The process of an original painting is wild. The conception in sketch form, the birth onto canvas, the forming and developing, the awkward stages, the creation and destruction of elements, the hope, the glimpses of finished faces, the excitement of seeing things come together… the finishing touches. The completed piece…

…and the fact that I *could have* given up, could have walked away. We all have our own journeys and hills to climb. Painting is one of my journeys (parenting being the other). I love both of my paths, both of my journeys, wholeheartedly. But they aren’t cake.

Every day we could choose to walk away, to bag it all. But we don’t. Parenting is hard, and our projects/jobs can be hard, but we keep doing them.

I thought you might like to see the stages of some of my recent paintings. I LOVE seeing the process images. I’m obsessed with Befores & Afters (in all kinds of situations!) I love seeing the final image next to the awkward stages because it reminds me that if I keep my head and heart in the process and keep trusting my skills and working with integrity, I will love the finished product.Wild Adoration especially had me questioning whether I could pull it all off. And in the end I’m really happy!

Seeing the compilation of start-to-finish images is like a reward for me.
That’s probably related to the fact that I’m a documenter and a journaler 🙂

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For the next 8 original paintings in the Wild Tenderness Collection, I’m going to be using Cradled Board instead of paper… a different surface, a different feel, a no-need-to-frame finished product. I’m so excited! I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of these panels. Stay tuned! You’ll be able to watch progress on my Instagram Stories – in the Wild Tenderness Highlight.

I don’t have sketches for these 8 new paintings yet… but I’m cooking ideas in my head and putting pen to paper will be next.

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This week’s gift is an archival and signed 8×8 inch print of OPEN WINGS (a $22 value) ~ don’t forget to put KMBWEEKLY in the promo code box at checkout, so that you get yours with orders of $39+.

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week’s end.
Stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy.
Love & Sincerely, Katie