Majestic Lion

8 x 10

oil on canvas with knife

$125

This majestic lion reminds me of Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia. I created him through the fun process of placing paint on the canvas randomly and turning the canvas to see what pops out at me.

This is how he started......

 

 

From here I brought some more paint onto the canvas and began to blend a little.....

 



At this point above, I could already see the lion's face....the white mouth middle left of the canvas.

Painted in his eye and nose and determined where his mane and ear would be.

Love how he turned out!

If you are interested in this painting or any of my others, or if you would like to commission a painting, please contact me at bethlendermanfineart@gmail.com.

MASCOTS

SOLD

16 x 20

Oil on canvas with knife

 

This vibrant Razorback painting is now living in a doctor's office in Arkansas. I am currently painting other team mascots and I would love to paint yours. If you are interested, please email me at bethlendermanfineart@gmail.com.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

16 x 20

Oil on canvas with knife

Those of you who know me pretty well know that I am a diehard, passionate RAZORBACK fan. I am very excited this is the first week of college football. And I know this may be a rough year for us, but I am a true fan and will cheer them on win or lose. GO HOGS!

This painting started as a wash of random color.

I then pulled some darker color into the brightness.



So easy for me to see a RAZORBACK here!

If you are interested in this RAZORBACK or you would like a custom RAZORBACK for yourself, I would love to work with you. You can reach me at bethlendermanfineart@gmail.com.

Good luck to your team this week.....unless you cheer for University of Louisiana-Lafayette! :)

From geometric shapes to fruit

The first weekend in August I went to a knife painting workshop led by Laurie Justus Pace, an AMAZING artist located in Texas. She is a wonderful mentor to me and someone whose work I admire greatly.

This painting was what we I worked on the first day. She told us to draw some geometric shapes on the canvas and then pick some colors we like that are in the same family, with one complimentary color added to the mix. Our instructions were to have fun!! No one drew the same shapes or used the same colors and there were some great creations that came out of this exercise.

The picture above is the end result. The picture below is how it began. For some reason, when I turned the canvas around and around, I saw pears or figs in the paint. Pretty cool how we can take something as simple as paint and turn it into a work of art.

Laurie likened the process to us taking what we have been given by God and creating something out of that. Love so much that her faith is a part of her art. What a wonderful journey.

Hope you have a blessed day. More blogs to come!

TEN MINUTES

Last year I went to a continuing education course in Florida. A friend of mine went with me....not for the course but to enjoy the Florida sun.

For the three days we were there, my friend would get up each morning after I was ready, take me to the class where I sat in a hospital meeting room for eight hours each day, then come get me at the end of class each day. She usually smelled of sand and sea and would pick me up as she was on her way back from the day at the beach, looking totally relaxed and refreshed.

To say I was a little envious is an understatement.

Here I was in sunny Florida spending all day every day in a hospital, of all places. (Thankfully I was not a patient at the hospital. Things can ALWAYS be worse.) But any notion I may have had of skipping a day of class was quickly dispelled as I reminded myself that not only did I fly into Florida seated right next to the continuing education instructor, but also that she was staying in the same hotel I was and might notice my absence and wonder how I got that sun kissed look the next morning when I showed up for class.

By the last day of the class, I was intellectually and physically spent. Subject matter was interesting but difficult. And the class was very hands on (as therapy classes tend to be) and that was all just a little too much people time for this introvert.

When my friend picked me up that day, instead of going back to the hotel, I asked if she would take me to the beach. I had to go. After all, I was in Florida right on the Atlantic. How could I not?

She took me to a public beach and began looking for a place to park the car but no spots were available. I asked her to drop me off....that I just needed 10 minutes....wanted to smell the air, feel the breeze, hear the waves crashing, taste the salt in the air, see the glorious splendor of it all.

TEN MINUTES.

WOW.

I was blown away by the beauty of creation. I was right there in the middle of God's handiwork...struck with a sense of awe and wonder.

