One of my favorite color palettes is blue and white, so I was thrilled to discover that Sydney’s bridesmaids would be in light blue. The ceremony spaces were adorned with beautiful classic touches like blue ribbons and delicate ginger vases. As the sun peeked out from the clouds, white roses, hydrangeas, and carnations glowed in the afternoon light.

Sydney and Gavin wanted me to capture their dip kiss with the stunning Three Lakes Manor in the background. The architecture was breathtaking, resembling a castle standing proudly on green hills surrounded by water. I couldn’t wait to start painting! Sydney also wanted the green grass back, as it had been replaced by a gravel walkway. No problem—I agreed to paint it back in to match their vision.

I arrived at the manor a few hours before the ceremony to set up my easel and tables. The venue was buzzing with activity. I met Sydney’s sweet mom early on and spotted Sydney and her gorgeous bridesmaids during a photo shoot. The photographer was amazing, and the group of women was radiant. Sydney shone like a star, beaming with joy. I felt so blessed to be part of this. Gavin looked dashing in his black tux with a white boutonniere. They were the perfect pair.

The ceremony was heartfelt and meaningful, centered around the couple’s deep faith. I felt a connection with them as their family came forward to lay hands on them, offering prayers of blessings. It was a beautiful moment. God is so good!

The evening was filled with joy, laughter, and warm hugs. Sydney’s dear grandmother introduced herself to me, expressing her pride in her granddaughter, and I noticed the sweet tears in her eyes. These are the moments I cherish and never want to forget.

The dance floor was alive with happy dancing—the DJ was fantastic! The food was a masterpiece, both visually and in flavor. Every detail was lovingly crafted.

Check out this magical sparkler send off at the end of the night!

Please consider these wedding professionals if you are planning a wedding!
Venue, Planning & Coordinating: @threelakesmanor
Photography: @jessicagreenephoto
Videography: @grant.films_
Bride’s Attire: @ellejamesbridal
Groom’s Attire: Harry Mayor
Catering: The Silver Spoon
Flowers: @mmfloristandgifts
Bride’s & Groom’s Cakes: Tisha Ochenrider
Hair Stylist: @tcarroll44
Makeup Artists: @jordan.humphrey_hair.mu @harley_blake
Live Painting: @kittysmothersart

Love, 
Kitty

P.S. I have made personalized greeting cards and prints on paper available to the Goodman-Moffett families in my shop for a limited time!

In the cozy embrace of January, Hailey reached out to me, eager to capture the magic of her May wedding through my brush. That very evening, she picked my gold package, an 18 X 24” canvas, and we set off on this artistic adventure together. Hailey and Chris dreamed of their first kiss being immortalized on canvas under the graceful triangular arch at the charming Belle Farm in Sterrett, Alabama.

Though Sterrett was a new spot for me, its secluded charm, tucked away along winding country roads, was irresistible. I had already checked the weather, which predicted rain and thunderstorms, casting a shadow over the couple’s dreams. Determined to bring their vision to life, I hoped to outsmart the forecast’s whims.

When I arrived, I found Hailey glowing among her bridesmaids, her long auburn hair flowing like molten gold, and her champagne blush dress a picture of elegance. Our hug felt like the reunion of old friends. She shared that the wedding would move indoors, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. With a promise of artistic magic, I offered to paint them as if they stood beneath the arch, their dream alive on canvas. Hailey’s eyes sparkled with delight, and I reassured her of a beautiful day ahead.

As I headed to the reception space, I stepped into the rain, capturing quick images of the original ceremony site for inspiration. My hat became a trusty ally, hiding my rain-soaked hair.

Though the arch was bare of flowers, I teamed up with Heather from Once Upon a Bloom Florals, imagining the floral arrangements she would have created. Together, we painted a picture of blooms in my mind, ready to grace the canvas.

The ceremony unfolded with a tender intimacy. The flower girls, with petals like whispers, danced down the aisle, while each bridesmaid held a unique bouquet. Hailey and Chris exchanged heartfelt vows and rings, sealing their love with a joyful celebration.

Drawing from several photographs, I crafted the Moody wedding painting in about 5.5 hours, infusing it with the essence of their love. The couple’s happiness was a gift to my heart, and I left the painting with their family, cherishing the memories of laughter and connection shared with guests around my easel.

