Changing Gears

Hartford, Wisconsin

On December 14, 2025, St. Mary of the Hill Parish held its' dedication Mass. I was thrilled to be there and witness the rich ceremony and enthusiasm of the congregation as it moved into a new home. 8 weeks prior, I had begun working on the mural pictured here. I know it's not what you normally see from me but portrait painting and murals are part of my artistic history.

I relished working on a large scale and with oils instead of miniature watercolor paintings. The bold colors came right away and the brushstrokes were immediate. Once again, I was romanced by oils: which I used to paint with all the time. I had assumed there would be a learning curve but it flowed out of me pretty naturally. Maybe it was the tight deadline, maybe because I knew the clients could see my daily progress, but the mural came together much smoother than I thought. All of this leads me to think that oils will resurface again in my work. I did not go and put them back into storage. Instead, I put them neatly in my studio so I can easily access them if and when the time comes. I do feel pulled more and more to paint people again and I wonder how it will be different that how I left off. 

I loved being in the Catholic world of the church. I grew up Catholic but had fallen away. You've, no doubt, heard this narrative before. But I love ritual, the history of religious art, the tactile quality religious spaces, artifacts, all of it. Catholics love their 'things' and so do I. Luckily for me, the relics of St. Therese  of Lisieux were on a world tour and I got to attend Mass with them. I forgot to bring something to get blessed, so I held up my winter hat to the reliquary. St. Therese is one of the saints that I painted in the mural, so it was an all-enveloping experience.