PREENING

Clearly the Lord loves color, right??  I had just finished painting another canvas with a lovely range of colors, and ended up with all this left-over paint on my palette.  And I could NOT let it dry out... and I could NOT scrape it off and throw it away.  So I went hunting for a reference picture that had lots of color in it.  And VOILA~!  Thank You, my Father for color!  Thank You for giving me eyes to see it!

The Many Faces of Pikes Peak

Not long ago a dear friend told me that she wanted me to paint Pikes Peak for the foyer of her office building.  But what view?  And then, what season?  We puzzled over that one for a long time.  And then we had a brain wave... instead of one painting, let's do three.  Each one a different view, and each one a different season.

They're all pretty big.  Fall is 3' x 4', spring/summer is 5' x 2', and winter is 3' x 3'.  My painting space in my house is small, so I ended up painting these in my garage, which was an adventure (because I had to figure out the right lighting, and then what do you do when a car drives by on the dirt road and dust is flying all around your wet paint?).

My wonderful husband hung them all for me, which also proved to be an adventure (because he discovered that the walls in the office foyer weren't quite true... there was an odd hump that we had to overcome).

All in all, though, the end result was lovely.  I got a picture of them all hanging, but it just doesn't translate well... they look puny!  Untrue!  For those of you who live in Woodland Park, Colorado, just go visit the Coldwell Banker building and you'll see these hanging right inside the front door.

(psst!  You can click on the pics if you want to see a bigger version!)

Something New

Late last  year one of my pastors came up to me and told me that they were going to begin preaching through Hebrews in the new year.  Ok! That was something to ponder.  How do you paint something to go with the book of Hebrews?

I eventually decided to go with what I've heard called "Illuminated Calligraphy"... think ancient monks copying out the word of God, and decorating it with all sorts of fabulous images, with stunning fonts.

That's what I tried to achieve.  It took me months to design each canvas, but it wasn't until I was actually beginning to paint that I realized I may have made a mistake!  The images and the text were all so small that I found myself painting most often with either a 1" brush, or worse, a 1/2" brush.  That's pretty doggone small when you have to cover an 8' canvas!!  So I learned.  Large brushes are far, far better!!

Even so, small brushes and hand cramps aside, I'm pleased with the outcome.  God's word is so very rich, with such unmistakable truth.  I'm honored to get to try to display it for my church family to see.

Freesia

As I type this the sky outside is gray, gray, gray.  I think I just saw a snow flake.  It's brrrrrr cold, and the wind is blowing.  And I am SO SO SO LONGING FOR SPRING!  Every March or so I find myself not able to bear the sight of our outdoor thermometer.  The gray skies are almost heavy.  I'm not quite brave enough to run around outside barefoot, but it's so very tempting!

And every March I remind myself of MY GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.  The sun always rises.  And then, it always sets.  The bluebirds will come back.  The hummingbirds will make another appearance.  And the thermometer will begin to climb.  All because God has ordained it to be so, and He keeps His promises.  Always.

So take heart, my winter-weary friends!   Spring will come!

SING! SING! SING!

 Yes, another roster!  I just can't help myself... I love painting chickens!!  I painted this one for my son for a Christmas present.  I know roosters don't technically "sing", but I called this one "Sing! Sing! Sing!"  because his body language just shouts praise to God!  This song was running around in my head the entire time I painted... (and truthfully, I couldn't remember the words, so in my head it sounded something like "Sing! Sing! Sing! Da-da dum de da da dum dum")...

"We will sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that You hear us
When we shout your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus"

-Chris Tomlin