Nauvoo Temple Painting is Accepted

 Nauvoo Temple - 10x20

Oil on Canvas

Copyright 2012 Dena McMurdie

It's official! I received a letter this morning from the Museum of Church History and Art stating that my painting Nauvoo Temple passed the second round of judging and will be displayed in the 9th International Art Competition.  I am absolutely thrilled!  I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

If everything goes according to plan, then I will be able to attend the opening reception which will take place on March 16th.  The awards ceremony will be at 6:00pm at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square and a reception will follow at the Church History Museum until 9:00pm.  The exhibit will remain open through October 14, 2012, and will be online at www.lds.org/museum starting March 17, 2012.  Some entries will also appear in Church publications like the Ensign, Liahona, and Church News.

If you are able to come to the opening reception, I would love to see you there!

It's a Crazy Ride

In light of the popularity of my "Nauvoo Temple" painting, my entire ideas for my artwork have shifted.  Galleries and exotic mountain art auctions don't hold the same appeal for me anymore.  I feel like I'm on the edge of something great, something fantastic.  I'll let you know when it happens.  Or maybe I'll just post the great and fantastic something as I work toward it.

What I Love About Being a Mom

As my faithful blog readers will know, I am a mother to two little girls.  I stay home with them and paint ever spare minute I get.  I absolutely love staying home with my kids.  Not too long ago, I accidentally applied for a job as a Google Doodler.  I say accidentally because I didn't intend to apply.  I met the wife of a Googler that happened to know the designer in charge of hiring a new Doodler.  She gave them my information.  While I was flattered that they might actually consider me (I mean, it's GOOGLE! I have always wanted to work there), I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my kids at daycare. 

I love being with my kids every minute of every day.  That may sound strange to some people, but believe me, I have really nice kids.  Take today, for example.  I got to do my girls' hair this morning, then we read through all our library books before heading down to take them back. We spent a nice hour or so browsing books and picking out titles.  My four year old has just discovered Roald Dahl and was very excited to check out some more of his stories.  Then I let them play in the kid section for a bit.  We came home and had crepes for lunch.  It was a fantastic disaster of batter, nutella, bananas, and whipped cream.  Then baby #2 went to bed for a nap while baby #1 stayed up and played GO FISH with me. 

Sometimes I feel sorry for my husband that he has to go to work all day while I get to play with the kids.  It isn't always cupcakes and roses, but I sure wouldn't trade it.  

Nauvoo Temple Has Shipped Out

I shipped my Nauvoo Temple painting out this morning.  Usually, I don't get too attached to the artwork I create.  I know that I will have to give it up and so I purposefully try to keep an emotional distance from my paintings once they are completed.  I was not successful this time.  I was all sniffles as I carefully boxed up my newly framed painting and got it ready to ship. 

Please don't think I am horribly strange for getting teary eyed at shipping off my painting.  I never have before, but there was something about this one that I just have a hard time letting go of.  One thing is for sure - I will be ordering myself a nice canvas print for my own wall! 

Now it is just a matter of time before I will know if my painting of the Nauvoo Temple has been accepted into the 9th International Art Competition.  I will be holding my breath!

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had a fabulous holiday season!  I sure did.  I spent a couple of weeks hanging out with my husband and children.  We got out of the city for a few days and traveled to Monterrey Bay.  We drove down Big Sur, visited the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and cruised along the 17 Mile Drive.  We had a wonderful time and it was great to spend some quality time with the kids.

 













I also made a large list of resolutions that will hopefully remain unbroken throughout the upcoming year. Some of my resolutions included getting more regular exercise, spending more quality time with my kids, painting like crazy, and editing a novel that I wrote for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). What are your resolutions this year?

Merry Christmas!

Since I won't be posting anything from now until after New Years, I thought I would give you your Christmas present a couple days early.  It is a coupon code for 15% off a $99 order at Pictureframes.com.

Enter code ST12A99 to receive your discount.

I just ordered a frame from them and was extremely pleased with the results.  It was exactly what I wanted, the quality was excellent, and they even included all the hardware to hang it! I am extremely happy with my purchase.  They even have a feature where you can upload a digital image that you can see it framed before you buy.  It is custom framing at its best without the custom prices.


I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Nauvoo Temple Prints Available

Nauvoo Temple Giclee Print - 10x20 

Copyright Dena McMurdie 2011

$40.00 

($3.00 shipping)