It’s not every day you get a call from an NBC producer, asking you to create a special piece of artwork to use on the Today Show.  When you do, you say “YES.”  Oh, you need an extensive drawing planned, completed, recorded on HD video, and delivered within 28 hours? “I’ll make it happen.”

And make it happen, we did! “We” refers to Ryan Osborn (@Rozzy and @TodayShow onTwitter), the tireless producer who had the vision for this project after he saw my speed drawing of Ellen Degeneres on YouTube, and my amazing husband, who came home from work early and stayed home the following day to make sure it got done. Nate is the video expert of this outfit. I’m just in charge of the things that involve pencils and paint. All in all, we spent the better part of the given 28 hours on this project, and rolled into bed at 5:00 am this morning, just 3 hours before the clip aired.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So what that I’ve had 10 hours of sleep in the last 50?

Hearing Matt Lauer call me a “great artist” on national television, and watching Meredith Vieira and Al Roker admire the completed piece printed on a huge poster in Rockefeller Plaza was more than worth it.

To see more of my speed drawing videos, visit my YouTube channel.

To see my portraits, fine art, and graphic design work, visit TheArtistOfLife.com.

I am available for custom portrait commissions, logos and branding, and of course, high profile custom projects for major television networks.

The completed drawing, 18×24:

As you can see, the lineup for the concert series is amazing, and includes Sting, The Script, American Idol, Justin Bieber, Christina Aguilera, Rascal Flatts, James Taylor & Carole King, Maxwell, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias, John Mayer, Carrie Underwood, Train, Kesha, Keith Urban, and Katy Perry.

It will be tempting to take Ryan up on his offer to get Nate and I tickets to some of these events!

Good Friday and Easter Day!

As a child, I was perplexed by the name “Good Friday.” Wasn’t it the day that acknowledges Jesus’ death? Jesus, who was sinless and pure, who deserved no death, but who chose it? Now I grasp how good this day really is. It’s a day that represents the death of our separation from God. Our sin separated us from our loving Creator, and Jesus’ death bridged that gap. We couldn’t do it on our own.

The miracle and power of this weekend, however, lies in Jesus’ resurrection, which we celebrate on Sunday! Had Christ remained on the cross, we would still be lost. But he didn’t. Jesus was buried, but rose to life on Sunday, and showed himself to over 500 witnesses before ascending to heaven. Amazing!

I completed a painting last year which embodies the spirit of Easter, entitled “Risen.” An empty cocoon hangs off of one side of the cross, and on the other side, a butterfly ascends toward heaven. It is red and white, symbolizing both the purity of Christ and the blood which has saved us. This Easter weekend, don’t let the miracle of Christ’s resurrection pass you by. “It is Finished” changed everything.

Please click here to see it larger.

This painting is available as a print in my online store.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Mark your calendars for May 9th!

You may be wondering what to get the mother in your life this year. Have you thought about your wife and mother of your own amazing kids? What could a loving husband possibly give her to say “thank you” for the countless hours of love and nurturing that she gives to your family, for the sleepless nights, and tender care?

This year, I would like the husbands reading this to consider a gift that will blow your wife away and likely produce the good kind of cry. A custom, timeless portrait of her children!

Every year, I get requests around this time for Mother’s Day custom portraits. They are some of my favorite projects. Get some of my recent drawings below, and keep reading to find out how you can save over $150.

The Big Giveaway!

This year, I’d like to offer $30 off and 4 free 11×14 prints of a custom drawing to one lucky person. The prints alone are valued at $125, and they make great gifts for grandparents and other family members! I will have a third party choose the winner randomly from the visitors who comment on this post by March 31.

If you prefer, you may purchase a gift certificate for the amount of your portrait to present to your wife so that you can choose the reference photo together!

Watch me work in this entertaining video:

I have several more speed drawing videos here if you’d like to see more.

Some links you may find helpful:

* How to commission a custom portrait (It starts with your photo!)
* See more of my portrait work (I work in charcoal, pastel, and oil.)
* Review my pricing information
* You may also submit a portrait request now to get started! If you win the giveaway, a refund will be given.

“Kelly, I just wanted you to know that my wife is very happy with the portrait I gave her for Christmas. In fact, she cried and shook for quite a while before she could speak. She loves it and I’ve already found her several times just standing in the living room marveling at how well it captures the images – and the personalities – of our children. Thanks again.”

- Tom S.

Thank you, and feel free to pass this on!

Well, hello!  Thank you for stopping by. I am finally stepping away from the work that I’ve been doing for my clients to update my blog with some of my recent projects!

