Beyond the Brush

Beyond the Brush At our studio, each student grows at their own pace, honored for their individuality and emotional well-being.

Curiosity leads, comparison fades, and progress is celebrated. For many of our students Art becomes a grounding practice and a return to self.

This painting was born in worship.I walked into Abba’s House during 24 hours of praise and worship with a blank canvas a...
09/10/2026

This painting was born in worship.

I walked into Abba’s House during 24 hours of praise and worship with a blank canvas and no idea what I was going to paint.

That is part of prophetic painting for me: surrendering my own agenda, listening, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead the process.

Slowly, this face emerged.

I returned during Sunday worship to continue the work, never imagining where this story would go next.

And now I have been asked to present this painting to my church during the 2026 New W**e Gathering: VICTORY! on Sunday, September 13.

This means more to me than I can easily put into words.

Abba’s House has been part of some of the deepest sorrow and greatest joy of my life. For years, I quietly carried the desire to worship here through one of the languages God has given me: painting.

And now I get to place this work back into the house where it was born.

There are moments when you can only stand back and recognize that God has been writing a story you could never have planned yourself.

I came with a blank canvas.
I surrendered.
And He gave me a story.

To Him be all the glory. 🤍🎨

Then I would pair it with the finished painting you just showed me. Full painting first. No collage. No explanatory graphic on slide one. Let those eyes stop the scroll.

And I would keep the hashtags fairly restrained this time, something like **eGathering .

Healing Through Art ❣️I feel deeply blessed and privileged to have been invited to participate in Healing Through Art 20...
09/10/2026

Healing Through Art ❣️

I feel deeply blessed and privileged to have been invited to participate in Healing Through Art 2026, and especially humbled to have been asked to share part of my story as one of the event speakers.

First, I thank God.

Because one of the greatest truths my life has taught me is that with God, nothing is wasted.

I will be speaking about some painful chapters of my story, but pain will not have the final word.

My testimony is ultimately a story of transformation: from surviving, to overcoming, to thriving.

Some of the places that once wounded me became the very places from which God taught me compassion. Some of what I thought had broken me became part of what He would later use to help me reach another human being.

And somehow, art became part of that journey too. 🎨

On October 10, I will have the privilege of sharing both my art and my story alongside other survivors, artists, advocates, and members of our community at Healing Through Art.

To CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital, the Hamilton County Health Department, and everyone who has opened this beautiful door for me, thank you. I receive this opportunity with a grateful and humbled heart.

May what once hurt us become something that helps someone else heal. ❣️

Kristina Sanchez Mills
Fine Artist • Author • Founder, Beyond the Brush Art Studio

09/09/2026

Beautiful and beautifully creepy!

🎨 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | STEVENWhen Steven first came to us, he was one of our quieter, shyer young artists.It didn’t take ...
09/03/2026

🎨 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | STEVEN

When Steven first came to us, he was one of our quieter, shyer young artists.

It didn’t take very long, however, for him to discover something important: this was a place where he belonged.

A place where he could experiment, make mistakes, try something completely different, and discover just how much he was capable of.

His earlier paintings challenged him with the precision of cityscapes, architecture, buildings, and bridges. This time, Steven went in an entirely different direction and traded straight lines and carefully constructed forms for feathers, movement, color, and wonderfully loose brushstrokes. 🦜

And what happened?

He absolutely soared.

His macaw is bursting with personality. Rather than trying to control every mark, Steven allowed his brush to move, layer, suggest, and play. The result feels alive.

That willingness to move beyond what is familiar is such an important part of becoming an artist. Technique grows, certainly, but so do courage, curiosity, confidence, and the freedom to say:

“I wonder what I can do with this?”

Steven, watching you come out of your shell and grow into your place here has been a joy. This beautiful macaw shows us something we already suspected:

there is so much more inside you waiting to take flight. ❣️

Beautiful work!

Rose
Beyond the Brush Art Studio

09/02/2026

Pencil/depiction exercise in progress by Sara.

09/02/2026

Angela’s Epic painting in process!

🎨 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | HARLEYThere is something extraordinary about watching a young artist begin to develop a voice that...
09/02/2026

🎨 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | HARLEY

There is something extraordinary about watching a young artist begin to develop a voice that is unmistakably her own.

Harley poured hours of patience, concentration, and determination into this Prismacolor piece, building it slowly, layer by layer. Look closely at the blending, the shifts between light and shadow, the movement of the clothing, and all those tiny details that give her character such personality and life.

But perhaps my favorite photograph is the one where Harley throws her hands up in pure excitement. 😂 That moment says everything.

I DID IT.

That feeling of accomplishment is one of the things we live for at Beyond the Brush.

With every project, Harley’s skills grow stronger, but something else is happening too: her artistic voice is becoming more confident, more distinctive, and more completely hers.

And when Harley and her best friend Hailey are together? The studio comes alive! There is laughter, silliness, encouragement, artists cheering for one another, and the beautiful freedom to simply belong.

Keep strengthening those wings, Harley. We cannot wait to see where they carry you. ❣️

Rose
Beyond the Brush Art Studio

✨ STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | AVAHer very first portrait. In charcoal.Let that sink in for a moment. ❣️Before Ava began this pie...
09/02/2026

✨ STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | AVA

Her very first portrait. In charcoal.

Let that sink in for a moment. ❣️

Before Ava began this piece, we studied. We practiced. We worked through the complexities of portraiture, and then she stepped into the challenge and gave it everything she had.

And THAT is where the magic happened.

A teacher can guide. We can demonstrate, correct, encourage, challenge, and sometimes see possibilities in our students before they can see them themselves.

But we cannot give them dedication.
We cannot give them persistence.
We cannot give them that inner desire to reach higher.

Ava brought all of that herself.

Together, I think we made quite the dúo dinámico 😜, but the credit for what you see here belongs to this young artist and the tremendous work she poured into becoming better.

Ava, I am extravagantly, ridiculously, enormously PROUD of you. ❣️

Not only because this portrait is beautiful, but because I watched what it took for you to create it.

And perhaps that is the greatest masterpiece of all: discovering what you are capable of when you refuse to give up.

Congratulations, my darling. Look what you did. ❤️

Kristina Sanchez Mills
Beyond the Brush Art Studio

Address

3813 Dayton Boulevard
Chattanooga, TN
37415

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 6pm
Tuesday 11am - 6pm
Wednesday 11am - 6pm
Thursday 11am - 6pm
Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 2pm

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