I’m Alissa, the artist behind the watercolor here at Art Reflects Light. I just wanted to take a minute to introduce myself without the “officialness” of actual artist’s bio.

Like many artists, I have loved to draw and paint since I was little. The earliest watercolor painting session I can remember was being outside painting the tulips in my family’s flowerbed at 5 years old. Growing up in South Florida with an encouraging creative family who brought me to art museums and galleries was a blessing! Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers, Edgar Degas’ charm, Romero Britto’s enthusiasm, and Howard Behren’s glowing colors all impacted me and inspired me over the years.

I explored colored pencil and pastel and admiring the elusive watercolor from afar, attempting a painting here and there. Work in graphic design and photo editing satisfied my need to create as I married, built up a homestead, and began our family.

After years of struggling with Lyme disease and epilepsy, I hit a very low point while pregnant with my 4th baby. Barely able to leave my house because of my health, I was drawn to the ethereal beauty of watercolor and decided that if determination couldn’t heal me, it could at least make me a good watercolor artist! I began getting up before my children to paint in the mornings, using watercolor as a way to find joy and work through trials in the hard season I was in. Many of those early watercolor paintings ended up as note pages glued into my Bible with record of what I was learning and studying.

Fast-forward a bit more and that 4th baby is happily toddling into my new art studio next to my bedroom, followed by the rest of the family who enjoys checking what I’m up to while they are napping! I’m a stronger, more joyful woman, wife, and mom because of my painting.

When not painting you can pretty much always find me in my element at home with my family! Our 11 acre homestead built from the rocky ground up is filled with memories of planting fruit trees, berries, gardens, and veggies. Inside, my half- finished paintings grace the table so I can ponder them as we homeschool, cook/clean, and homemake during the day. Free time will find us together, working/playing outside, riding along the country backroads in our golf cart looking for deer, horses, cows, and tractors, or reading and singing as a family. Occasionally I’ll remember I enjoy other creative hobbies like quilting, scrapbooking, photo editing, or escaping into a good book.

And that’s all I have to say. Because my kids are up from naptime. Follow @artreflectslight on Instagram or check back to see what new projects we’re up to this spring!