art

A Complete Life of Color

December 12, 2025 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

I can’t remember a time when art hasn’t been part of my life. It’s always been more than just a hobby—it’s been a way for me to make sense of things that words can’t really explain. It taught me how to slow down, give details the attention they deserve, and prioritize quality over just a completed product.

Learning these qualities helped with my perfectionism. I have a desire for excellence that honestly isn’t always healthy and threatens to turn my hobbies into chores. But art taught me to enjoy the process rather than fixating on getting everything perfect. The more patient I was with myself and the process, the more I could enjoy creating and developing my skills.

The lessons I learned through my paint, canvas, colored pencils, and sketchbooks served as metaphors for life. Through the application of color, I learned to appreciate the whole spectrum of human experiences. I can apply that artistic mindset to every challenge and triumph. That perspective helped me realize that just as I use complementary colors like yellow and purple to create depth, life is built on that same principle of contrast and opposition.

But it’s a lot easier to understand this principle than to live it. Opposition isn’t just something that we must endure—it’s a fundamental truth that has existed since the beginning of time. The world needs night to have day. Animals graze, and predators prey on them. Summer gives way to winter. Life guarantees we’ll face opposition, and the wise understand that struggles are actually a gift, that enduring hardships helps us live a richer life.

Good artists know that complementary colors create depth because they’re opposite each other on the color wheel, making them more vivid when placed side by side. Life works the same way—if we never experience the deep purples of sorrow, we can never fully appreciate the brilliant yellows of joy. Without one, the other loses its meaning. A life carefully sheltered from hardship might feel safe and comfortable. Some might argue that it is not worth the risk of another failed relationship, trying out for the team again, or taking a chance that might result in pain, but I invite you to appreciate your heartbreak. A person who avoids all adversity can’t fully experience the depth that struggle makes possible.

The next time sadness comes—and it will—try to resist shaking your fist at it or rushing past it. Instead, take time to feel it. Notice what emotions are moving through your heart and soul. With time, something good will eventually happen. One day, someone good will come around, you’ll make the team, or you’ll triumph in some way. Your spectrum will be complete, and you will live a life full of all the best colors.

In contrast to your previous sadness, this good thing will illuminate your soul in a way that shallow pleasure never could. There’s no replacement for that happiness—the joy that comes from emerging through genuine sorrow.

I’ve walked through my share of dark valleys. I felt the grief of my friend’s drowning, and the loss of my grandfather when I was thousands of miles from home. Each brought intense pain—the deep purples and blues of my emotional spectrum. Yet the worst moments of my life were when I shut down completely, and my spectrum converted to grayscale.

By the end of my senior year, the numbness from school pressures and responsibilities had turned into creative burnout. I was making art for portfolios and grades—not because I was inspired or excited to do it. Each piece was assigned to me, so every brushstroke seemed forced. I wasn’t connected to my work anymore. My art, which had taught me about patience and joy, had become just another source of stress. During that time, I felt nothing at all. Not sadness, not joy, not even anger—just a dull gray that stretched across my landscape. I would have given anything to feel sadness again, to feel anything. I needed to know I could still feel. I pleaded with God, “Please just let me cry again.”

I learned that even the darkest colors are necessary. My struggles were specific to me and my journey, and they became essential preparation for what came next.

At the beginning of summer, a friend asked me to paint his copy of the Book of Mormon. It felt like an epiphany. It was a way for me to step back into art, to use one of my talents to serve other people. I made an Instagram post offering to paint custom copies of the Book of Mormon for friends who’d received mission calls, and I got a lot of excited responses.

When I paint those books, I make them as specific as possible to each person so my friends know they mean something to me. For one of my friends serving in New Mexico, I painted the state flag, with hot chili peppers and colors that capture that New Mexico vibe. For my friend who had won the state championship in a track-and-field relay with his teammate—who was also called to the same mission in Australia—I painted a hand exchanging a baton over two different books. When you put them together, you get the whole picture, all in Australia’s colors.

The Spirit prompted me to write a letter to one of my friends in his book. He later texted me, saying, “That message really meant a lot to me. I was going through a really hard time.”

I may never know how much receiving a painted book truly means in the moment. I’m sure my friends are grateful and think it’s cool. But I hope they realize later that it came from my desire to serve my Lord. As the scriptures say, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” I serve others because I love Him and because I love the people I’m serving.

