From the Archives

I've spent a little time this morning going over images of old pieces of art, old sketches, old doodles.  It's a beautiful thing to remember, particularly when there have been improvements!!  Learning is good.  And looking back and remembering what you've learned is also good.  Evidently in February of 2010 I was learning that I can draw out of my imagination, and not always have a reference pic!

It's almost 4 years later, and I still love this butterfly girl.  Love her wings.  Love her out-of-control hair.  Love her oh-so-huge feet (you need big feet if you spent any time walking on leaves, way up in the tree-tops, right?).

And I have no idea the significance of "570"!

My Accordion Sketchbook

 I was at the Denver Botanic Gardens last month, and drew this lily while sitting in the sun by their lily ponds.  It was the beginning of a fascinating accordion style sketchbook that I gave myself, where it's really just one long page, all folded up on itself.

Well, I've added to the accordion!  There's another fold that's almost done, but I'm going to have to trick my scanner to be able to get it on my computer.  In the meantime, though, lookit my western bluebird!!  I think he's lovely.  I'm sort of rejoicing over that!

Two More for Genesis

Two more for the series through Genesis. 

I love the thought behind God providing the lamb for the sacrifice.  Especially with Christmas coming up.  Sometimes I almost forget that the little baby born in Bethlehem was THE LAMB.  God Himself.  Sent by God Himself (brain bender there).  To be sacrificed to please God Himself. I am moved to my core.

And then, the caravan to Egypt, with Joseph tied on at the end.  What a miserable trip.  If only he could have looked forward, eh?  I was just talking to a friend in the grocery store today, about how God is ALWAYS active, even when His work is completely invisible to me.

Both images tell  me that God is FAITHFUL and TRUSTWORTHY.

Rejoice With Me!

Seriously, I am THRILLED with how this turned out.  Although there is a significant problem: his eyes aren't looking in the same direction!!!  I told my hubby this, and he replied, "well, that's just the way some people are made."  Ok!  So I decided to leave it.  Even so, crooked eyes and all, I love this.

That's it for this set.  5 Canvases, all black and white, all ready to hang.

My God is EXTRAORDINARY!

(if you want to see the crooked eyes up close, you can click on the image and it will get larger)

Two More!

Despite spots of wet paint, and odd lighting, and even odder shadows...here are two more.  Love that the shepherds appear to have dreads!!

I also went back and tweaked Elizabeth's face a little bit.

One more to go.

O Magnify the Lord with Me!

Mary

5' x 5'

Joseph

5' x 5'

A rough quote here...."the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  Great is your faithfulness, O Lord!"

I am moved by God's kindness.  These paintings are BEYOND my abilities.  What you see is evidence of God's kindness to me.  He really does hold my paintbrush.

Two More From Genesis

I sort of got these out of order.  Well, I PAINTED them in order, I just didn't PHOTOGRAPH them in order.  There's something about finishing a canvas, and just wanting to pack up and go home!  With a celebratory Starbucks for the drive!

The first image was the idea of one of my pastors.  I don't think people "get" it, though.  It's the story of the flood.  And that's Pikes Peak sticking up out of the water.

The second is from God's promise to Abraham.  God loves faith.  "And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."  Beautiful.

Today I finished up painting the ram caught in the thicket, from the story where Abraham goes to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God.  And did I take a picture?  Or did I go to Starbucks and head home?  I'll let you figure it out.

Drawing and Painting People

I'll be painting this in another week on a 6' square canvas, using only black, grey and white paint.  Whoo hoo!!!  I'll tell you, I thought the sketch was tricky.  Painting it is going to be DOGGONE HARD!  The client has requested one change, so the finished product will look a little different than this.  I'll post pics when I'm done.

It's gonna be nerve racking, but LEARNING IS GOOD, right?

Genesis Eleven

We're still working our way through Genesis.  This is the Tower of Babel, or what my imagination came up with.  It was great fun to paint, although I had to get out the level once or twice.  It still leaves a vague impression that it's tilting, doesn't it?

I painted a canvas for the flood, as well, but it's a little dark, and so far I haven't been able to get a good image of it!  I'm going to have to take it down out of it's frame and move it to a different wall to photograph.

Half way done!

Allow Me to Introduce My Grandfather

Quite awhile ago I mentioned my grandfather, and how greatly he encouraged art in my life.  Evidently years ago he did a brief interview for a TV station in the area, and my uncle had a copy of that interview.  He did something savvy and mind-boggling (to those of us who don't understand modern technology) ...and voila!  He posted the interview on YouTube!  My grandpa has been gone for 10 years, and it's so delightful to see and hear him again!

He still inspires me.

(I should add this fact:  I had no idea how to share this video.  Murphy, also savvy and mind-boggling, did it for me.)

