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The Biggest Family in the World - a new children's book based on the life of Charles Mulli, planned for publication in 2014. This is a blog chronicling the book's creation from the perspective of the artist. A story about a boy...this is no ordinary boy. His name is Charles Mulli. Deserted by his family as a child and left to fend for himself on the streets, Charles tells his tragic but miraculous story in Father to the Fatherless , by Paul H. Boge. The boy in Kenya became a believer in Christ, grew up to be a successful millionaire businessman, and then gave it all up to help other street children and orphans. He and his wife, Esther have been Daddy and Mommy Mulli for over 20 years, loving, teaching about Jesus Christ and educating more than 6,000 children to move on to fruitful, productive lives. I was recently asked by Paul Boge and Charles Mulli to contribute paintings as illustrations for the new children's version of Mulli's life, The Biggest Family...

I am on the mailing list to receive the inspiring poetry and sonnets by Malcolm Guite, the English poet who has contributed so much inspiration to Steve Bell's latest album Keening for the Dawn , and also to many of my own paintings. This morning, he sent a poem for Palm Sunday. Part of the lyric are is follows: Now to the gate of my Jerusalem, The seething holy city of my heart, The S aviour comes. But will I welcome him?   From Sounding the Seasons, by Malcolm Guite, CanterburyPress 2012 I regret that I have not had the time to ponder the Lent season myself, but as I've stopped to take a breath, I hope to use Malcolm's poetry to walk me through the final week before Easter. As soon as I saw Malcolm's post, I knew I would write something about it. My life has been a "seething city" (in a good way), and I need to quiet my heart to ponder this blessed season. Recently, I sold a special painting called The Gate  to a dear friend. I am alw...

Today I received HIS kiss upon my cheek - TWICE! Around the Christmas season I always feel down, not just because I dread the holiday, but because it is especially busy and stressful at work as well. On the dreary drive home, I was feeling very sorry for myself and half-listening to the radio, when suddenly the next song was a very familiar tune and voice. It was the beautiful tenor voice of Steve Bell (my boss) singing the Magnificat , one of the most beautiful pieces from his first Christmas album, The Feast of Seasons. As he sang about how Holy our God is, the tears started coming, reminding me of the reasons why I do what I do. The second "kiss" came unexpectedly from my friend Moe from the House of Hesed , who sent me a very encouraging email (right out of the blue)! She has a ministry working with people struggling with AIDS. "The Gladdening" is a piece that I painted as a result of emerging from another period of  emotional turmoil. God bless you...

What started with a desire to recreate a favourite sunset photo on canvas, ended with a foreboding message…or several, depending on how you look at it. I photographed a phenomenal sunset from a moving vehicle with two friends after a retreat in Minneapolis . The cloud and light formation reminded me of an angel, and I named my photo Angel Sky . On Sunday afternoon I decided to make an attempt at transferring the image in the photo to canvas. Foolish me… how can I possibly re-create something perfect that the Chief Artist Himself created first? After viewing my “finished” version of Angel Sky , I realized that my attempt was pleasant, but weak in the depth department. So I took the canvas, and with a bit of trepidation, made some additional modifications… The painting took on a whole new disturbing demeanor. One aspect of which is: while I spend an inordinate amount of time enjoying sunrises and sunsets (sometimes at the last second avoiding running my car off the ro...

A Painting Story... As I mentioned in my previous blog, I had been away at a refreshing weekend in Minneapolis for a conference called "Women of Faith". My husband called me on Saturday night to let me know that my pregnant daughter, Cherie, was in the hospital, and had been induced. I spent Sunday on the long drive home with my companions Jen Werner and Courtney Perez. We almost lost our way a couple of times, making wrong turn-offs - distracted with conversation and storytelling. Both girls were growing excited, in anticipation of finding out if my daughter had had her baby while we were traveling. The sunset that evening was spectacular - so I took many photos from the moving car, and Jen even stopped the car for a few minutes to snap a few more. At one point, Jen said that the sunset looked like a "crescendo", and I told her that if I painted it, I would give it that name in her honour. Here it is, Jen!! The weekend ended with a crescendo - Cherie...

I was away at a weekend women's retreat in Minneapolis when I got the news that my daughter had been induced and that her baby daughter was on the way. I cried and prayed with my roommate Ruthann, because I was far away from home. Jen, Courtney and I were leaving for our drive home the next morning, and we kept in touch with my husband as we traveled, in case there was news. Cherie and her baby were in God's hands, and if I had to miss the birth, it was my own fault. However, when I arrived home, the baby had not yet been born. I checked in at the hospital the next morning, and there was no indication that the baby would arrive soon, so I went to work for a while, to keep busy. My bosses and co-worker witnessed my blubbering reaction to the phone call in the afternoon, when my son-in-law Chris called to tell me that my granddaughter was waiting for me to come and meet her. My son Thomas works near to my office, so the two of us hightailed it to the St. Boniface Hospita...

How do you know when art is good?  They say " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. " For visual art, the answer is easy. Good art is "eye candy". You will find that it is difficult to draw your eyes away from it. Perhaps it is the combination of colour, the textures, or the way your spirit is drawn to the meaning of the piece. My own art may mean one thing to me, and another to someone else. The art of music is the same way. Ever since I received my boss' preview tracks of his new Christmas CD, I can't help but be drawn to listen to it over and over - the lyric and music attracting my attention in new ways every time. I play it in my car to and from work, play it while I exercise (I can think clearer then), and while I paint. It inspires me to paint in new and creative ways, and also to meditate on God and how He uses music as a key to open doors in people's hearts. A poem or book can draw one's attention so that you want to read it twice, th...