Coffee Cup Rings

I  painted this a long time ago.  Mostly I was just playing with watercolors, but by the time I was finished it was a poignant picture (to me) of how our lives touch each other.

We get together.  Maybe over coffee.  And we talk and laugh.  We share stories, and speak courage.  And our coffee cups leave a ring behind on the table.  Just like we leave a mark on each others lives.  Sometimes our stories blend, making a whole new color.  Sometimes brilliant spots stand out.  It can be a little bit messy, but always beautiful.  All orchestrated and mixed by the loving sovereignty of God.  He is the consummate artist.

A Little Perspective

 

Every once in awhile we need to slow down life and realize some fundamental truths. This quote is from the book of Job.  It's God speaking.  It reminds me of something important:

 

Who I am.

And WHO GOD IS.

And what it took to bring us together.

I am small.  And God is not.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Not exactly a turkey with all the trimmings!  I drew this last night.  I love the circles in the burger patty.  Do you suppose the fast food places make ANY money on Thanksgiving?  Are they even open?  I guess I'm a purist, but I can't fathom eating a burger instead of turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!  May you revel in God's kindness to you!

Flowers in Glass

Shame on me!!!  I found the reference pic for this painting in a magazine, which probably isn't the most ethical thing to do.  I tweaked it significantly, which speaks grace all over me.

The water bothers me.  The glass vase bothers me.  But I love the flower!!  And I love the background!

This is currently hanging in a friend's home, which is delightful.

A Day at the Beach

Living in  Colorado, beaches are a mite rare.

However, we do have a fantastic combination of sand, and dunes, and snow-capped mountains in the background!  A few years ago we went camping at the Great Sand Dunes, where we played in the sand, mucked about in the water (from the snow melt coming down from the nearby mountains), and generally had a great time.  That's where I got the reference pic for this painting.

I think we need to go back!

The Process

I thought I'd show you the process!!  It was great fun.  I started with a black canvas and just went to work.  The colors really pop against the black, don't they?  This is sort of backwards painting, because I painted all the light spots, and left the black canvas to show through on the dark spots.  My friend Lois taught me how to do it.  Thanks Lo!

Here's the finished product:

This is a commissioned piece, which means it leaves my house on Tuesday.  I may have to paint another one just to keep!

(the previous post was practice for this one.  You notice I HAD to get more blue sky in it.  After all, that's one of the things I love about  Colorado.  The skies are almost NEVER gray!)

Playing Around

So today, while I was waiting for some paint to dry, I decided NOT to live the cliche!  I was NOT going to give in to boredom!  So I got out another canvas and decided to play around.  And this was the result!  I love, love, love it!  Who knew a painting doesn't need a ton of planning, and preliminary sketches, and another photo shoot, and more sketches, and then some color sketches .... JUST PAINT ALREADY!!

From the Archives

I painted this almost a year ago, mostly just to play with some canvas sheets that I found in a pile of old art supplies.  I called it "I Will Fear No Evil."

Sometimes God asks us to do things that we find daunting, even frightening.  Perhaps impossible.  Maybe horrifying.  Somewhere, on the other side of that mess of brambles and thorns, there's something delightful.  Hope.  Peace.  Eternity.  It suddenly makes the mess of brambles bearable.

Psalm 121

This is really the best way to spend a Bronco's football game.  A little bit of lulling noise in the background, a few disrespectful comments from my hubby, and doodling away.  A lovely Sunday afternoon!

The whole psalm makes for great reading:

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in

From this time forth and forever.

THE LORD WILL KEEP YOUR SOUL!  Good news.