Tree of Life

So it's a rough draft, but a breakthrough... I have struggled wanting to still do some fine art, wondering how I am I going to ever be able to paint, with these little ones around... impossible. By the time my last little one could be out of the house I could be 45. 17 years from now. That's too long. I've been trying to figure out how or what to do. Finally a few weeks ago I just had this thought of why do you have to paint? Art is not just paint on a canvas, you can still express yourself, your ideas, and thoughts in other mediums. I have come to love designing and scrapping on the computer. The things that are available and techniques are endless. It is exciting and I have been loving it, and yet I still feel like that there is more I should be doing than just designing and scrapping. So when the thought came that painting does not need to be the only answer, I suddenly thought of how I can still create and be artistic using all these new skills and knowledge that I have acquired. I can use tools that still let me paint similar to the real thing. I can use and play with photographs, with filters, textures, wording and fonts... I can print them onto canvas and add additional things to the canvas. It's my love of multi-media - I could really use it all. It was an real calming and reassuring thought, it gave me hope, desire and excitement to do something. So the other day the girls were going down for a nap, I had just finished reading about Lehi's vision of the tree of life, and decided to just play on the computer and see what I could do.. so this is the rough, more still needs done with it, but it's a start... a huge start in a direction I'm excited to go.