Welcome to Krystal's Blog!!!

I love to write, teach, and paint!  I am so excited we have found each other!  Are you an artist or do you just love art!  I think we may find that we have a lot in common!

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Krystal Nanette Cooper Meldrum.  I am 40 years old and I am a happily married artist to my high school sweetheart Jeremy Meldrum and we have 6 beautiful children in Payson, Utah.

I graduated in 2001 from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration.  I love to paint very colorful, fantasy paintings that have powerful motion and rhythms.  My dream is to create art that teaches, enlightens, and inspires!

I put my art on a shelf for several years when my children were young so I could train them to run the house when I was ready to start painting again.  I got myself and my family organized and built a home organizing business which may help you get organized as well at www.house-organization.com.  I love organizing because it opens up time to paint!!!

Finally, 2 years ago I started painting again! 

At first, I was scared.  I hadn't painted for years.  What if I'd lost my talent?  What if my family couldn't support my dreams?  What if my children became vagabonds because they're mom became a famous artist!  Anyway, you can probably tell I am a worrier (and a little nutty.)

Anyway, I found strategies to paint that I would like to teach you - even if you have a busy life as a mother, caregiver, employee, business owner, student, etc. 

You can paint! 

You can draw. 

And it can bring you a lot of joy and satisfaction!

Here's my first tip!  Sketch or Paint 15-20 hours a week and log it on an logging app on your phone or keep track in a notebook.  15-20 hours a week may seem crazy, but it's surprisingly doable!  Keep track of your hours for 90 days. 

When I started logging my hours, I found that by Friday usually I'd only painted 5 hours so I started carrying my sketch bag with me all day Saturday and I'd somehow get my 15 hours finished! 

Always carry a sketch bag with you is my other tip! 

I remember one week my son said, "Mom, you have painted 60 hours this week!  I am struggling and I think I will have psychological damage.  I need you to clean my kitchen!"

I listened to him and wondered, 'did I really paint 60 hours this week?'  I checked my log. 

I calmly responded, "Son, I only painted 17 hours this week.  I've been home the whole time and I think you are going to be ok.  Go and clean the kitchen."  He wandered out of the room and cleaned the kitchen.

BooYah!!!  I am a mom and I can have a LIFE!!!  I can do something for myself and the house will not fall apart!  I became a lot happier developing my talents and my children eventally, were happy that their mom was more happy too!

So, remember my tips:
1-  Log your sketching hours for 90 days
2- Always carry a sketch bag with you wherever you go!

Your friend,
Krystal Meldrum
The Color Dancer

P.S. How do you accomplish your talent hours?

Krystal Meldrum

I have always loved to draw and paint, but I was the eldest child in a family of 11 children so I often needed to put my art aside and help my family. When I went to junior high and high school I was ready to learn how to become a real artist, but I didn’t get the fundamental tools I needed.  I felt like a bird in a cage that couldn’t give voice to my artistic dreams. I married my high school sweetheart Jeremy Meldrum and graduated from BYU with a BFA in Illustration. Finally, when I finished college I had the tools I needed to create!  

Once again I put my art dreams on a shelf for 15 years so I could raise my own 6 children.  I am the proud mother of 1 daughter and 5 sons.  I kept my creative self alive all those years by writing in 20 different journals, scrapbooking, and becoming the Organized Queen Bee who teaches moms how to organize their homes and families at www.house-organization.com.  Now that my children are older, I paint 15-20 hours a week.  Finally, my dream to paint has taken flight!  Please check out my art on www.krystalmeldrum.com where prints are available and merchandise are available on www.society6.com/krystalmeldrum