From the Archives

I painted this WAAAAAY back, maybe in 2003?  I had just begun to paint, somewhat seriously, trying to decide if I really wanted to do this art-thing or not.  My grandfather, who was an artist himself, and had always encouraged my art pursuits, had died and I was left...bereft, almost.  So, it was a lovely shot in the arm to dabble with something and have it end up looking fantastic in a frame!

This particular piece ended up being a door prize that was given away at a women's retreat held by my church.  I'm mildly concerned about that, because I'm pretty sure I painted it on a block of wood, instead of on a canvas.  Which means, that as our Colorado climate dries out that wood, it's gonna split!  I might need to try to re-paint it on canvas if the wooden one goes south!

I called this "Picnic".

A Home-made Greeting Card

I finished this greeting card this morning, and it will shortly be in the mail.  It's a nice thing to be able to make my own cards....except that it takes far longer than running to the store!  No matter.  It's a good and beautiful thing to pray for the recipient while I draw.  It feeds me, maybe transforms me, and makes me slow down considerably.  Even the small moments like drawing a card, are moments when God is ACTIVE.  And I am thankful for that!

Who Are You?

I just finished a Christmas commission for a friend.  She asked me to do 6 canvases, all 12 inches square, each one speaking to some beautiful truth in the lives of her family members.

It raises a question:  if you were to choose one word, and maybe one image, to describe yourself....or to describe what God has done in your life, what would it be?  It's a curious thought to ponder.  I love how my answer would have been different 10 years ago from what it would be today!  God's activity in my life is SURE.  STEADY.  FAITHFUL.  KIND.  For that, I am thankful.

Oh, Boy!

Yesterday a friend of mine entered the presence of her Savior.  It's a glorious, heart-breaking thing.  Her suffering is OVER.

I was reminded of when my grandfather died.  His suffering was also over.  My aunt wrote this poem in tribute to his passing, and so in 2003 I was inspired to paint a response to go with it.  I picture any who follow Jesus as trapped on this dark earth, passing through significant pain, into God's glorious light, with arms raised in praise.  I find the last stanza of the poem so fitting for the death of my friend!

'Oh boy'

Spoken in dark

moments

at night,

on his narrow cot

the body tired

and sore

weary of this life's

weight.

Gravity, it seemed,

increased

upon the small frame.

'Oh boy',

spoken often enough

that dear friends

knew the phrase.

'Oh boy'

Whispered

in the quietest

breath, last minute,

upon his bed of death,

facing the unknown journey.

Tired,

weariness increased

beyond endurance to see.

And then....

'Oh Boy!'

As he enters the realm of heaven

and stands before his Creator,

in glory

standing among the throngs,

worship upon his lips,

gravity lifted,

arms raised, pain free,

in Adoration.

Oh, Boy!

-written by Diane Hintze

September 2, 2003

I Shall Again Praise Him

Today I turned on the news and my heart immediately broke.  This is my response.  Swept by the winds of a broken world, I KNOW I shall praise my God again.  I sat on the couch and inked this while listening to the news reports.  My Lord, glorify Your name.  Redeem even this wretched story.

Coloring Between the Lines

I spent the  morning coloring.  And I tried real hard to stay inside the lines.  Honest.  I sorta went out here and there.  The whole thing has this delightful childish feeling to it!

This is a re-make of a canvas I did for my church.  I liked it so much, I decided I'd do a smaller, tweaked version for myself.  You notice the "Peace" is in the stinging rain....and the "be still" is in the depths of the sea.  Both places prompt fear and doubt.  The words of Jesus speak today to our hearts just as much as they spoke 2,000 years ago to the literal sea.

Peace, my friends.

A Little Bit of Whimsy

If I were clever with a computer I would stitch these three photos together into one delightful whole.  But I'm not clever that way.  You'll have to use your imagination!

Several years ago my dad come home from a visit to Maine with this piece of driftwood, shaped like the drawings above, and said, "This need a little bit of whimsy".  Then he left it in my hands.

This is the preliminary sketch that I came up with.  The driftwood is now painted and hanging on his wall!

Merry Day One!

On this, the most insane shopping day of the entire year, I wanted to remind you all of God's generosity in His gift to us.  Don't forget!  Without the gift of Jesus Christ to redeem us, there'd be no point to anything!

And, yes, the Christmas season is delightful, and heart-warming, and memory filled...and angst filled, and frustration filled, and opportunity filled!  This is day ONE....practice today being still before God.  Practice today calming your heart while you wait in line.  Practice today not losing your cool in traffic.  And tomorrow, get up and do it all over again.  You've got 4 weeks (I think).  Practice copying the character of God!

God's Fingerprints

I'm in the midst of a commission for Christmas (what a great thing to be able to say!), and I have no pics yet, so I'm going to go down memory lane a bit on this blog.  It's a curious thing to do.  I see areas where I've stagnated and haven't improved AT ALL...but then I see great growth!  It's a delightful thing!

I painted this YEARS ago...maybe in 2003?  2004?  I really have no idea.  I called it "God's Fingerprints".  That seemed fitting for a  peacock's feathers!

WAKE UP!

This is the second rooster I've painted in recent months.  The other one seemed to be rejoicing in the morning sun, calling to anyone in ear shot to rejoice with him.  I think this one is perhaps mildly grumpy, and he wishes we'd just GET UP ALREADY!!  Who knew?  I certainly didn't know that when I started painting him!  Evidently paintings can become their own entity, with their own personality!  So, WAKE UP!!!

Forgetfulness

"Freedom"

6" x 6"

Oil on canvas panel

So, today is Veteran's Day.  And I completely forgot.  COMPLETELY.  I live in a county where it's not a school holiday, so I missed out on that little reminder.  I even went to the post office, but I only drove through the little drop-off lane, so that didn't even clue me in.  I finally figured it out when I tried to go to the bank.

This afternoon, as I put this new little painting in a frame I was reminded (again) that this country is a FANTASTIC place to live.  God has been good and kind.  And I am thankful.

So, to those of you who have served in any of our military branches, I'm sorry I forgot...and thank you!

From the Archives

Oh my word!!  This is so old!  I think I painted it all the way back in 2004.  That feels like eons ago.  I have no idea why I painted a ginormous pot of spaghetti sauce.  The colors are fantastic, though, aren't they?

More recently, I've painted three small oils, but they're still wet so getting a good pic of them is sketchy.  It'll have to wait another couple of days.

Oh, and remember me saying that I was going to fill that sketch book before the end of the year?  Well, I forgot.  Chop!  Chop!  I'd better get crackin' if I expect to finish!

From A Thankful Heart

Evidently there's ANOTHER gnarly tree that I forgot about!

Really, the whole point of this post is to THANK YOU.  To all of you who came to the art sale, it was a delight to see you!  Watching people go from wall to wall...from print bin to print bin...asking questions about how something was painted...it was a great day!  Many of my favorites actually walked out the door underneath someone else's arm, and it just made me grin!  Thank you!

Sketching is Valuable, Right?

I just told a couple of friends that I want to fill my sketch book before the end of the year.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?  That means, realistically, that I need to draw every day.  Which means that I don't get to fritter away hours on facebook (but who does that?  really?).  And it means that I have to be willing to have ugly pages, because that's just inevitable.  So, in between small commissions, and art sales, and the rest of life, I need to be drawing.  A lot.  And maybe I'll have some drawings to post here!

On a side note, it's really disturbing to be happily typing away, and to see movement out of the corner of your eye.  A spider was SAUNTERING across my desk.   Not nice.