I have a fabulous, long time collector...Larry, who I've also become friends with over the years.  He is an amazing stained glass artist, and I'm beyond honored to have one of his pieces of art recreated from one of my paintings that he purchased.  He consistently collects new art and recently purchased the painting "Land of Wonder" when I was having my moving sale.  Well, he had also seen my coloring pages, and thought how cool it would be to have a mural sized coloring page with hints of color handpainted by me...I was down for the challenge!  I actually started my professional artist career painting murals in the Orlando, FL  area, so I was looking forward to revisiting mural size painting.

​Larry ended up choosing the coloring page (above) that the original painting "Land of Wonder", was created from, and I also gave him the original drawing itself, so he has a triad of original coordinating art that no one else has.

Larry and I worked together with one of my licensing partners Murals Your Way - you can purchase some of my art as murals from them, link here - to create the perfect black and white reproduction of the original drawing on three canvas panels totaling 9'x8'.  The challenge for me was that I didn't have any table space this large, so I had to lay it out on my studio floor, which required moving everything out of the way and practicing my contortionist skills, haha!!  

And the final results as shown in Larry's home!  This was such a fun and different project for me; I love when my collectors come up with new ideas to challenge me as an artist, and this was one!  Larry is the only person on the planet who has a mural like this.  So proud to continue to have him as one of my best collector's and inspiring me to always step outside of my comfort zone with my art, thank you Larry!

Larry's description of the art in his home ~ "This canvas art piece draws the viewer into an eclectic mix of whimsy among a wood & glass framework at this, The MoonShadow House. Gotta Love It !!!!"

​I'm finally back in Florida after spending the last 3 out of 4 weeks in Alaska, the 2nd trip was to escape Irma's wrath!  So thankful everything is fine here in Miami, feeling so blessed that both my apartment and studio came through unscathed and I can get back to my new life here :)

I had a lot of realizations and clarity come to me on this last trip to Alaska, in such a way that I can truly move forward and explore a new life full of adventures, new people and being the strong, empowered woman I am.  Nothing is holding me back any longer and I feel I am in a position to now help other women realize their full potential and inspire and motivate us all to reach for the stars!!

​Before I left to Alaska I had just finished up this 3'x3' painting "The Power of the Moon". This painting is part of my enlightenment series where I have created a new set of symbols that empower us to find enlightenment in everything around us. I used my "moon/gravity enlightenment" symbol for this painting, see the circular black and white drawing below and find it within the painting 😊😊I created this symbol to inspire us to find enlightenment through forces outside of ourself. We all now how much power the moon has on our planet, how it pulls the tides in and out and creates light for us during darkness. I personally notice changes in myself when there is a full moon, particularly that I have a more difficult time sleeping, without fail every month for several days.

Every now and then someone will contact me about a painting they saw online and ask if it is still available, and more often than not the painting has already sold.  This is true of one of my most popular paintings from 2008, "Aqua Burn", it sold in 2008, but prints are available of it.  A recent, new collector, reached out to see if it was possible to similarly recreate it.  I was more than happy to do so, since I haven't painted anything from my Circle of Life painting in months!  I always enjoy revisiting certain styles and colors, and this is one of my favorite color combinations for any style or painting.  

The original "Aqua Burn" was created on an 18"x24" canvas, but the new collector wanted a much larger size and we settled on a 60"x48" Genie Canvas.  I always love to paint oversized, it's challenging and the effect of larger paintings is so impressive once hung.  Here is a compilation video of the painting in process and finished hanging up in it's new home.

Below are pics of the painting hanging in it's new home in the mountains of Montana ( I lived in Montana for the first 5 years of my life :).  The beautiful mountain scene is what the painting sees looking out the window, how magnificent and beautiful is that?!

It's amazing how well such a colorful, contemporary painting can fit in with the wild rustic beauty of the collectors home they describe as "Mountain refined with log accents".  It's as though they were made for each other!  It is always such a thrill to see my art hanging in it's new home, it's as if a part of me gets to travel around the world through my art.  

A beautiful symbolic painting encouraging us to never give up faith and have the strength to carry through the tough times.  Life isn't always the easiest, but if we have strength, love and faith we can get through anything.  Don't ever give up believing that better things are waiting for you just around the corner, always strive to live "Your Best Life", day in and day out.

When life throws curve balls, we have to rely on our inner strength, faith and love for ourselves and from those around us.  Stay Strong and Hold Fast to all the positives in your life, they will help you overcome anything.  I hope this painting will inspire you to believe in yourself and love yourself as a shining beacon of strength and love to others.

I've been wanting to get more serious about offering handpainted purses for a couple years now, and have painted a few for myself, and finally got around to creating several to offer for sale!  

​These first few are just random purses I've found at stores that I thought would make a great canvas for painting on. I am going to be offering more custom MADART purses that have been painted on.  I am in the process of ordering sample purses that will be exclusive to MADART, with branding, packaging, etc. , this is going to be an actual fashion line of purses that I will be handpainting.  I will also eventually be offering printed purses at lower prices that will have my original designs and only be available directly through this site, most of which will also be limited edition designs.  Pricing is also subject to change once the new custom purses are introduced.  

Lot's of different ideas swirling around in my head where to go with this!  I've always loved fashion, as far back as I can remember, even wanted to be a model in my younger days (funny enough my daughter is now a model :).  I think this will be the perfect marriage of my love of fashion and my passion for art.  this will also give women the opportunity to have a truly custom purse to take with them everywhere they go, what better way to show your appreciation for art than to get to wear it!  

I will also not be using any leather purses, these will all be PU "leather" type products (synthetic). I'm working on being more aware of not using animal products in my life, and these purses are a great way to stand up for animal rights.

​Stay tuned for more painted purses coming soon!! You can see the current available purses here.