I stood there at the water's edge for 10 minutes, my friend still trying to find a parking spot. I felt this overwhelming surge of God's presence with me and I was also reminded of the past when I used to go on family trips. Wonderful, wonderful memories.

I'm thankful for a friend who made a special trip to the beach for me to enjoy 10 minutes of creation. I'm thankful for a God who created that beautiful ocean. And I'm thankful for a God who is with me wherever I am -- whether I'm at the water's edge of an incredible ocean or I'm in a cold, dark, windowless hospital classroom.

May I feel His presence deeply with me wherever I go.

And of course, I had to paint it :)

Ten Minutes

11x14

Oil with knife on canvas board

Coneflowers

 

 

This is the first piece I painted after Susan passed away. It's very special to me because it represents a precious time I had with my sisters right before Susan went to be with her Beloved.

 

When Dianne and I were spending time with Susan, we had many conversations -- some deep and meaningful and some lighthearted and fun. One particular conversation we were asking Susan about her landscaping and she talked about wanting to plant coneflowers this year.....

 

 

This painting represents so much to me.....Susan's hope and faith, beauty, new life, God's creation, and my two sisters and me.

 

 

This painting went home with Dianne two weeks ago <3

FOR SUSAN

Those of you who know me personally know it's been a rough few months for me.

My precious sister Susan passed away March 8th from a fierce battle with a very aggressive cancer. She was one of the most amazing people I have ever known. I loved her dearly...love her dearly. She and my other sister Dianne and I are very close. Our whole family is close. This has been a devastating loss.

I put my art away for a while as I tried to cope with watching Susan fight for her life and then tried to get back to "normal" since she passed away. I've slowly attempted to get back into painting...partly because it's who I am and what I feel drawn to do and partly because Susan would have wanted me to. She was an amazing artist.

As I signed on tonight to blog for the first time since February 10, I was surprised by my last blog.

I was working on a painting.

At the time I was painting it, I didn't know where it would end up.

But as I was preparing to fly out to Seattle the night of March 7th when I received news that Susan had 1-3 days to live, I pulled this finished painting off the easel and prepared to take it to Susan. When I was working on it, I had no intention of doing anything with it. But as I was thinking about Susan, I remember her talking to me about Thalo Blue and Thalo Green, and although those are not specifically the colors I used in this painting, I knew she would love the greens and blues.
I didn't know it when I started it, but this painting was for her. Just one way God was working in me, in us, using something we both love to connect on a deeper level.

 

As I feel more comfortable I will share more about Susan and how she affected my life with her faith and her witness.

This is for you, Susan. I love you.......B

I'm still here!!!

 



Long time no see, huh?

 

I have been out of pocket...visiting my sister in the Pacific Northwest with my other sister and taking care of my elderly mother. Lots going on with family, so I've been a little preoccupied. It's been hard finding time to get back into the studio, and boy, do I miss it!! Feel like it's where I'm supposed to be, yet finding time to get in there has been a challenge.

 

I played around in there a little today. I found a picture of the Sea of Galilee. This is not a photo I took when we went to Israeal a few years ago, but a photo I found on the internet. Sure wish I knew the name of the church in the picture. Do you happen to know?

 

I'm playing with values of light and dark here, blocking in some color.

 

 

A little more detail here with the church. Still playing with the trees and their colors in light and dark. Love the way the water looks for real. So hard to capture all the beautiful colors and nuances with a photo.

Hoping to finish up the painting tomorrow night after my younger son's basketball tournament. When you work with a palette knife, time is of the essence!

On Fire!

 

Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years have all had me pretty busy, as I'm sure they have had you. Now that all the holidays are over, I'm hoping to get some regular time back in the studio.

 

Here is a progression of a painting I worked on some last week.

 

Started out with some great colors.......

 

 

 

 

Starting to work their way into a pattern.....but what?

 

 

 

Maybe a psychedelic "S" for Superman?

 

 

Decided to turn those colors into flames!

Looking forward to a new year of creativity!