I learned that darkness is necessary in life and art, and that creating without purpose and intention makes the process feel incomplete. Because I knew what it felt like to be disconnected from my gifts, I now treasure the connection between creativity and service. The gray numbness I experienced helped me recognize color and feeling as sacred gifts. The contrast is what makes it meaningful—the purple makes the yellow more brilliant.

Painting those books didn’t just reignite my love for art. It taught me, in the most tangible way, what it means to live a Christlike life—to embrace the full spectrum as He did. Christ is my ultimate inspiration for creating art and living fully. He is the first creator and encourages us to be creators as well. He is the light and the life of the world. His birth brought light, and his death brought darkness. He taught us that sadness is often the price we pay for lasting joy, and that the contrast itself is sacred.

That’s how you live a beautiful, full-spectrum life. It’s actually pretty simple—but simple in a grand way, as all profound truths are when you take everything else away. Not by avoiding the hard colors or muting them, but by embracing them as essential parts of the complete picture. When you do, you discover that the contrast isn’t just bearable—it’s beautiful, and it’s what makes life worth living.

Aidan Pehrson

Aidan Pehrson is a track-and-field athlete competing for Snow College. In addition to running, he enjoys painting, boating, surfing, and spending time with friends and family. He plans to leave on an LDS mission this summer.

Val Bagley: Precious Things of Every Kind

August 23, 2024 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

Shortly after moving from our Utah home and settling near the Idaho/Wyoming border, I entered the Star Valley Temple with my husband and was greeted by a humble-looking man in a white suit, who scanned my recommend and welcomed me to the House of the Lord. I glanced at his tag and recognized his name right away.

“Val Bagley?” I said. “The artist?”

He gave me a small smile, said yes, and indicated which way I should go to find the changing room. The message was loving and clear—we were there to serve the Lord, not to chat about our outside lives or careers. Later, when my son served as a missionary in the temple, Brother Bagley was his shift leader, and continued to set a positive example of service and dedication to the task at hand. I did, however, have the chance to talk to him about his career on another day.

In 1978, the New Era magazine featured a cartoon drawn by LDS artist Val Chadwick Bagley. It was the first of more than a thousand cartoons he would draw for both the New Era and the Friend over the next 46 years, beginning an unexpected career.

“Pretty much most of my life, I’ve known what I wanted to do for a living,” he said on the occasion of his fortieth year in the industry. “I just didn’t know it would be drawing for the Church.”

His very first piece of art to be recognized in a Church magazine was actually published in the Friend when he was seven years old, but he threw his copy of the magazine away because he felt he could do better.

While serving as a missionary, he was assigned to be the mission public relations director, and he used his talents to fulfill this task. He drew pictures of visiting general authorities and illustrated the mission newsletter, and it was during this time that his first “official” drawing was accepted by the New Era, and he burst onto the scene.

Whether or not you’re familiar with his name, his unique art style sets him apart and makes him immediately recognizable. His characters have a youthful look—wide eyes, rounded angles, and stylized hands and feet. Those characters point out some of the gentle humor to be found in our church—always appropriate to the moment, never mocking, but recognizing that we do have funny moments as a people and celebrating that humor through art.

“My cartoons may be gospel-related, but they don’t have anything really to do with the gospel itself,” he shared. “For the most part, my cartoons are about people living the gospel, not the actual teachings themselves. I already know the New Era would never print a cartoon that made light of sacred things, which I wouldn’t draw anyway.”

Although starting as a magazine cartoonist, Val has since published several children’s picture books on a wide variety of topics, and also card games for LDS families. He does all this from a studio set in the peaked-roof attic of his house in Wyoming, where I was privileged to visit about a year ago with my family. The walls and the ceiling are covered with pieces of his original art, both published and some in various draft stages. His drawing table faces a window that looks to the east toward the mountains; not only a source of light for his work, but inspiration for his art. His home is just as bright and cheerful as his cartoons, decorated in a vintage fifties’-era style that’s both whimsical and inviting, exactly the sort of home you’d imagine an artist to have.

He has achieved success in his chosen field now, but after returning from his mission, he struggled to know if art—particularly cartooning—was the path he should pursue. He attempted college, but they weren’t teaching the things he wanted to learn, and his instructors encouraged him to give up and turn his attention to “serious art.” One day, while reading the Book of Mormon in the temple waiting room, he opened to Helaman 12:2:

Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art . . .