More Greeting Cards

The cold season has begun!  And so I sit close to the fire, with reference photos nearby and blank greeting cards on my lap.  Oh, I have thoroughly enjoyed doing these!  Especially those Sun Parakeets.  Can't you just imagine their conversation??

More Sky Gazing

"Watch For Me"

8" x  8"

Oil on Canvas Board

Painting with oils presents a whole new set of delights and problems.  If I kept at it I could get rid of the brush strokes...but I love the brush strokes!  And as I worked, I discovered that not only was I laying down paint, but I was also lifting paint...and I think in this case I love it.

This is the fourth canvas I've painted while caught up in the longing for that trumpet.   Times are indeed perilous.  And so I watch the skies.

Someone once said to me that we only live by faith while on earth, in this life.  In the presence of the Lord, in eternity, we will live by sight.  So, if God is delighted by my faith, then this life is the only time I get to give Him that pleasure.  The thought sort of adds value to the watching and waiting.

God Repeats Himself

I spent most of the morning working on this.  It's a greeting card, blank inside.  

The verse is from Psalm 62.  There's a bit of a repeating theme here..."my soul wait in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation" ...that's verse 1.  Then in verse 5, "my soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him."  And then in verse 6, "He only is my rock and  my salvation."  And then verse 7, "On God my salvation and my glory rest."

Evidently we need it to be repeated!

Longing

"Come Quickly"

8" x  8"

Oil on canvas panel

Oh, how I love a big sky!  For awhile, we lived IN our small town.  Right in the middle, which was very convenient....but I told people we lived in Narnia.  You know, "always winter and never Christmas".  Sure, we celebrated Christmas, but we were down IN THE TREES.  And the snow never melted.  And you could barely see the sky.  I so longed to GET! MY! HEAD! UP!

That's the main motivation for these paintings: my love of a big sky, and my longing for my Lord's return.

"Watching & Waiting"

8" x  8"

Oil on canvas panel

"Maranatha"

8" x  8"

Oil on canvas panel

EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!

(Curious about the Narnia reference?  Go read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis.)

Denver Botanic Gardens

What could be better?  October.  Warm.  Delightfully so!  Free admission.  Sketchbook in hand.  And what was I sketching?  Well, how on earth does a person choose?!  The fodder for artwork is unending.  I finally settled on this:

I have no idea why water lilies capture my attention so thoroughly, but they do!  I have SOO many reference pics in my computer, all waiting to be sketched or painted.  Here's how the sketch turned out:

Colored pencils in my spiffy new accordian style sketch book...there's only one page!  It just folds in on itself and goes on and on and on....so your drawing just keeps morphing!  Love it!

Blown Away

"Blown Away"

10" x  20"

Oil on canvas

Oh, how I love painting with oils!  They blend so delightfully.  They move so smoothly.  They stay workable for so long!  No fast-drying sticky brushes.  It's a delight to play with them again.

As I drove home the other day, the wind was whipping about, and the leaves were flying along in front of my car...and I thought, 'wouldn't that make a lovely painting?'  For this canvas I actually gathered aspen leaves from my yard and brought them in and taped them to my easel (my hubby laughed at that).  We're actually getting RED this year!  That's not overly common with aspen trees.  Reveling in the colors was a gift from our Generous God!!

(Psst....you can make the image larger by clicking on it.)

Genesis Three

"Now the serpent was  more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.  And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?"'"  And the story goes on.  Adam and Eve had no idea what they would lose.  God would come to them and say, "what is this you have done?"....and they would realize that they had thrown away everything good, and hopeful, and beautiful.

I painted that loss.  Everything became dark and dismal.  And God became distant.  I love the hope that God speaks, though:

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)  Because of the blood of Jesus, God doesn't stay distant.

From Beginning to End

Quite awhile ago my sister-in-law contacted me and asked me to come paint at a women's retreat while she taught.  Well, of course!  She gave me her initial thoughts on what she might be teaching, and we hashed it out, and then I came up with a line drawing for her approval.  Of course, I HAD to color it in, just like in a coloring book.  Stay inside the lines, now!!

Then, we took a road trip...16 hours on the dotted line!  The canvas started black, with the lines drawn on it in pencil (I did all that at home), and then I had three different sessions to work on it while my sister-in-law taught.

This is the end of session one.  (funny how the lighting made the yellow look oh-so-brilliant in this pic!!  It's not really that bright.)

And the final  product!  I was nervous to the point of shaking for the first 10 minutes of the first session, and after that God was kind and I found it to be FUN.  The red turned out darker than I intended, and I love it. 

When it was all said and done, I loaded up all my junk, left the canvas behind, and returned to my tiny little home.

 Thank You, My Father, for Your Kindness.  Your Faithfulness.  Your activity in my life.

