Something New (in my Etsyhood)

I received a special order for something this last week that had me all kinds of exciting! Someone wanted a 16x20 print of I Need Thee Every Hour. Let me tell you, that was intimidating!! Knowing that if there were any big mistakes or discolorations, it would be painfully obvious. But, I did it! And it turned out beautifully. So I made a decision!!

(this is the 16x20 next to an 8x10)

Each one page spread will be available in FOUR sizes- 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20. These are all still standard frame sizes, but the amount of white around the edges will vary. I've also streamlined my shipping and all prints are now $3.00 to ship. That is lowering the price of the bigger prints and staying the same for the price of smaller prints.


Also, I have a super exciting moment that happened a week or so ago. Most of you know that I'm on instagram (@geekgirlph). I follow a neat page called @faithmate and they did me an awesome favor and featured one of my pages!!! Do yourself a favor and go follow them! <3

There is Sunshine In My Soul

“A merry heart doeth good like medicine…”

-Proverbs 17:22

           

In 1890, There Is Sunshine in my Soul Today was first published in a collection of songs untitled The Finest of the Wheat. 128 years later, the cheerful words and message of the hymn still inspires.

In Robyn, this hymn inspired art. The painting that grew from these words was something new. Robyn had never painted a sunflower onto music before. Her first attempt wasn’t quite right. The petals were too small – the flower covered about a fourth of the page. Robyn decided she would paint large petals.

There is springtime in my soul today…

Vibrant orange and yellow spread across the music.

For when the Lord is near, the dove of peace sings in my heart…

The final result was a large sunflower spreading it’s petals to the corners of the page.

            The flow’rs of grace appear.

 This hymn is a joyous one. It speaks springtime, music, and sunshine - of the happiness to be found for those who have the peace of Jesus Christ in their lives. I asked Robyn what she felt about this hymn. She told me it was hard to express at the time because it was snowing outside. Robyn’s family had just come from three days of sunshine. (Spring in Utah!) Now that it was gone, they were feeling a bit let down. Robyn didn’t think she was telling me how she felt about this hymn – but I think she did.

            Sunflowers follow the sun. They are always facing the light. I don’t think it is a coincidence that this flower is the one Robyn painted onto this hymn. When dark clouds come into our lives, we can follow the light. We can follow a light even stronger than the one the sunflowers are forever seeking.

            There is sunshine in my soul today,

More glorious and bright

            Than glows in any earthly sky

For Jesus is my light.

            It isn’t luck that a hymn penned over a hundred years ago still inspires. It reminds us that even in the darkest skies, we can have the ultimate sunshine in our souls

~By Jenny, info about the hymns found in "Our Latter-Day Hymns- the Stories and the Messages" by Karen Lynn Davidson

To help tell the story....

One incredible thing I've learned from doing these paintings is that I have so much more support than I realized. Support has come in all kinds of ways- people spreading the word, giving me compliments, trading with me, giving me ideas, supporting my Patreon, and even filling in the gaps where I don't have the talents suitable to do what's needed.

Jenny is one of my biggest supporters! She is one I go to bounce ideas off of, to see how an image is REALLY looking (let's be honest, I don't love ALL my work), and writing. She's going to be writing many of these blog posts for me because she knows how to work magic with the written language. I send her a Marco Polo with what I'd like to say- just me talking- and she's able to take away from that what needs to be shared with the world.  So, without further ado, here is the story about Joseph Smith's First Prayer:

When Robyn listened to "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" she felt peace. She could see light and trees, she could picture the Sacred Grove. It made her want to sing. But she struggled with the notes. It hurt that she couldn't sing along with the music that meant so much to her.  She wanted to be able to help other see what she could see and to feel the peace she felt.

So, when she was inspired by old hymn books in the library, she decided to paint the music of that hymn. To Robyn, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" is "the epitome of loving music and not being able to sing."

"All I've ever wanted to do was give credit to the song."

