Just like fiber art, paintings tell a story. A story that may only be known in the mind of the painter. Or, maybe that story is visible to the viewer, yet open to the viewer's own interpretation.  I have been painting since I was a child - I vividly remember the Holstein cow that I painted in elementary school while studying Robert Louis Stevenson's poem The Cow and the realization that my cow looked much more polished than my peers. One day I will add a photo of my cow painting to this webpage. 

I first fell in love with water color, then acrylic, then oil painting. Now, I enjoy a multimedia painting approach, often applying oil paint over various water mediums, and occasionally adding paper or fabric collage. 

In May of 2024, I retired after 30 years in art education. I immediately began a serious focus on painting.  Since I will soon have my own in-home spacious art studio, I am turning much of my creative focus to painting and also incorporating a multi-media approach that mostly centers around painting. Below are some of my paintings from the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. You can email me at drtrinaart@gmail.com to inquire about purchasing a painting or commission work.  

I have always been someone 

who loved flowers. 

My earliest memories of flowers were the Lilacs and Roses in our front yard when I was growing up in western Kansas and the Sunflowers that were everywhere! We did not have an air conditioner in our home when I was growing up and we slept with our windows open. In the early summer, the scent of lilacs filled my room all night long and lulled me to sleep. I can still smell them! 

And, I vividly remember my grandmother's Iris flowers and my other grandmothers beautiful flower garden, and especially her Daffodils. 

I often buy myself flowers . . . because I love to have them on my desk, in my studio, on my kitchen island, or anywhere in my home! Miley really knows what she is singing about! My family also knows I love flowers and they usually appear for holidays and birthdays. My own Texas yard has been filled with flowers since 1984. 

They are, indeed, tethered butterflies! 

Their beauty is joyous!

I am currently painting in a temporary studio, but my studio by the creek will be finished in June of 2025. I'm eager to move into my new and large studio - the first one I have had in my own home. You can follow the building progress on my Instagram, Artist by the Creek. 

Vibrant Series: Happiness in a Vase, #412-24

Oil over acrylic on wood block. 12"x16".  1" cradle. $295.00. 

(Once it dries, the white box will have a quote painted in it. "I can buy myself flowers.")

Vibrant Series: Happiness in a Vase, #413-24

Oil over acrylic on wood block. 12"x12". 1" cradle.  $275.00.

(Once it dries, the box will have a quote painted in it. "I can buy myself flowers.")