Out of the Blue

I felt so honored when my friend Carol wanted my first gallery piece, Step of Faith. She connected with the themes of faith in the midst of uncertainty and hope in the midst of anxiety. Carol's own openness about these themes has helped me a ton through the years, and I can't think of a sweeter destination for that piece than a home where I have been ministered to so much. When she asked me if I'd do a similar piece, but with red hair for her daughter Caroline, I was super excited. Caroline works as a counselor and connected with Step of Faith when she was visiting her mom. 

Caroline and I got to talk about our own experiences with anxiety and what she wanted in a piece. I started looking through her photos for inspiration, and found several that I really liked. Though she wasn't asking for a portrait, I wanted to use her as the model because I thought it would be more personal, and because she just makes a gorgeous model.

Caroline played Alice in Alice and Wonderland, which, to me, was a great inspiration since Alice felt so out of place in the crazy world through the looking glass. I wanted to show the struggle of looking ahead and moving toward the light of future possibilities after feeling backed into a corner by anxiety. I wanted the darkness to feel like it was pulling at her, and for the light to feel as if it would deliver peace and rest if she kept going toward it. I called it Out of the Blue.

Thank you, Carol and Caroline, for many things, one of them being the journey of doing this painting.