The staff at Belle Farm and the vendors were a delight to work with, their professionalism and warmth adding to the day’s magic. Wilson Weddings handled the entire day with elegance and grace.  I am eternally grateful for these wonderful encounters. Do explore the list below to discover these remarkable professionals.  

Venue: Belle Farm Events
Coordinator: Wilson Weddings
Photographer: Beautiful Gift Photography
Videographer: RM Capturez
Florist: Once Upon A Bloom
Band/DJ: Creative Entertainment
Bride's Cake: Belle Farm Events
Groom's Cake: Belle Farm Events
Bartender: Belle Farm Events
HAMUA: Catherine Hyche
Dress Shop: The Something Blue Shoppe
Live Painter: Kitty Smothers Art

I have made archival quality prints and greeting cards available for the Moody and Parker families in my shop for a limited time.  Click on the image to open the items. 

I pray mountains of blessings and express my sincerest thanks to this precious family and all involved in making their day perfect.

Kitty

Alexus and Cason’s wedding was a truly magical day that felt like it belonged in a fairy tale. The setting was stunning, nestled in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with vibrant flowers everywhere and a love that filled the air. I felt so lucky to be part of such a special event.

J&D Farms in Southside, Alabama, with a Gadsden address, is a charming place with an apple orchard, lush gardens, a carriage house, a Dutch-style barn, and more. The wedding took place in front of a rustic stone chimney, surrounded by oak trees and mountain stones, giving it an ancient and timeless feel.

What really stood out to me was the warmth and friendliness of the staff. They were ready to help me with my setup even before I got out of my car. Everyone I met was kind and joyful, making my job a breeze.  All family and friends were equally gracious and made me feel welcome and embraced.

After setting up my easel, paints, and tables, I couldn’t resist exploring the grounds. As someone who loves nature, I was eager to discover the farm’s hidden gems. Everywhere I looked, I found something amazing—a trickling water fountain among the trees, a barn with an antique car, and rock walls that seemed to tell stories of the past. I wandered over to the raised beds, which sparked my love for gardening. I even got a little startled when I stepped over a black king snake! 

This place was a painter's paradise! So much inspiration to go around.  I couldn't wait to get my brushes going!

I wasn't able to get the names of all the incredible vendors at this wedding but here are a few you definitely need to know:
Flowers by Ashley Kay & Co.
Photographer: J&D Farms
Makeup Artist: Emma Beck MUA
DJ: Chad Ellis
Wedding Planner/Coordinator: Felicity Jarmon

If I missed anyone, please reach out!

The couple asked that I paint them in front of the fireplace so I started painting in the background around 3pm. The whole time I felt like this was going to be a Beatrix Potter-esque painting - the farm alive with Spring!  They gave me full artistic liberty to choose the pose and I thought their first kiss was perfect.

I start all my paintings with a base color. It just helps ground the painting and I like the color popping through my brushstrokes.

The above was coming up on about the 3.5 hour mark.  I enjoyed the comments from the guests. They were encouraging me through every step of the process. 

By the end of the night, this was the completed painting, which I signed and left with the couple. I hope it brings them a lot of joy through the years. My husband picked me up at the end of the night with sweet tea and McDonald's fries waiting in the car. We call these our date nights.

Thank you so much to the Ashley and Honea families for letting me come paint for you!  It was truly a pleasure and I pray God's biggest blessings on you all!  I have set up some sweet gifts for you! Notecard sets and prints of your painting are available in my shop!

If you are a past live wedding painting client (and future), I can turn your painting into note cards and prints too!  Just email me and I'll be happy to set up a listing in my shop for you!

Love,

Kitty

Do you want to know the truth of being a creative person with LOTS of jobs?  My house doesn’t get the attention it needs.  And it’s embarrassing. I bit the bullet after stressing myself to death and hired a very sweet lady I just met to deep clean my house for me. 

I'm overwhelmed.  I work full time, I also teach online psychology part time. Then I paint portrait commissions, custom pieces for interior design and on the weekends I do live wedding painting.  On top of all of this I have been preserving and pressing wedding bouquets and funeral flowers for people.  My youngest child is involved in volleyball and we have a game at least once a week in the evenings.  My oldest is a busy college student.  I squeeze my marriage into there somewhere.  And we have had a two-year-long renovation project going on, on the weekends at our cabin on the river.  Church is a priority too.  It is A LOT.  But, thank God for this beautiful, busy life!