The word “art” stood out to him, and he recognized that yes, there was a place for him and his unique talent. He had been drawing labels for cheese, but with this newfound conviction about his purpose, he approached Covenant Communications with the illustrations for a coloring book, which was published in 1992, and he continues to publish with them to this day.

I asked Brother Bagley what advice he would offer to artists hoping to break into the field. He laughed and said that he’s still trying to make it big himself and could use a little advice as well, but he offered the following tips:

Practice, practice, practice. “Although I’ve always loved to draw cartoons, it took years and years of practice,” he said. “I would copy other cartoons that I liked and admired (Snoopy, mostly) until I developed my own drawing style.”
Draw consistently. “I kept four cartoon journals on my mission (one for every six months), and that is when I really refined my drawing style.”
Discover your intention. “I’ve never been a ‘doodler.’ I draw with purpose. My cartoons usually are telling a story or mean something. I don’t just draw to draw.”
Keep going despite rejection. “I’ve illustrated/written over 100 books which have sold over 1,000,000 copies, but I still get rejected 75% of the time.”

My biggest takeaway from my time spent with Brother Bagley is the importance of seeking the Lord’s partnership whenever we undertake a piece of art meant to glorify Him or teach others about Him. Val Bagley is a humble man who speaks often of prayer as part of his creation process, and truly, when we do things in the way the Lord would have us do them, we can’t help but inspire those around us.

Tristi Pinkston

Tristi Pinkston is the mother of four, the wife of one, the author of one hundred and seventy-five, and the editor of oodles. She serves as the chairman of the board for the Bear Lake Arts Council and participates enthusiastically (if not with utmost skill) in their theatrical productions. She is currently the editor-in-chief for the resource library here on the LDSPMA website. You can learn more about her on her website.

Top “Quali-tee”: Launching a T-Shirt Design and Printing Business

July 26, 2024 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

Alexa and Eric Allred are the dynamic duo behind the hip and successful Gem Rose Design Company. As a stay-at-home mother, Alexa found herself with spare time during her children’s preschool hours. She decided to use this opportunity to learn how to make personalized T-shirts for her young family. Meanwhile, her husband, Eric, began refining his art and design skills—a passion he’d developed in college but temporarily stowed away to focus on fatherhood and a demanding career in marketing. With Alexa’s eye for detail and Eric’s artistic skills, they now run a well-oiled machine. However, their journey has not been without challenges. Through years of trial and error, they learned valuable lessons they now share with creators looking to start a T-shirt design business of their own.

Hone Your Digital Design Skills

Eric transitioned from traditional markers and paper to digital graphics using the Procreate app on an iPad, teaching himself to use the program through online tutorials and YouTubevideos. Procreate uses natural media simulation, like painting with a standard paintbrush, to create pixel-based art. This step-by-step approach helped him make a smooth transition to digital design.

For higher-resolution designs, Eric made the switch to vector-based graphics. Vector images can be blown up without losing quality, making them ideal for signage, logos, and T-shirt design. Vector-based art involves manipulating points and curves instead of freehand sketching. He began using a limited vector software called Vectornator (now Linearity), then moved to Adobe Illustrator. To help make the switch from traditional brushstrokes to vector shapes and lines, Eric challenged himself to copy standard designs and logos to create graphics that remain sharp on any scale.

Understand which files to use when saving your designs. PNG files are raster files made up of pixels. They maintain high resolution while supporting transparent backgrounds, but enlarging them can stretch and blur the image. JPEG files are also pixel-based. They are often used for images on websites and digital platforms but lack the transparency feature crucial for T-shirt printing. The image will usually print on a white square background. Lastly, SVG files are preferable for T-shirt designs, as their vector-based nature means they can be enlarged without the blocky appearance of pixelated images.

Choose a Method to Transfer Your Image

Vinyl: Alexa began by using a Silhouette electronic vinyl cutter to create simple designs. However, cutting and weeding (removing extra material from negative spaces) was time-consuming and impractical when fulfilling large orders.

Heat Press: heat press transfers use a thin, paint-like medium printed onto transfer paper. The flexible material melds onto the shirt upon application via heat and pressure. However, this method requires bulk orders with a minimum quantity of shirts featuring the same design to keep costs manageable.

