Check out the link in my bio for more info about my series A Shot at Survival. I did an interview with @underratedartist.podcast about my series as well as juggling my art with parenting and working as a nurse. Layer after layer after layer. I had to take a break from this portrait of @lj_punch for two weeks as we gave virtual first grade a try. Slowly getting back to my studio. #endgunviolence #artstudiolife #studiopractice #watercolorportraitartist #figurativewatercolor @ampersand_art #ashotatsurvival #artasadvocacy #artasactivism #stlmade #stlartscene #stlouisviolence #stlstories #stlpainter

Last night at 4am (ok this morning, whatever) after getting off of work. Even when I had to be up in a few hours with kids, there was something serene about taking a few minutes to sit on the porch, enjoy the quiet, and have a moment to myself. What do you do to unwind? What are different ways you do self care? No judgement from me, the one sipping vermouth on the porch at 4am. Often this is what painting feels like to me. Carving out that space to process, to think, even when the world just spins around. There is something about freezing a moment in a painting that is therapeutic....like sitting in a rocking chair outside at 4am with the sound of crickets to myself. Thanks @insta.paige And @communityartsstl For arranging a zoom for ER staff to share thoughts and experiences on what it's been like to work amidst Covid. There is something so amazing about using the arts to capture this. #artistselfcare #timetoreflect #sittingwithmyself #artstudiolife #artmeetslife #artmom #artistmeetsmother #pediatricnurse #ernurseproblems #nightshiftnurseproblems #virtualfirstgrade #alookbehindthebrush #lydiawoodstudios #wearingmanyhats #artasadvocacy #artashealing

And I thought it was hard to carve out studio time pre-covid! sneaking in a short two hours before starting again tomorrow with virtual first grade and then a 2-2 shift. To all you teachers out there! Thank you for all you are doing to make virtual school better. So wear a mask, stay safe, have some common sense and get those Covid numbers down!!! #studiopractice #watercolorartist #figurativeart #figurativeartist #figurativewatercolor #figurativerealism #portraitpaintings #portrait #watercolorportraitstudy #watercolorportraitartist #artstudiolife #artmom #artistmeetsmother #fuckcovid19 #virtualfirstgrade #pediatricnurse #nightshiftnurseproblems #ampersandartsupply #ashotatsurvival #endgunviolence #artasadvocacy

I got a package in the mail a while back from my friend and fellow artist @lumpyplop (seriously her sculptures are amazing and she has been making jewelry that are sculptures in themselves). I about cried when I read her note. With all vulnerability this has been one of the most difficult seasons. When covid hit in March, though we didn't see huge numbers right away where I work, there was so much uncertainty that it was awful. As an ER nurse, you mentally prepare yourself for natural disasters, mass casualty incidents, critical patients, dealing with death, and countless other stressors, but in 9.5 years like everyone else, I had never prepared for a global pandemic. I bristled when I heard the news just talk about the health care heroes because I wasn't looking to be a hero regarding Covid....I just didn't want to bring it home to my dramatic little asthmatic. Summer 2019 and all the gun violence in St. Louis had me ready to quit ER nursing then. Instead, I decided to get more involved in violence prevention, do more self care, and paint A Shot at Survival: Watercolor Portraits Illustrating What it Takes To Survive Trauma In St. Louis (link in bio takes you to more info on my blog). This series is funded in part by a grant from @regionalartscommission So now summer 2020 with lingering secondary trauma from last summer... Here comes Covid-19. Trauma at work, painting a series on trauma and hell, virtual kindergarten, I mean it felt like every area of life was intense. I about threw in towel on ER once again and felt like as much of an emotional mess too. So long story to say, as I'm struggling wearing all of my multiple hats on this first day of virtual first grade and preK, thank you Emily for the bling to go with my scrub cap and everything else. Can you tell my 6 yr old picked the pokemon one out ;) #stlart #stlartist #stlartscene #portraitartist #figurativerealistartist #stlouisartist #watercolorist #figurativewatercolor #ernurse #pediatricernurse #ernurseproblems #narrative #momartist #stlmade #stlstories #secondarytrauma #narrativepainting #endgunviolence #balancingact #artistshelpingartists

What started as a study has become my favorite small painting.

New blog post! It may be short and sweet but I explore the balancing act between life, creating, and night shift during Covid-19. Check out the link in my bio my blog as well as the my interview on @underratedartist.podcast

Check our my interview with @underratedartist.podcast How often do you get to be raw and honest about what inspires you and drives you to create! I loved getting to share about my process as well as the other artists who first inspired me and supported me along this journey at the very beginning. @_alicavanaugh_ @ericapopp @nicolecooperartist @tiffanyjoy1955 @lumpyplop @bjparkerart @ginahaweswatercolors #Repost @underratedartist.podcast (@get_repost) ・・・ Episode 4 dropped. Go take a listen. Link in bio. It’s one of the best episodes yet! 😁 . . . New episode. Out now. 😁 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #newpodcast #artpodcasts #underratedartists #artpodcast #mewepisode2020 #arttalks #artistlife #modernartist #artnews2020 #artlover #newartist2020 #podcast2020 #artistoftheday #creativeuprising #traditionalartwork #artistinterviews #artistcheck #artlovers #figurativeartist #figurativewatercolor #paintersofinstagram #paintingprocess #artworldleaders #artiststudios #artistrevolution #stlartscene #newartistspotlight #artcast #figurativerealism

A little study....

Reverand Dr. Curtis Crosby Watercolor on Aquabord, 11x14 2020 Covid took one of the city's best in April. Finishing up framing and varnishing this portrait that will hang in a community center located in a church he once pastored. @sankofast.louis thank you for the honor of painting this portrait.