I struggle with a lot of guilt over not keeping my house “company ready.”  But all that other stuff mentioned above would never happen if I was also an immaculate housekeeper.  Priorities people.  But I can’t feel really free to create “all the things” in a messy house.  Friends, we can’t do it all.  Sometimes we need to reach out for help!  And that’s okay

I’m really considering scaling things back.  The plan right now is to turn over the floral preservation business to my oldest daughter.  I’ve been spending time with her, teaching her all the tricks of pressing flowers and working with resin so she can continue serving that clientele.  I believe she will do well.  She’s so smart and studious, talented and responsible.  I will finish out the projects I have waiting on me now (which is a list of nine) and then I will refer all customers to her.

What's Inspiring Me Lately

John and I took a little trip to New England for our 15th anniversary. The scenery, with the changing leaves was absolutely stunning!  I cannot wait to take our family back next year. Scroll through these photos if you need a little escape.  It definitely fueled my creative tank.

What I'm Listening To

John Denver and James Taylor
I’m an old, hippie soul.  John and I listened to John Denver and James Taylor on the drive home from Atlanta Monday night.  Sweet sounds to carry us home!

Sierra Ferrell
I like music that is more acoustic, roots-driven.  Sierra  is an American singer-songwriter and musician from West Virginia, whose music incorporates elements of folk, bluegrass, gypsy jazz, and Latin styles such as tango and calypso music.  Her voice and style are so interesting.  Enjoy her!

My Artsy Friends
The Pike County Art Guild is a local group of artists who meet to share their art, inspire one another and encourage the arts in our area (Troy, AL).  Our group is diverse and on Tuesday night we met to share joint projects we have been working on.  The projects started with one artists' work and ended with the second artist's interpretation of that piece.  These pieces will be available for viewing in an upcoming art exhibit at the Johnson Center for the Arts.

My heart is with the people who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene.  It is unimaginably tragic.  I pray for their healing, restoration, peace, and that God would spare as many precious lives as possible. 

They say the best things in life often take time. This story started twenty-seven years ago when I became a student in the Bachelor of Science, Studio Art program at Troy University.  I was fresh out of high school and I had taken the advice of my beloved high school art teacher who had told me, "Major in something you are passionate about."  Faith, family and art were top of my list so I walked through the art department doors at seventeen years old, a first generation college student.

I met the most fascinating students and instructors and thoroughly loved painting in the studio as much as possible.  I graduated in Fall 2001 and immediately began working full-time for the university in the University Records office.  That was twenty-three and a half years ago.  I later earned my Master of Science in Counseling and Psychology (Summer 2016) while continuing to work full-time.

,Fast forward to April 2024. I painted this canvas of a mother sheep and her lamb in muted tones and my friend Sherry DeBray put it for sale in her shop Halo Boutique and Gifts.  It just so happened that the First Lady of Troy University, Mrs. Janice Hawkins, bought that painting and then contacted me about purchasing more work.  In the end, it culminated with the university inviting me to display five paintings in their new Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences building.  You can read more about the amazing mission of the Center here.

Now, I'd like to introduce you to the artwork! The theme highlights my childhood spent playing and wandering in the beautiful agricultural fields of Pike and Bullock Counties of Alabama. 

The first large painting is named for my Pawpaw, Aubrey Earles, who had a garden every year where kids and grandkids helped sow and harvest. "Aubrey's Turnip Patch" has this very rustic, distressed finish on top of lots of hand-brushed texture.  It is reminiscent of the old, old stories told of generations of farming families who worked from sun up to sun down with pride in their work. The live oak is Southern living at it's finest and the rows are just starting to sprout green.  I love the time-worn look of this large one.

The second painting, entitled, "In Perfect Peace" features a tree-lined field spotted with white flowers. The paint runs wild from the trees to the foreground. My brush was so free to play and explore the canvas with acrylic paint and chalk pastels and sprays of water.  This field reminds me of the pasture behind my grandparents' house where we played a game of softball and preached to the cows.  I also grieved the death of my first known childhood friend here.  A lot of life's emotions were worked out under that hot, Summer sky.