Sublimation: sublimation printing offers an option that doesn’t require a minimum print run. The technique involves transferring ink onto a film that remains wet until pressed onto the shirt, resulting in a vibrant and durable design. This process is limited to 100% polyester fabric, and the T-shirt must be white or light-colored.

DTF: Direct-to-film printing allows for more fabric and color options. Ink is printed onto a film material coated with powder and baked, creating a protected layer pressed onto the shirt. Many different designs can be printed on a single gang sheet, a long roll of film priced based on the square inch. Alexa has found this method to be ideal.

Devise a Marketing Plan

Alexa first began selling T-shirts at craft fairs, where she prepared thirty designs, including seasonal/holiday themes and year-round options. She brought her heat press, along with a selection of blank shirts of various sizes. Attendees could browse the designs, choose their favorite, and select a shirt color from the available options. She would then press the design onto the shirt. While a good portion of the shirts remained unsold, selling at craft fairs helped her gain visibility in the community. Handing out business cards and engaging with attendees allowed her to spread the word about the business.

Additionally, personal connections played a significant role in their marketing efforts. Through word of mouth, particularly from friends, family, and acquaintances, they attracted a steady stream of custom orders. Many of these orders came from people they knew through various aspects of life, such as sports teams, dance studios, or educators. Eventually, their customer base expanded beyond personal connections.

They now advertise their designs on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. They use a “drop” marketing technique, offering specific designs for a limited time. For instance, during their “Easter drop,” they provided various Easter/spring-themed designs. To order, customers left a comment under the picture of their preferred shirt and design combination. Customers who purchase a T-shirt during a drop must place their order within the week. This method allows the company to place one big supply order and finish all the T-shirts by a specific date.

Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Eric and Alexa work closely with clients to customize designs. This process often involves adjusting colors, sizes, or other elements to match the customer’s vision. For instance, team events frequently require custom logos or artwork to represent their theme. They collaborate with the customer to gather details about their requirements, such as preferred colors, imagery, or quotes, and incorporate the elements into the design. Then they share the design with the customer for feedback, making revisions until they are satisfied. Customers can also choose a premade digital design from online sellers. They most often purchase from Etsy, but several other platforms offer artwork in PNG or SVG files.

Always communicate with the customer if there are delays or other issues with their order. Explain the situation without making excuses and present solutions to fix problems quickly. Your customers will appreciate your honesty and professionalism. Be approachable, flexible, and consistent in your services. Establishing trust with customers will encourage repeat orders and boost business prospects.

Look for Opportunities to Use Your Talents to Bless Others

Following the tragic loss of a young boy in their town, Eric and Alexa offered their services to design a few shirts for a fundraiser to raise money for the boy’s family. They initially expected to produce around 200 shirts but ended up creating over 800 and raising over $13,000. The experience reminded them that designing T-shirts is more than a hobby or business venture—it has the power to make a meaningful impact on the community.

Help others on their journeys. While it may seem counterintuitive to share hard-earned knowledge, they are happy to help when people seek advice and believe there’s room for everyone to be successful.

Eric and Alexa find joy in working together and bonding over their projects. They love knowing their designs have made a difference in people’s lives, take pride in seeing them in the wild, and aim to inspire others who want to cultivate their creative gifts.

Kami Pehrson

Kami Pehrson lives with her husband and five teenage children in Stansbury Park, Utah. She recently finished her master’s degree in English and creative writing and has written three novels—but is still trying to figure out what to do with them. She loves editing, reading, and playing word games on her phone. She also enjoys listening to audiobooks while half-heartedly doing Pilates in the living room.

Art Can Make You a Better Writer

December 15, 2023 By LDSPMA Leave a Comment

I am a visual learner. Images help me remember and understand things more thoroughly. Art has helped me become a better writer as well. Here are four ways to harness the creative power of art in your writing.

Turn to Art for Mental Respite

Art can inspire creativity by activating the part of your brain that is responsible for contemplation and daydreaming. Your brain isn’t designed to stay in work mode constantly. Giving your mind a break from structured assignments allows it to relax—it’s like a brain vacation. When my kids were small, they once sent me to my room for a time-out. It made for the best day ever! Sometimes your brain just needs a break.

