Follow A New Collection Created Live
A 40-day chronicle documenting a new collection from first idea to finished work, in real time.
Most art shows up finished — framed, polished, already explained. This isn't that. For forty days, I'm building a brand new body of work completely in public: the first sketches, the failed attempts, the decisions I second-guess, and the moments when something finally clicks. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to create a collection from nothing, you're in the right place.
The Making of Milk & Honey
The Promise
Receiving the vision. Exploring symbols. Defining the collection.
The Leaving
Moving from idea to action. Committing to the journey. Starting the work.
The Wilderness
The long middle. Doubt, delay, and learning to trust the process.
The Arrival
In Progress Below
The destination comes into view. The collection starts becoming what it was always meant to be.
The Inheritance
Coming Soon
The story is now ready to be shared with others
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Milk and Honey
Day 25: One Painting at a Time
Today I made it back into the studio. Not for one long painting session, but for several shorter rounds throughout the day.
Something unexpected happened because of it.
Up until now, I've mostly been thinking about these paintings as a collection. I've been moving groups of pieces through the same stages together, building layers across multiple canvases at once and focusing on the overall body of work.
Today forced me to slow down.
Instead of pushing several paintings through the next layer, I found myself sitting with one painting at a time and moving a lot slower. Looking at what that particular piece needed. Evaluating its color, composition, and atmosphere independently from everything happening around it.
In some ways, it felt like meeting the paintings again.
When you're working on a collection, it's easy to start seeing everything as part of a larger whole. Today reminded me that each painting still has its own voice, its own problems to solve, and its own destination.
Day 26 and 27: When Bitterness Turns Sweet
Yesterday was mostly spent between doctor appointments, but I used waiting time to catch up on some of the administrative work that has been piling up behind the scenes. I scheduled content, worked on the shop and website, and started turning some of the early Milk & Honey sketches into products. A few stickers, a Milk & Honey mug, and some other pieces should be pre-launching soon.
Today felt like a milestone. Its the first of these pieces to leave my easel finished. I'm finally ready to share the first images of the completed painting, When Bitterness Turns Sweet. This piece centers on wild lemons and the tension that exists knowing that sometimes the best thing is the hard thing. Somewhere along the way, the title settled into place and refused to leave. After spending so many hours with it, I can't imagine calling it anything else.
It's the latest finished piece in the collection, and I'm excited to finally let it leave the studio and make its first appearance in the world.
Day 28: An Unexpected Collaboration
Everyone thinks being an artist is all right-brain creativity and inspiration. The truth is, some days you get stuck in left-brain mode and the creativity doesn't flow as easily.
And sometimes it's better not to argue with the muse when she has other plans.
So today I pulled out the computer instead.
I edited photos, created the first product listings, and started prepping the shop side of the website for the collection launch. I made mockups of finished pieces and put together a few products that I think complement the collection really well. I'm genuinely excited to start sharing some of them soon.
But my favorite part of the day happened later.
It was the last day of school in my district, and a special local artist asked if she could collaborate with me. Of course I said yes.
The artist was my daughter.
We spent some time painting together, and tomorrow I'll be sharing the finished piece. She spent some time critiquing and helping with my piece and I spent some time teaching shading and helping with hers. It was easily the highlight of my day.
Day 29: What the Wilderness Holds
Today was all about finishing another piece.
Most of my time in the studio was spent working on What the Wilderness Holds and pushing through those final decisions that separate a painting that is almost finished from one that is actually done. The composition, details, transitions, and highlights all needed attention before I could finally call it complete.
It's always a strange feeling reaching the end of a painting. After staring at the same canvas for days or weeks, every brushstroke starts to feel familiar. Then suddenly there are no more decisions left to make.
What the Wilderness Holds is now finished and ready to join the rest of the collection.
One more painting done. One step closer to seeing Milk & Honey come together as a whole.
Day 30: Two More Pieces Finished
Last week I asked for help deciding what color the sky should be in the vineyard paintings.
The votes were almost perfectly split between soft morning blues and evening pinks. Half of you wanted sunrise. Half of you wanted sunset. A handful wanted afternoon blue.
So I stopped trying to choose and tried to make one of each.
Today I finished both vineyard pieces, one in each palette.
It amazes me how color shapes feeling. The blue version feels quiet and peaceful, while the pink version feels warm and nostalgic. Neither one feels more "correct" than the other, just different, and I’m happy with how both turned out.
The blue sky piece is titled “Hills of Wine and Honey” and the pink is “Tended Things Grow Sweet.”
Day 31: Something Started: Something Finished
I spent part of the day buying plants and finally getting my vegetable garden planted. Every year I look forward to this. My studio overlooks the garden, and it ends up influencing my work and inspiration so much.. The flowers, the hummingbirds, the bees, the changing colors, and even the simple act of tending something over time all find their way back into the paintings sooner or later. One of the best parts of the garden is sharing it with my kids who also love it. And sharing these moments is exactly what this collection is about.
I also worked on Where Gold Grows.
It's always satisfying to reach the point where a painting stops asking for one more adjustments and starts coming together. This piece has been sitting with me for a long time, and I'm excited to finally add it to the finished column.
By the end of the day, I found myself appreciating growth both out my window and on my easel.
Day 32: When Life Hands You Lemons
Today started in the studio and ended at the doctor's office for, hopefully, the last follow up for awhile..
Before heading out for the afternoon, I was able to finish The Fruit of Waiting. It always feels good to move a painting from the "almost done" pile into the finished column, especially when it's a piece I've been living with for a while.
There was something fitting about finishing The Fruit of Waiting the same day as a procedure that I hope will make life easier in the long run. The procedure itself wasn't much fun, but sometimes the things that improve our lives require a little discomfort first.
Between the painting and the procedure, it felt like a day focused on finishing things and moving forward and I am immensely grateful for progress and momentum.
Day 33: Where Gold Grows
Today I finished Where Gold Grows.
This piece feels significant because, in a lot of ways, it brings me back to where the entire collection started. Long before I was painting vineyards, lemons, rivers, bees, and honeycomb patterns, there was a simple image of a wheat field stretching toward the horizon.
Some paintings fight you all the way to the finish line. This one didn't. It seemed to know what it wanted to be from the beginning. Most of my time was spent refining, adjusting, and slowly building the light until it felt right.