Sorry, it’s been a while… I think all those creatures in that photo went up my nose and have been residing in my head for the past week. I think I am finally starting to get over this evil cold, but I’ll probably be laying low for a couple more days. In other news, the [...]

I’ve been working on this painting for what seems like forever, but it’s finally done. And now I have a mission to go with it. When I was growing up with a single mom and two brothers, there were times when we didn’t have enough to eat. But thankfully there was a food bank nearby [...]

Another look into my sketchbook… this one is more like a journal entry, but whatever. I wrote “Being an artist is awesome” as a sarcastic joke because I was having a bad day, but being an artist does actually have some perks ;)    

Here’s a new sketch in honor of Valentine’s Day. I’m thinking of making it into a print. What do you think?

here’s my attempt at painting with photoshop. The lines aren’t very smooth, but it’s a good first attempt in my opinion ;) What do you think?

This week’s theme for illustration friday is “forward.” Usually I try to post something that I made in response to the week’s theme, but this one made me think of something I did a couple of years ago. Many times, in order to move forward you have to let go of things from your past.

Wow- I didn’t think I posted that often, but here I am posting my 100th post. I think I should do a giveaway! So here’s the scoop- leave a comment on this post and tell me about someone you think is truly beautiful. Comments will be open until 10:00 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 29th). I [...]

Today while wandering around Ann Arbor I discovered a little shop called Avtomobile. I really like how they display their work and I even picked up a little something while I was there. I loved the whimsical little stars peeking out of the dark sky; it reminds me of those cold Michigan winter nights. The [...]

a new piece – already sold :) THE STORY: Over the years I have had many friends who have struggled with health issues and I wanted to create a piece that would be an encouragement to them. The text on the painting came from Luke 8:48. I especially like that Jesus calls the woman “daughter” [...]

Some of you may have noticed that the name of my Etsy shop has changed. Instead of 4mdesigns it’s now messyheart. 4mdesigns came from my old business name, but since I’m no longer doing business under that name I figured it was time for a change. So, why messyheart? Many times, the more messy I [...]