The Story of Chapter 3

“My life will begin when…”

“When I am no longer sick, I’ll…”

“One day we will…”

Before this beautiful collection of paintings and poetry is released to the world on November 10th, I want to share with you a deeper look at the inspiration behind Chapter 3, The Flower Harvest.

To the woman who is finding herself waiting for the next season, longing to be somewhere in the future, this chapter was created for you. 

A story about longing…

At twenty-two years old, just three months before saying “I do,” I was told getting pregnant would be difficult. A little over a year later, my dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at 56. Along with the sudden grief of his diagnosis came the internal pressure to start a family and give him the experience of grandchildren (a self-inflicted pressure to be clear). And so, we began the fertility journey of doctors and testing, always believing the best while unknowingly stepping into a long season of waiting. 

Now, at thirty, I still find an empty spare room down the hall, and my dad has significantly progressed down the path of this unrelenting disease. It’s not the happy ending, tie everything up in a bow, and tell of all the ways God moved the mountain kind of story. This is a story of genuine longing, a slow shaving and shattering of the heart because all is not right.

And yet, within this story…

There is also a story of goodness, of sunsets in the mountains and grand adventures living on the road. A story of celebrating family weddings and hearing nieces and nephews say my name for the first time. It’s a story of moving across the country and starting this wild adventure of becoming a full-time artist. 

Although I don’t understand why God sometimes says no to our desperate prayers, I do know there are seasons of living within our seasons of longing.

The Artwork’s Inspiration…

This year, as summer let down into autumn, I was once again enchanted by the darling experience that is fall in Tennessee. Here today and gone tomorrow, autumn in the south is a season of golden-hour hues and warm October days. It’s one of those experiences that gently pulls you into its arms, opening your eyes to simple romances like watching trees slowly drop their leaves. 

And as the season changed, I was struck with the realization of how often we spend our time dreaming, longing, wishing for things to be different while the life we have is passing us by. And every once in a while, a moment of fleeting beauty passes through—golden hour at sunset, that breath before the closing sonnet, the final dance of color before the world turns out its light for winter—and suddenly we are fully captured by the present, alive with anticipation. It is these moments, both large and small, that release us from our prisons of wanting to be somewhere or someone else. 

This concept of living in the present despite our longing is the heartbeat behind Chapter 3, The Flower Harvest. I wanted the artwork itself to capture this idea, so I chose to paint each piece Alla Prima using real flowers harvested and arranged by local flower farmers. I’ll share more in the Chapter 3 release about the significance of using Alla Prima, but note this detail is intentionally and romantically a part of this story. 

Until then, friends, life will always be a mix of longing and living. Make sure you remember to experience the living part too.