First, I’d love to show you a photographer’s logo that I designed in December that I LOVE.  Photography logos are some of my favorite to design because there is typically a level of class associated with them, but there is also room for a little fun! In this case, the mark incorporates a graceful monogram with some fairly straightforward typography.

Next, I’ll post another fresh, clean design that I’ve created for a fantastic home designer. She has an intensely creative but quiet sense about her, and she wanted a logo and business card to reflect that. Tradition was put on the shelf, and I got to “paint outside of the lines” a little. It was great!

Now all designers have had a situation like this: A client approaches you with a concept that is tricky… say, a logo that must incorporate an eye, a star, and a reference to film. Oh, and not in a creepy way. I brainstormed and sketched, and came up with a classy design that I felt great about. Look closely to see all of the clever details. The client liked it, but didn’t feel that it fit them. (They directed the rest of the design concept, and we’ve come up with something that they are thrilled with but that you’ll never see in my portfolio). *smiling* As always, my end goal is the client’s 100% satisfaction, but I’ll display my favorite concept here:

Now, this last one is a logo, but it was a different scenario. Months ago, I designed a logo for a dance instructor’s blues studio. He loved it, so when his dance class (a tango and blues mix) needed a logo redesign, he came to me. He had some very rough versions of a logo that another designer had worked on, but they needed a… *ahem* face lift. I was up for the challenge! See the before and after logos below:

So there you have it! These projects represent only a fraction of the designs I’ve worked on since my lengthy absence from blogging, but they are some of my favorites. Thank you for reading, and if you’d like to see more of my design work, visit my website!

For years, people have asked me things like, “Did you really draw that?”, “Do you trace?”, and “How do you do it?”

Now, you have the answers, all wrapped up in a nice, neat 2-minute video! Enjoy, and take a little dance break if you feel the urge.

There will be many more of these to come, so I’d love for you to spread the love and share this on your own blog or Facebook page! Even Tweet it – you know you want to… *smile*

In the fall of 2008, while I was planning my wedding, a strong, courageous friend of mine was fighting for his life.

At age 34, Daniel Smith was vibrant, healthy, and full of promise. He was finishing medical school and running more marathons than I could count. He seemed to have his whole life ahead of him. On October 22, Daniel lost his 6-month long battle against squamous cell oral cancer.

I heard the news after coming back from my honeymoon. I know I cannot adequately describe how this news affected me, but I will try:

I experienced deep sadness, sympathy for his family and the painful sting of loss, all of which is to be expected. What I did not expect was to be confronted with the fear that Nate could be taken from me in a similar way.

Life was now fragile and unpredictable….fleeting. Of course, it always has been, but now I had this new person in my life that I wanted to hold on to so tightly.

For days, I considered the possibility of losing Nate. How would I be able to go on without this amazing man in my life? But this couldn’t really happen, could it? After all, God had given him to me; wasn’t that a guarantee that my next 50 years would be wonderful?

As naïve as that sounds, it really is how I felt. The evening I heard about Daniel’s passing, I was struggling to balance loving fiercely with a willingness to let go. Then something happened that I can only attribute to God’s leading.

I saw my next painting in my mind, as clearly as you are seeing it now on your screen. It was an image of a girl playing in the field with her father. He had just let go of her hand, and she was running away, but smiling back at him. I knew I was supposed to get it on canvas.

“Mine For a Moment” is my answer to the struggle. It’s my reminder that we must not love less in order to avoid the pain of potential loss. The people in our lives, our children, spouses, friends and family members, are here with us now, and “now” is really all we can hold on to.

Nate is “mine for a moment,” and in this moment I will love him completely, knowing that his life is not in my hands, but in the hands of his Creator, who has seen each of his days before even one of them began.

I hope you will share this painting with someone who may need to see it. It is dedicated to Daniel Smith and to little Sadie Isabella Stout, whose life ended just 9 days after it began. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those whose moments here on earth seemed too few.

Let me know if you’d like to be contacted when prints are available of this painting. (Update as of February 2010, they are now available!  You may visit the painting’s website to order or to donate: MineForAMoment.com.

See the painting on my website.

Below is an excerpt from Daniel’s blog. He wrote this less than a month after his diagnosis:

Sunday, May 11, 2008
Moments

Time isn’t grouped in days anymore. I am much more aware of moments. Some of those moments find me in high places warmly blanketed by the prayers of faithful family and friends. Other moments find me in sad disbelief as the majority of my body disagrees with the test results. Some moments find me thankful for evidence of God’s movement before the most dramatic challenges have even begun. Other moments find me terrified of the unknown.