"Sister's Sunflowers," perhaps my favorite in the series, was a learning experiment about softening the edges and seeing with dimming eyes. I used to take life so literal - and I approached my paintings with such a striving for realism. But life teaches lessons that challenge our deep-rooted belief systems. We have to work out our own relationship with the Creator. We have to work through the trauma of childhood until we can see the brighter hope before us.  One of my Facebook followers suggested the title/name to honor her sister and I love that someone found meaning in my painting.

It was the sky that drew me in when I found the reference picture for "When the Cicadas Call Me Home." I remember laying on top of my Daddy's nineteen eighty-something Ford truck cab, staring up at the sky one afternoon.  I made pictures in my mind of the cloud shapes. And so many evenings I marveled at the vibrant colors of the sunsets in rural Alabama. And then the sounds of the bugs - crickets and cicadas.  Those were the sounds that said that supper was on the stove, almost ready. So, I'd make my way back home.  There was a point that I had to "come back home" to really face the hard things and questions that emerged in my childhood.  I think we all do, if we want to grow. 

I get weepy when I see something really beautiful. I just feel so grateful and blessed to be standing in that moment. When our family traveled to Yellowstone National Park to see the mountains, when I first saw each of my babies' faces, when I flew in an airplane for the first time and spotted Horseshoe Bend, etc.  All of these sights overwhelmed me with emotion.  And I felt so connected to Father God.  Growing up in a Pentecostal church, it seemed like a Holy Ghost feeling.  I feel that way when I see the valleys and wide open spaces of home. Everything just feels safe, holy, sacred.  And so this painting was created with loose, flowing, playful strokes that invite the viewer to look beyond, into a place where the spirit is free to breathe and BE.

That's the condensed story of this series.  I look forward to painting more. If you've read this far then you really are a huge blessing in my life.  And I can't thank you enough. I thank Troy University and the International Arts Center for affording me this opportunity. 

The paintings will be on loan with the university for six months with the possibility of extending that time.  They are all available for purchase as well so please feel free to share a link to this post. And if you want to make a smaller investment, prints of these paintings are available in multiple sizes in my online shop!

Thank you, truly.
Kitty

My Dad is an artist and our home was chaotic growing up because he was a rock and roller and Mamma was a devout Christian and they were total opposites.  He struggled with drug addiction and she felt a lot of hurt and resentment trying to raise three kids in church without a lot of emotional support.  Our church was very charismatic and focused on a no-nonsense, Hell-fire and brimstone kind of God which felt scary and chaotic in many ways too.  I think I really dug into art because it was a way to have a connection with my Daddy and I later realized that it was an outlet of peace and escape.  I wanted to tow the lines of being both a good, Christian girl and able to relate to my father.

And because we lived far away from the city, my days were spent wondering around the woods and fields with my dog.  I had cousins to play with sometimes but I spent a LOT of time alone in nature.  I guess it’s no surprise that I’m an introvert. When I finally got my hands on paint, it opened a world of wonderment and a place to focus my energy.

Field paintings just bring me back to those moments of being 9 years old, hair in braids, everything was sunny and quiet and simple.  No one around me to demand anything of me.  Far away from the bad things. Just me wondering under the canopy of the trees or between rows of corn, with my trusty dog to protect me.  I could pretend so many wonderful things until daylight started sinking (and crickets started chirping) and it was time to make my way back to our little house that always sat too close to the road. 

It is nature that is always reliable throughout life. The sun will always rise up again. The trees will stand and greet you like old friends when you need a break from life.  While we are zipping about our busy corporate day jobs, in a world of concrete, nature is still out there waiting quietly to embrace us again. When we have time.  No matter what.

Nature just brings with it a spirit of peace and a reminder that the earth keeps spinning and the flowers keep blooming despite our big or small worries.  This is God's work: He's steady, dependable, a calm in the chaos.

What kinds of things do you find help you create peace in a busy season of life? I know many people are stressed and struggling right now.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. I have decided to start this blog back again (fresh) after a long hiatus.  I hope something I share will enrich your lives. I know you enrich mine!

Sincerely,
Kitty