one is  8" x 16"  Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on panel Framed in simple frame Click titles to view on my website.  Again this time, before going to the event, I planned for a few ideas of where I would like to paint. I had chosen several places, but these two were my top two. I tried to think of why they were my top choices, and I think I figured out at least part of it. There is a stained glass sculpture in the park near the canal, as you can see in my first painting. It re...

Oakwood Chapel en plein air, currently at the gallery A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a plein air painting event. (If you subscribe to my other email newsletter, you have already seen a bunch of these paintings.) It was a bit scary for me, because I usually paint in my studio or my family room, and I call myself an abstract painter. I was unsure how well I could keep up with the physical demands of painting outside and taking my gear everywhere I went, and I hoped I could come up with paintings I liked.  Oakwood Chapel; Lakeside Park, sold, award; Woodland Pond, sold Well, good news, I loved the whole thing! I did like my work, and others seemed to appreciate it too. And I survived the physical challenges and was not as completely spent as I expected to be. I am actually planning to participate in a few more events this summer, including one this coming weekend in Winona Lake, IN.  I painted four paintings, though I have brought one home to finish it in my studio. The...

Portrait of a Young Maple Whenever I paint something that is way outside of my normal style, it takes me a while to decide whether I like it, whether to post it, and especially, what to name it! Well, this one is no different. Thankfully, sometimes by the time I am done typing about the painting, I have a title.  28" x 22" 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.  Well, this one started out with a bunch of practice on gessoed paper. I used up paint left on my palette from other works, tried new textured acrylic mediums, and emptied a few paint tubes that were too far gone to count on for an entire painting. As usual, I put all of these things on the textured substrate in all quadrants of the work, and put the most interesting things in the spots where focal points often fall.  At one point, I painted my frustration on the paper! I knew it was an early laye...

Yee-haw! I have a slew of paintings in progress again this week, (yee-haw!) but I really wanted to have something ready to share with my newsletter and blog subscribers, so I worked to finish this little representational painting of my Beloved Husband out mowing the pasture.  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 on my website. My Beloved Husband has a tractor that belonged to his father. When we moved to northern Indiana, we bought it when his parents were downsizing, and had an auction to sell much of what they would no longer need. This old machine has been a workhorse for us! He mows in summer and plows our driveway in winter with it.  Have a beautiful week!

Transfigured  This painting started out focused on Jesus' transfiguration, but as it has progressed, I have also thought a lot about His ascension and His resurrection. Can you see those ideas in this work? 12" x 12" Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on canvas panel, composition gold leaf, acrylic mediums Ready to frame Click here to view on my website. Since I knew the concept I wanted to paint, I didn't hesitate to start with a metallic gold underpainting on a canvas panel. The panel is the same type and size as five other paintings I have done, all focusing on events in Jesus' life, and so the choice of substrate was easy. (I am sure sensing a series here!) There are alternating layers of gold paint, composition metal leaf, glass bead gel, mica, and more colors of gold and white paint - not to mention the sealer and adhesive that works with the metal leaf.  The strong upward movement and the use of out-of-the-ordinary materials are intend...

Peach Blossoms en plein air We have had two spectacularly gorgeous days here in northern Indiana, and I took some time to paint en plein air to celebrate! The time just disappeared while I was painting, and I was so surprised to hear from my Beloved Husband around supper time. I was just sure I should have another hour or so before he headed home from work.  9" x 12" Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on panel Click here to view on my website. This is a painting of our peach tree in bloom. This tree is very old, and has had a lot of damage over the years, but it still produces the best peaches I have ever had. I hope it lives a long, long time.  Please pardon the crooked horizon! I decided to take my "gear" out to paint without going through it first, just to see whether I have everything I need for the next time I paint away from my studio. I was only a few steps from my back door, so when I discovered that I didn't have a rag to wipe my brus...