Reflect on Art to Inspire Your Writing

Slow down and take time to analyze artwork or an interesting photo. Give yourself a moment to ponder about the details and reflect on your impressions. Doing this can lead to new ideas and give you insights that will spark your writing.

A painting called Pirates by Ned Young, an artist from Brigham City, Utah, hangs on our living room wall. It depicts two young boys standing atop a haystack next to a barn. One boy holds a sword and wears an eye patch, while the other boy looks through a telescope. Beside them, a skull-and-crossbones flag waves on a pole. When I look at that painting, it takes me to a place in my childhood. I can smell the hay. I can feel the summer heat. It makes me wonder if cats live in the barn. Are the boys looking for a place to hide treasure, or are they escaping from hungry cannibals? I get all these impressions from a watercolor painted in Utah.

Art isn’t just displayed in galleries—it’s all around us. You can find artistry in the way leaves overlap and create interesting compositions. Cloud formations are one of my favorite works of art. Look closely at a spider web or ripple patterns in the water. Find music in the sounds around you. Our Father in Heaven is the ultimate artist.

If you make art appreciation part of your life, your observation skills will grow. Your ability to write accurate descriptions will improve as you increase your awareness of the world around you.

Cultivate Empathy through Art

Elevating your awareness of the creativity around you can increase empathy toward others. As you pay more attention to the subjects in art and how they are portrayed, you may notice details that evoke an emotional response. For example, The Child’s Bath by Mary Cassat holds a special place in my heart because it depicts a woman bathing a toddler, and it elicits feelings of comfort, love, and contentment.

On the flip side, The Scream by Edvard Munch also reminds me of motherhood, particularly when my kids haven’t picked up their Legos, and I step on one.

Find Story Ideas in Art

When you ask questions about what you’re seeing and why the artist portrayed the image in the way they did, it can kickstart your creativity. You can explore even further by inserting yourself into the picture and asking questions from a new perspective. What made the artist choose this subject? If you were the person in the painting, why are you in that setting? What is your story? Engage your senses as you ask these questions. What might you taste, smell, or hear in this situation? Use your enhanced focus to sharpen the way you write your descriptions.

Take the opportunity for an art break, whether it’s enjoying a painting, a sculpture, or the intrinsic beauty of nature. Art will stimulate your mind, boost your creativity, and help you become a better writer.

Cathy Witbeck

Cathy Witbeck is a Canadian-born author-illustrator transplanted to the USA. She remembers writing and drawing ever since she could pick up a pencil. She did an especially lovely piece of artwork on the side of the septic tank with house paint at a very young age. Perhaps that’s when it was discovered that she was gifted, or maybe it’s why she was sent to the USA.
She has five grown kids and one grown husband. When she isn’t writing and illustrating, she is chasing after grandkids intent on making their own artwork.

LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Steve Simmons

December 4, 2021 By Spencer Skeen Leave a Comment

Steve Simmons currently lives near Providence and Millville in Cache County, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

I did all of the writing and artwork for 90+ titles for Planet Archipelago, a TTRPG. I also have educational material I have written on the website Teachers Pay Teachers.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I has been drawing since my youth. I was president of my high school art club. Over time I have gone from oils, pastels, and watercolors to digital art and from creating western Americana and ghost towns or wildlife art to science fiction fantasy/medieval art for the game.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I have taught almost everything from a one-room school with eight grades and sixteen to seventeen students in the backwoods of western Montana to university classes in the humanities at Utah Valley University.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

My uncle, Grant Simmons, was an early cartoonist for Walt Disney. He advised me to never become an artist. So I became a teacher instead and continued to do my artwork with some confidence I could support my family.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Have a day job. Learn to network and do not ever give up.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

I have an entire alien planet to create, populate, map and explore.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I often create a picture first then write the story around the image. I am open to collaboration with other writers/artists who would like to explore the planet Archipelago.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

Back in the 1970s I played D&D. I liked the sense of adventure, the social interaction, the problem solving, and the reading and math development but found the game dark, introducing young people to dangerous amounts of the occult, soft porn, and things that are in the realm of the adversary. Things which are not harmless. So I developed a game that kept the adventure and positive traits but cut out the dark content. Instead of magic there is lost alien ancient technology that can look like magic, and instead of magical creatures, hungry and curious alien animals.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

http://www.planet-archipelago.com

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