While I can't believe we're already well into 2022, I would be remiss to not take time to count the blessings that 2021 brought to my art studio. I wanted to document in this space all of my favorite paintings that came out of last year!

After attending a workshop in September, I came back refreshed and equipped with many new techniques that allowed me so much more FREEDOM in my work. While I'd painted landscapes before, I found a new sense of comfort and familiarity in creating new landscapes in October. "Look Up," pictured below, is my favorite landscape to date.

I attended the "Flower, Flower, Land, Sky" workshop hosted by Lynne Millar, Erin Spencer, and Claire Tollstrup. I would recommend it 100 times over to anyone wanting to improve their craft, meet other beautiful women artists, and have an adventure of a lifetime.

The following paintings were part of my "Flower, Fruit, & Field" collection that launched in November 2021. I've never had so much fun in my life creating a collection - every day was a new choose-your-own-adventure style of process for me, and I just got to embrace play and exploration.

Michelle Boyd Studio - Art - Impressionist - Still Life - Oil Painting - Look Up

Earlier in the spring of 2021 I released the Stroll Collection. This series was inspired by our family strolls with our daughter around the neighborhood. (We call them strolls to not further confuse our nutso dog, who goes berserk when she hears the word "walk.")

Possibly my most beloved collection from 2021 was the Gather Collection. I'd found the most swoon-worthy blooms at a local flower shop in preparation for, what was in my mind, the most exquisite and complex centerpiece. (I'm still recuperating from my days as a fine art wedding photographer, ok?) I had each type of flower arranged in different vases as part of the preparation process, and thought, "This is how I love flowers in my own home- simply styled in gathered groups. I wish I could just paint that... so why don't I?!!" Out the window went the complicated centerpiece, and simple, gathered blooms took center stage.

These paintings were each an intense, long, and painstaking labor of love, but my favorite part were the stories. As I created and shared bits of the process on Instagram, stories began flowing in from many of you about how certain blooms bring back memories of long-lost loved ones, grandmothers' gardens and their legacies, or simple moments with tiny family members. I was touched and honored to be the recipient of these stories, and it bolstered me on through the final days of adding each realistic detail to every painting.

There are dozens of more paintings that are dear to me from last year, but all these pictured just take the cake. A special thanks must also go to my first studio manager, Madeline, for her years of incredible help as my right-hand gal. She is crushing it in the photography world, and it brings my heart so much pride and joy to see her thriving. Kaitlyn has since stepped in as my new studio manager, and I am so grateful for all the ways she's brought joy and creativity into this space!

I have a handful of dreams for the kind of work coming this year, and am grateful to you for being along for the journey. To God be the glory for everything.

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Hannah B.

Apr 13, 2022

We’ve never met, but I’ve been following you since you were a wedding photographer and swooning over first your photography and then your artwork! I have one of your gorgeous large prints framed in my living room and have to say every detail about the way it arrived and your cards was exquisite. Your love for the Lord and appreciation for His creation is well-captured and recreated in paint form. Just wanted to say thank you and wish you a blessed 2022!