This painting is a work in progress. I’m trying to capture my journey in 2018 from Las Vegas, NV to Ruidoso, NM.

They say when God closes a door, he opens a window; and that’s exactly what happened to Kevin and I. But at the time, it felt like a huge ass whippin’! God shut us down fast in Vegas; without warning, so swift it was scary.

Here we go… 

I owned a business that I worked hard at for 5 years. After time, it was finally primed for a huge success and was named Jana’s RedRoom. Also, I was on track to becoming the world champion in American Tae Kwon Do. In December 2017, I received my black belt, and I lost 80lbs. I was in the best shape of my life at 55 years old!

Then I got the crazy news on January 6th that we were about to move to Ruidoso, NM. My husband was greatly needed to be the store director of Albertsons, with a salary we could not refuse. I had two weeks to close a business where I represented and loved over 230 local artists. Also, I needed to decide whether to rent or sell my home, one I thought I was never leaving and…

..On top of all this, my amazingly talented brother and best friend Wyley Lynch, an American Composer, died at 58 in his sleep from the flu complications on January 7th. That was like taking a bullet. Oh and he never heard the news of our move.

So, I was heart broken on all fronts. However, we got in the car to find a place in Ruidoso to lay our sad heads until we could figure out where to buy a home. A place where I could open a new ‘Local Artists Only’ art gallery, and a place where I could continue my dream of becoming world champ. I felt like I was a nomad, walking into unknown places, and wondering why God placed me here in upheaval.

On the drive to the unknown, I started this painting. I had no idea animals would just walk up to you here. At the time, I was unaware that God did not want me to have another gallery (as there are too many galleries already here) nor did he want me to become the next world champion (as there is nowhere within 60 miles to study Tae Kwon Do). While painting, I tried to capture the extreme change God was pointing us towards. In the painting, the elk blocks my return to Vegas. This is where my painting started almost a years ago- in a car, in my extreme grief, with vegas in my view, blocked by an elk.. my unknown future at my back. The above photo is during the trek to Ruidoso, NM. A place that would become our new home. I was shocked how much this photo matched my painting. 

During this moment, Kevin and I had no idea how blessed this entire deal would turn out to be.

God said no to my art gallery and no to becoming a world champ. But something even better awaited me in Ruidoso! Shown in the photo above (June, 2018) is me and my father, Doyce Lynch, standing in the middle of what will be my next adventure…