Wow, what a phenomenal experience interviewing with @underratedartist.podcast I got to put my art practice into words, discuss the trauma that brought me back to my painting and what has inspired my current series. Thank you @paperbaggedpainter giving artists a chance to be real about their practice. How good to fill what can be a heavy discussion with with joy and laughs to. Episode launches 8/8! #Repost @underratedartist.podcast (@get_repost) ・・・ Just finished recording with @lwood.art and WOOOOWWWW home girl dropped some major knowledge on me! We covered so much like mental health, trauma, classism, covid, emotions, anxiety, benefits of mentorships, artists, and oh yeah- her ART practice! Y’all are in for a real treat next week when her episode drops. A trauma nurse who puts her brush where her mouth is. It’s beautiful. . . . . . . . . . . #newpodcast #artpodcasts #underratedartists #artpodcast #instaart #crazyart #artstudiolife #modernartist #artnews #artlover #newartist2020 #podcast2020 #artistoftheday #creativeuprising #artforum #traditionalartwork #artistinterviews #artistcheck #artlovers #rewritingarthistory #paintersofinstagram #paintingprocess #artworldleaders #artiststudios #artistrevolution #artstudio_post #artistaesthetic #newartistspotlight #artiststalkartists

Honored to talk to @underratedartist.podcast Yes, the meaning behind a lot of my work is heavy. I have a feeling this will be a fun and at times very raw discussion about art, creating, self care and trauma. Stay tuned for 8/8! #Repost @underratedartist.podcast (@get_repost) ・・・ Excited to sit down and chat with next weeks guest @lwood.art . Her art blows me away. She’s a mom, and ER nurse, an artist, and very very inspiring. The meaning behind her work is heavy. Check out her blog and see for yourself why she’s worth listening to. . . . . . . . . . . #newpodcast #artpodcasts #underratedartists #artpodcast #instaart #crazyart #artstudiolife #modernartist #artnews #artlover #newartist2020 #podcast2020 #artistoftheday #creativeuprising #artforum #traditionalartwork #artistinterviews #artistcheck #artlovers #rewritingarthistory #paintersofinstagram #paintingprocess #artworldleaders #artiststudios #artistrevolution #artstudio_post #artistaesthetic #newartistspotlight #artiststalkartists

For Love of King Watercolor on Cradled Aquabord (8x10) Lydia Wood, 2019 As I'm editing photos of my most recent work, I keep going back to this painting from 2019. Why do I want to see barriers broken and opportunities created in St. Louis? In part, For Love of King. What do we want this city to look like for our kids? Definitely not how it looks now, but just like them, there is hope for us yet. My nephew is probably one of the most fun, energetic, and photogenic kids around. I mean he can work that camera and I need to do more paintings of him!

#repost Thank you @ampersand_art for featuring my painting Picking Violets in your post for #worldwatercolormonth today. I was playing out in the backyard last summer with my boys and our yard has more wild violets than grass. Ezra bent down and started picking violets. This mundane moment just captured me and was the inspiration for this painting.

#wip for this portrait I'm stretching my practice. I'm limiting the chroma (I love bold paint colors). I'm narrowing my values scale. I am flattening my shadows so that subtle light and color on the face come forward. Slowly, slowly layer after layer. And I'm not usually a patient person ;)

Layer after layer after layer after layer #wip of Reverend Dr. Curtis Crosby Honored to be painting this portrait for the Sankofa Unity Center in Walnut Park St. Louis Thanks @sankofast.louis. the first time I met you, you told me to go find out what Sankofa means. I'm looking forward to learning more about this man's legacy as I paint this portrait. I have so much hope for the future of the community center, Sankofa Unity Center, being started in the church building where he used to inspire a community.

Mixing watercolors ahead of time instead of as I go. Giving this a try as I try to limit my chroma overall inorder to have it pop only when I want it to. I'm having so much fun mixing that I need to get painting.

Continuing the work on A Shot at Survival. Trauma is complex. Gun violence has a ripple affect. One bullet impacts countless lives. The victim, the families and communities, the futures lost both of the victim and the one firing the gun. The paramedics, doctors, nurses, social workers, housekeepers, teachers, classmates and anyone that senses the loss of that child. I interviewed Dr. Kate Spectorsky who is finishing her Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship in St. Louis, MO. Kate did her residency in Kansas City, and medical school in Cincinnati. I asked Kate what she expected to see coming to St. Louis for her fellowship. I was struck by how she said she had prepared to see gun violence in teens but it was the 3 and four year olds shot on their porches that really hit her. I'm working on some watercolor sketches to brainstorm what direction in which I will take this large watercolor portrait. I am exploring the concept how "if they only saw what I saw." The background traces a shooting victim from the scene, a porch, transport to ER and the aftermath in the trauma bay of providing care. This is a compilation of what we see and not from one specific case. We see gun violence daily in the ERs of st. Louis. Systematic and overt racism in St. Louis, socioeconomic disparity, lack of opportunities, disadvantaged schools, etc have lead to an epidemic in our city. The survivors are heroes in my eyes. Many are standing up and making a difference. There is hope for St. Louis but we will never conquer violence without addressing the rampant racism in our past and present.

Follow @archcitydefenders and support them. https://www.archcitydefenders.org/get-involved/donate/

#muted #blackouttuesday

I'm muting my page the rest of 6/1-6/7. This is an active silence of taking to heart how my white privilege insulated me from the injustices, fears, and trauma repeatedly endured by Black Lives. This is a time and space for Black voices and Black experiences to be heard. You Matter.