Genesis One

"God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31

I couldn't bring myself to paint a lovely garden scene, with lots of greenery and two naked adults with artfully placed drapery.  Besides, creation is so much more!  More than the initial garden.  More than what I see in my little mountain town.  More than our globe.  The creativity and power of God are astounding.

God says, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements?  Since you know.  Or Who stretched the line on it?  On what were its bases sunk?  Or Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"   (Job 38)  It must have been ASTOUNDING to behold.

Here we go!

Change: a)to make different in some particular b)to make radically different

That about sums it up.

The canvases at my church are changing.  Yesterday morning they had lovely images and pieces of scripture on them.  This morning they were all jet black.  Tomorrow morning (Lord willing!) one of them will begin to show evidence of yet another image, and yet more scripture.  By Tuesday morning it just may be done!

Change is good, right?

Daydreams

I spend a fair amount of time thinking about eternity ... longing for eternity ... wondering how delightful it will be in eternity.  What will worship look like, sound like, with those billions and billions of souls all singing together?  What will it be like to actually BE free from sin?  To actually SEE Jesus?  Just today someone said something that made me wonder: what if the flowers and trees really WILL sing and dance and clap their hands?  What if God has only silenced them here on our broken world, in our broken time?

"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all it contains; let the field exult, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness."  Psalm 96:11-13

My Hand

This is what you do when it's starting to get a little bit dark out...when you're uninterested in any of your collection of reference photos...when the satellite dish has been fried due to too-near lightening...and when you really, really just want to hold a pencil:  you draw your own hand.  Something's bugging me about it, but I haven't figured out yet what it is.

More Greeting Cards

I just CANNOT bring myself to go buy a card at the grocery store.  I don't know, maybe there's something rebellious in me! 

 Each of these has the Bible reference on the back of the card (where the manufacturer's mark usually goes).  They're all verses that I love.  The first card I'm mildly troubled about because the colored specks look like sprinkles on a cupcake, which wasn't my intention!  And on the last one, that capital "Y" in "you" looks more like a capital "G".

Oh well.  Even with their foibles, they're still way better than having to go to the grocery store!

Signage

Picture yourself going to a wedding.  They have a lovely spread of food at the reception.  But WHAT IS THAT?  You're not quite sure...oh, wait. They have a lovely sign telling you what the mystery dish is!  It's beautifully printed on a small piece of card stock, perhaps.  So nice.

Well, this wedding is different.  It's outdoors, in the woods, and the food is now labelled on small aspen stumps.  My latest, tiny project.  And thanks to my grandpa for paying for calligraphy lessons eons ago!

(by the way....the house smells FANTASTIC because of those freshly cut aspen chunks!)

My Next Project

Not long ago someone saw one of my paintings at my church, and asked our church secretary who painted it.  I love free advertising!  So a new contact was made....a new relationship begun...God is good.

This is the sketch for what I'll be painting for them.  It will be painted on a wall about 3 feet wide and 8 feet tall, in the tiniest little church imaginable.  Actually, I might be jumping the gun here, because the client hasn't approved the sketch yet!  So we'll just say HOPEFULLY I'll be painting this next!

I had to have the statement radiate.  After all, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the starting point for EVERYTHING, so the words HAD to shout!  I know, it's not Easter, but this truth transcends one day in the spring!  Say it with  me: "HE IS RISEN!!"

In Your Face

Oh, how this guy cracks me up!!  He's on a greeting card, and I'm wishing I didn't have to mail it!!

6 (Yes, Six) Failures

"Palms"

8" x  8"

Oil on canvas panel

Oof.  In the past three days I have painted 7 of these little canvas panels, and I've wiped 6 of them off.  That's not a great average.  After the first wipe-off you just think to yourself, "ok...it's been awhile since I've painted...I'm a little rusty..."  But after the 6th?  You go do something completely different, like make meatballs (and for those of you who know me, the kitchen and I generally don't get along, so going to make meatballs is SAYIN' SOMTHIN').

To quote Winston Churchill, "never, never, never give up".  So, I'll try again tomorrow.  Lord, help me!  And I mean that quite literally!

And the Elephants are Finished!

Just a few in-progress shots for you.  The initial sketch went on some craft paper (the largest paper I've got).  I inherited this fantastic roll from my grandfather, and it comes in very handy for big pieces!

Then I transferred the drawing onto the canvas...I had to ask a friend HOW to do that, because I didn't have a clue.  Evidently they teach you odd tidbits like that in art school!  The above pic shows the first colors.

And some more color....until finally...ta dah!!!

I don't know if this is a sunrise, or a sunset, but I don't care.  I'm delighted with it!  This is actually a family portrait for some friends who live north of town.  If they have more kids we'll just add another canvas!