DONE!! DONE!! DONE!!

Aahhhhh.  Done.

A couple of artist friends came over and gave me a critique, after which I made a few tiny changes.  No pouting this time!

And I'm done!  It feels FANTASTIC.  All three canvases will get a clear coat early next week, and then it's time to ship them!

I'd love to say that there's a delightful respite in front of me, but that's not true.  I have already started preliminary sketches for the next set of canvases at my church.  Should be a busy week!

Thanks for following along, all you in cyber-land!

And Then Forward...

So, I decided I really, really needed a different color scheme.  This one is better.  Much.

It's amazing how a better color choice can improve productivity!  This one just feels more welcoming to paint...if that can be said.  Makes no sense, but it's true.  I'm thoroughly enjoying painting this one!  I'll post again when the girl is finished.

And We Begin Again

Number 3 here we come!  This one will HOPEFULLY go faster than the other two...dare I say that?  There's only one person in this one, so SURELY it won't take as long!  This whole background needs another coat...and that purple will have a diagonal line in it instead of just hanging out down there in the corner.  Should be fun!

Canvas #2 is Finished!

Done!  I loved doing this one.  The blues were great fun.  I just wanted a hint of a crowd, so that they wouldn't steal the focus from the two central figures.  You might not be able to see it in this picture, but I managed to get a reflection of light in the sunglasses...I'm not sure how!  It must be the grace of God all over again!  He always paints by my side.

Finally Progress!

Spring break is a wonderful thing!  Even if you don't have kids in school, I heartily recommend it!!  You take a week and you don't do ANYTHING that's in your normal scope of activity.  Instead you do all kinds of things that you never get a chance to!  It's delightful.

Of course, having enjoyed a week of play means that I made ZERO progress on my paintings.  That proved to be a good thing, though, because I ended up changing the main people in this image!  It's good to take time to ponder!

I'm thinking the crowd needs some serious work.  We'll see...!

Starting Number Two

Just started the background of the second canvas yesterday.  I already see places that will need more work, but other than that I like it.  It's kind of cool to have this 4' square painting dominating the sunroom in our house.  It's definitely not subdued!

Unfortunately it's spring break (did I really just say that?), so  we'll be "playing" this whole week.  Not much painting being done!  We'll see if I make any progress...

DONE! DONE! DONE! DONE!!

DONE!  DONE!  DONE!

I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief over this.  I'll still stare at it for several days, just to see if anything needs to be changed.  There's a curve on the guitar that keeps screaming at me, so that'll probably be altered in the not too distant future.  But it's DONE!

The font for the word "Relate" was chosen by the client, which was a little freaky to paint.

It's curious that while I was painting this I was really moved by the thought that God gives each of us very unique talents and gifts.  Then, mixed with our very unique personalities, and very unique strengths and weaknesses, He uses those gifts to serve Him in very specific ways.  And He's DELIGHTED about it.  He's honored, and His name is made great when we each do the specific things He made us to do.  When you get to watch God's children serving God's children it's an awe inspiring thing.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Carrots, Anyone?

I found a MUCH better reference pic for a little girl.  This is the first, rough layer of paint.  She'll get better (hopefully!) as the layers get added.

This guy however...

I told you I needed to work on his face.  And I DID work on his face, but clearly not enough!  He still needs some serious help!  Did You hear that Lord?  I need Your help!

I was reminded the other day, that I always SAY that God is faithful.  That He never changes.  That what was true yesterday is still true today.  So, if I've seen God's kindness in helping me paint in the past, why do I tend to doubt that He would help me today as well?  He will, and He does.  Because He has given me this love, and this talent, and He will use this to glorify His name.

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth."  (Psalm 115:1)

Moving Forward, Slowly

Progress feels good!  Even if it's not yet perfect...not yet finished...having the guitar player sort of fleshed out, and the guy with boxes back on the canvas is a good thing!  I'm learning (did you catch that? LEARNING) that I'll need to do the hard work of having more than one layer of paint.  It's ok.  It'll make for a better end product.

A very wise and skilled artist friend reminded me that if these paintings will be seen from a distance (and they will), then it's perfectly ok, and even better, to have them remain loose.  Even in the details of the face.  So I'm attempting that.  It looks a bit freaky up close:

Just big huge blotches of paint, but the hope is that they'll communicate well from across the room!

This guy's face is a MESS, and I'll have to work on fixing it as soon as the paint is dryer.  And the work goes on!

One Step Forward and Several Steps Back

Notice anything different?  Not a lot of forward progress, that's for sure!  The box carrying dude is now covered over, and the little girl is completely missing!  They needed help.  A lot of help.  It's better than chucking the canvas and building a brand new one!

I'll also have to admit to my guitar playing model that I made him a lefty.  Ambidextrous!

Step Three

Phew!  Progress.

I painted the cook twice.  The mechanics face was also painted twice, and I'm seriously considering a third pass!  Today I do the guitar player, and being the central focal point, he's supposed to POP.  We'll see!

Step Two

Next?  Get the images all drawn out.  It took forever.

Then start painting!  I prayed a lot at this point!  There's something exhilarating and almost scary about putting on the first dab of paint.  Silly, but true!

Step One

Remember...waaaay long ago...I mentioned painting a set of paintings for a church in Wisconsin?  Well, I'm FINALLY getting started!  This is just the background for one of the canvases.  That's a bit of a repeating logo ("Re") that the client wanted to fade away, almost like a watermark.  There will be a whole crowd of people on top of this, and most of the red will completely disappear.  I think!  We'll see how it turns out.  Clearly, I paint by the grace of God!

Revel

This is what I'll be painting next.  It's for a client in Wisconsin.  Yes.  I'm in Colorado, and he's half way across the country.  Amazing, but true.  

I'm mildly freaked out about it.  There's always...ALWAYS...that voice in my head that shouts that I'm a fool for trying...and who do I think I am anyways?...and this is a fantasy world I'm trying to live in...and I'll blow it!...AND ON AND ON AND ON.

It's the voice of my enemy.

BUT!!  I am chosen and redeemed by God.  Entrusted with a small portion of His creative spirit.  And useful in His powerful and gentle hands.

So I will paint this.  And it will be a bit of a wrestling match with that voice in my head.  But I will paint it.  May God be pleased.  May He find delight in my heart through the process.  May I discover that I know more of His character by the time I'm finished.