This is Brady holding his painting of the day he met his Great Grandpa for the first time. The lockdown policies and regulations were lifted, so that Grady was allowed past security in the convalescent home. 

Notice the pale skin on Great Grandpa’s hand.  Two years doesn’t seem like much, until you see a child. When you miss ages one to three, a lifetime seems to have slipped beyond your grasp.

The pose was taken from a photograph of this first meeting, nothing was altered. Great Grandpa is bent low to hear Brady’s words. 

–“First Meeting” commissioned by Brandon Hoops (11 x 15″) of his grandpa and his son meeting for the first time after the COVID lockdown. Featured in Jonalyn’s show “Saving Lives” available for view online here.

Probably my favorite question. The brightness shines through if the white paper can sparkle through the washes. This is dependent on painting correctly, not treating watercolors like an opaque medium. Due to the misconception that watercolor are childish or easy, many people mistakenly attempt watercolors in imitation of oil, acrylic, or gouache techniques. This leads to a heavy, frozen or pasty final product. 

To capture that brightness, the watercolor artist must let the paper shine through. She must reserve or lightly glaze every white or light area with a transparent wash, light enough to see the white paper. Watercolor outdoes itself when capturing water-based elements like lakes, clouds, snow, rain and the ocean. 

– Justin Marbury, pastor, Wolfeboro, NH asked this question at Jonalyn’s art show “From South Africa to Virginia”, February 2026.

A French family from Lyon wanted their boat, their buddy boats and their entire family included in this paradise, Bahamas memory. They relied on the sketchbook study Jonalyn painted in the Bahamas (bottom painting) as their inspiration and asked Jonalyn to add their children playing on the stern of their boat with the parents wingfoiling nearby (top painting).

– Jérémy and Delphine Walter-Martin, France, commissioned a (15 x 22″) boat portrait for their family’s memories.

“I just got the paintings and they are so stunning in person. I’m gobsmacked, they are gorgeous!! When they arrived, I laid them out and we have just been admiring them. Great job on the packing, too. Thank you, again!!”

– Meredith Robinson, Alabama, commissioned three (18.5 x 20″) portraits of her children

— Elizabeth Goudge, The Heart of the Family

This painting, “Humble Gifts” is from Jonalyn’s new series “Satisfaction” sharing bread, wine and chocolate. Read the backstory at her newsletter. 

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We wanted a painting to capture our love for event training together. Jonalyn took several pics and combined them into this painting.

We admire it all the time!

— Jon and Jess Hale, Seattle, Washington