The first time Robyn attempted to paint the music, it didn't come out as she had hoped. The color of the water-color pencils she used was too light to be seen. In the past, this may have been enough for Robyn to give up on the idea. But not this idea. She tried again - this time using water-color markers. It worked!

Be on the lookout for another version of this song coming soon.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

I gave a brief introduction to my business on my about me page, but I would like to give you a little more background about who I am and where I come from.

The basics: My name is Robyn, I'm the baby of 8 kids, and I have the best parents a girl could ask for. I had a good childhood. Nothing crazy traumatic or anything like that. I grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm so grateful for my whole childhood.

That's me, wearing the goose dress. Like I said, I'm the youngest of 8. The two other little kiddos in the pic are my niece and nephew. :D

Anyway- why is this relevant? Well, as you can see, there's a decent sized gap between me and my next oldest sister (on the left of my dad in the photo). My parents were awesome. I didn't have all the angry feelings towards my parents that so many of my friends during high school did. However, one things my parents definitely were was practical. I was undiagnosed ADHD (I wasn't diagnosed until I was 26ish), so my head was always a bit in the clouds. At our house, we did the important things first. The cleaning, the math, Gospel studies, and service were most important in our house, as they should be. My parents appreciated beautiful things, art, and music, but music was the most understood of all the arts. My mom played piano (I took lessons for a while) and sang. Our house was often filled with lovely music. Marvin Goldstein, Michael McClean, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Andrew Lloyd Weber were all very familiar names there. Another thing that dwelled in our home was the Spirit. My parents house always has been and still is a safe place to be. 

Miraculously, even with my ADHD, I always got good grades. Somehow between hours on the phone, chatting with my friends (Yahoo Instant Messenger, baby!!), and swooning over almost every boy that I ever met, I was still able to manage As and Bs. I honestly don't know how that happened. One thing I didn't have much of a chance to explore was the arts. I always wanted to take drama, but the drama teacher at our high school was known for being anti-Mormon. The main art teacher was his wife. I did take a drawing class in high school and it was a lot of fun. I have fond memories of that class. Even music wasn't something I participated much in. I didn't have the breath control to play wind instruments, the patience to practice piano, or the voice capabilities to sing, even in the general school choir.

This is me, far left, my Sr year. The other kid are more nieces and nephews (I have lots of them and they are freaking amazing people!!!) Also, Minnie Mouse.

I don't want you to feel like I missed out on everything, though. I had a LOT of fun those years. I had all kinds of friends, participated in Jr Miss, Service clubs, church stuff, yearbook, and all around just enjoyed my life. I still sketched now and then (mostly cartoons), checked out almost every "How to Draw" book from the library, and soaked in the music- occasionally even at the piano. ;)  I got to the point where I could draw hands decently (they are the only thing I could really practice with confidence, after studying my own hands and being mildly obsessed with ginormous rings).

After graduation, I headed to Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. Who knew that this is the place that would change my entire life?! Some of my roommates become my very best friends, and of course- I  met the man of my dreams!

Me and Roger, once we were engaged. Dang, we were young!

Now, those two things (the roommates and Roger) don't directly tie to art, but bear with me- it's easier to tell the WHOLE story. I finally took a drawing class, once I was married and pregnant with my first kid. Problem with that drawing class is that it pretty much just told me that I was wrong and every way of drawing was wrong. I hated that class. It took all the joy out of creating with my hands. I feel like I could have abandoned all art forms then and there. Except, Roger and I took a really fun art history class together that showed me that even if I couldn't create monumental pieces, there was beauty in every aspect of life. Turns out, I love Jackson Pollock paintings as much as any of the others. I learned not to close off my mind to enjoying art, even if it wasn't a talent of mine.

Luckily, I discovered other talents. Because of my ADHD, I could easily think outside the box and memorize things. I loved using my hands for things like crocheting and making small projects. I found I could paint, but only with acrylics and only on very tiny surfaces.... or so I thought.