But, if I truly believe Him, I can’t wallow in fear of the unknown. All of my unknowns have been known by Him since long before I was even born. He has not been caught off guard. He is ready, and He is more than able. A friend shared this verse earlier today: “Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9

Indeed, He is … and forevermore will be.

Occasionally, I just need to paint something that’s non-figurative and just appeals to my aesthetics. Below are fruits of my recent need to do just that! They are 12×16 paintings on wood panels. They will be what I expect to be part of a larger series, as the mood strikes me to paint more of them.

I am titling the series “Weathered Possibility,” because of the inherent potential behind any closed door. I’ve long been a lover of windows and doors, an interest that was given a revival as I roamed the streets of Italy and Slovenia a few summers ago. The rust, the cold feel of iron as you turn the handle, the creak of the hinges as you enter worlds unknown… Explore some today, open some doors and see what awaits you on the other side.

Please enjoy these paintings, and get in on a great opportunity to own them!

The pre-release price for the prints are only $165 framed ($95 unframed), and if you’re really quick on the draw, you can own an original for only double the price of the print.

I don’t expect the originals to be available for long.

Click here to see these paintings in my fine art gallery.

Click here to see your purchase options in my online store.

A client recently approached me with a special request: To revive an old photograph that meant a lot to her. The photo was water damaged, stained, and faded. She wanted it to have new life, but wasn’t sure if it were possible.

I set to work! With Photoshop, an hour of my time, and a little persistence, I was able to present her with a new photograph.

I love doing this type of work, so please contact me if you’d help with your own photographs. I can either send the revived photos digitally, or re-print them and have them mailed.

See another photo below that I recently restored of my Mom. This photo was taken back in 1974, and it was a joy to present this to her as a reminder of a wonderful day she had years ago:

I was recently commissioned to paint a lovely woman named Loma. She lived a long, happy life, and recently passed away in her 90’s. The family wanted to memorialize her in a painting, which will be displayed above the mantle in the grandchildren’s play room.

Loma was a vibrant, amazing woman, and had stunning blue eyes, porcelain skin, and high cheekbones. Sherry, my client, wanted the painting to depict Loma in her youth, and a traditional head and shoulders style portrait simply would not do!

Sherry provided me with several reference photos from the 1940’s, all black and white and showing signs of their age. I realized quickly that this portrait would be a challenging one, but I knew how important the project was. The photo we decided to use was of Loma sitting on an uneven bar in someone’s backyard. Sherry mentioned that Loma had always loved sunflowers, so it seemed fitting to have a field of the beautiful flowers in the background of the painting. I went on a search to find the perfect field – one that had a fence that we could place her on.

After selecting the reference photos, I used my Photoshop program and my graphic design background to lay out the composition and get Sherry’s approval before starting to paint. We agreed on details such as what color to make her skirt stripes, and whether she preferred a white fence or a natural one, and then the magic began…

I spent about 2 weeks working on this painting.  I was pleased with how it progressed, and enjoyed making decisions such as shadow placement, how to paint the sky, and what to do with the lower part of the fence and ground without reference material.

The end result: a 24×30 painting of a “moment in time” that never actually happened! The next time someone asks why they should invest in artwork rather than just printing a standard photograph on canvas (which seems to be quite popular these days), I’ll tell them the story of Loma and her sunflower field. 

It’s Good Friday!

As a child, I was perplexed by the name of this important day. Wasn’t it the day that acknowledges Jesus’ death? Jesus, who was sinless and pure, who deserved no death, but who chose it? Now I grasp how good this day really is. It’s a day that represents the death of our separation from God. Our sin separated us from our loving Creator, and Jesus’ death bridged that gap. We couldn’t do it on our own.

The miracle and power of this weekend, however, lies in Jesus’ resurrection. Had Christ remained on the cross, we would still be lost. But he didn’t. Jesus was buried, but rose to life on Sunday, and showed himself to over 500 witnesses before ascending to heaven. Amazing!

I recently completed a painting which embodies the spirit of Easter, entitled “Risen.” An empty cocoon hangs off of one side of the cross, and on the other side, a butterfly ascends toward heaven. It is red and white, symbolizing both the purity of Christ and the blood which has saved us. This Easter weekend, don’t let the miracle of Christ’s resurrection pass you by. “It is Finished” changed everything.

Please click here to see it larger.

This painting is available as a print in my online store.