My Secret Life as an Abstract Artist

I started this blog three years ago because I wanted to paint abstract art that looked good in farmhouse style homes. It took me three years, but I finally painted some paintings for our Waco Airbnb.

I am an artist who paints abstract art. Who knew! Previous to this job, I was a full-time artist. I traveled all over the country teaching art and art marketing workshops. I had a website, Instagram, a weekly podcast, blog and sold a lot of art. Three years ago I was watching my favorite show Fixer Upper and it occurred to me that there was hardly any art in the Fixer Upper homes. It was that day that I decided to start a new Instagram called My 100 Year Old Home. My goal was to build a following of about 5000 followers and then paint a collection of abstract art that would fit in farmhouse-style homes.

Ok. So it took me a little longer than I anticipated.

My Instagram @my100yearoldhome grew really fast and I jumped in with two feet. I never expected my new Instagram account My 100 Year Old Home would lead me to the best job in the world. Who knew I would find a way to make a living doing everything I loved to do? It was totally unexpected, and my art took a back seat. For quite a long time.

Until this week.

I made a promise to myself that I would paint some abstract paintings for our Waco home. I thought it was about time (three years later) that I painted the abstract art that would look good in a “Fixer Upper” home. Last week I spent a few days on our porch painting two abstract paintings. I have to be honest though, I was nervous because I hadn’t painted AT ALL in over a year. (I just didn’t have time with the crazy hours I was already working). What if I had forgotten how to paint?

Fortunately, I had a blast and I love the two paintings I created for our Waco home.

So why do I paint abstract paintings? For years I painted seascapes and still life paintings with oils and a palette knife. But I became bored and was tired of painting the same thing and what everyone else was painting. I eventually started painting abstracts and I loved it. And just so you know, painting abstracts is way harder than painting oils.

Here are two progress photos of the first painting I created. (It’s the square painting.) I could have left it like this and been very happy. But I wanted to add some lighter colors to soften how it looked in our home.

I am sorry I didn’t take any more progress photos. I was way too absorbed in the creation process.

I painted the second abstract with bolder colors and I love it.

I have an art website if you want to take a look at some of my older abstract art paintings. One of the projects I am most proud of is my Project Runway Collection. A few years ago I painted 30 Paintings in 30 Days. I know. It was crazy.

My inspiration for these thirty paintings was one of my favorite shows, Project Runway. I selected thirty of my most memorable Project Runway designs and used them as the inspiration for a painting. I call them “most memorable” because some of them I didn’t like, but they were so crazy that I had to include them! You can see those thirty “Project Runway” paintings here. How many of these outfits do you remember from the show? 

So what’s next? I have three more canvases and all of my paints stored in Waco. Next time I am in town, I want to paint some more abstract art, in a different color palette, for some of the bedrooms. 

If you go to my art website you can visit if you want to see some of the things I have created. The paintings are for sale and once they are sold it’s likely they won’t be replaced. But who knows! I really enjoyed painting again and I might need to carve out some more time to paint.

So what do you think?