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.

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!!!

Can You Hear It?

Can you hear the bell?  Bdling!  Bdling!  It makes your heart go back to some beautiful day when you were younger and all was well!  It just makes me smile!

Clover

I seem to be drawn to painting weeds (ha!  a little artist humor there).  I vaguely remember growing up with the idea that having clover in your lawn was a bad thing.  But it's so lovely!  And it's delightful to paint!

This is the last of the little oil paintings that I've done this summer.  Evidently I need to get back to work!  I've got the canvases and the paint and the reference pics...so, Chop! Chop!  I'm such a slacker.

Gerbera

What can I say about this?  Only that I am frequently astounded at the creativity of God.  And that He chose to share some of that character with us.  I find myself longing for eternity, where I hope I get to watch God create.  I don't think there's any promise of that in scripture, but wouldn't it be great?!

Just Opening Up

I don't know if this is a peach blossom or an apple blossom....but it's SPRING.  You know how it is...it's been a long winter, everything has been grey, you hardly look up anymore...and then suddenly you notice this glorious bloom where there used to be only death.  Spring smacks of the promises of God, doesn't it?

Rest

We rush and hurry and rush some more.  Busy, busy, busy!  Gotta get  more done.  Can't forget anything on the list.  Gotta make sure the summer is filled up, overflowing, taken advantage of.  When the list is finished, gotta make another list.  Go, Go, Go!  Gusto grabbing and gung ho!

God gifted me with pink eye.  Seriously!  I've been home for what feels like a very long time.  Seeing nobody.  Cancelling commitments.  Home.  And as I painted this, it dawned on me that being home, with no chance of going anywhere, was a gift from God.  I HAD to be still.

Thank You, My Father.

Learning, Learning, Learning...

What can I say?  This painting was based on another reference pic taken by my friend, Jen.  I'm really not sure what I think about it!  The bee sort of disappears in the mass of purple.  And I've already painted his wings twice.  I've never done any glazing...which might make the wings more transparent, but I'm not sure.  Clearly I need TO LEARN!!  The problem is, I'm not sure WHAT I need to learn!

Dandelion's Cousin

Back in the day, when I was living in the city, I would have yanked this baby up before it had a chance to bloom.  But there's something about going for a hike and stumbling across a grassy area just FULL of these. Once again, my definition of a "weed" has morphed significantly.  As I'm sitting here staring at this one, I'm seeing some tweaking that needs to be done....

The Painted Cow

Done!  I had great fun doing this one.  I love the pink in her neck.  Murphy asked me if I was going to paint the tag in her ear, but for some reason I just couldn't!  There's a hint of magenta in her hide, so I'm calling her "Pretty In Pink".

Curious

I've drawn this guy numerous times, but never tried to paint him until this week.  I got the reference pic at my cousin's house in North Carolina, where the blue birds have more color that the ones we have in Colorado.  He's a curious bugger, isn't he?

Cock-a-doodle-do!!

Every once in awhile (more frequently than I like), I start a painting and in short order I end up hating it...convinced that it's going poorly...thinking maybe I should just start over...what on earth was I thinking, anyways?!  That happened with this guy.  But I was just reading in Romans about perseverance bringing about proven character, and I so-o-o-o did not want to just give up!  Press on!  Keep going!  Never, never, never give up!

And, as it turns out, I LOVE the end result!  Roosters just speak of joy and exuberance, don't they?  I'm calling this "Doodle Do".

Spent (This Time in Oils)

Who knew that a dandelion gone to seed could be beautiful?  Certainly not a city dweller!  But in the land of no lawns, dandelions are just part of the landscape.  Along with those astounding purple thistles (which I have reference pics of, but so far am too chicken to paint!).  And loco weed, which I think ranchers hate, but I love.  The definition of a "weed" is definitely loose where I live!

How many tiny white lines do you paint when you're trying to communicate a dandelion seed?  I don't know!!  I just decided it was time to stop!

Procrastination Begone!

Not long ago I posted a sketch of this flower, thinking I would paint it...someday.  Well, I'm pleased to say that "someday" came much sooner than normal!  Procrastination was not my bedfellow!

I've been thoroughly enjoying these little paintings.  They're just 6" square and they go fairly quickly.  I've painted eight so far, and this week I'm going to the art supply store to buy more canvases.  This one I've called "Gimme A Black Eye".

Spur of the Moment Art

This colored pencil sketch was done in February, mostly to keep myself creatively active.  This morning, as I was perusing my sketch book, I found this sketch and decided, spur of the moment, to paint it.  Well, "spur of the moment" can have it's problems.

It was delightfully fun.

But did I drop my paint brush?  Yes.

Was it loaded with blue paint?  Yes.

Did it bounce against my shirt on it's way to the floor?  Yes.

Had I taken the time to change into painting clothes before painting?  NO!

Not long ago someone asked me how many pairs of painting PANTS I had.  The answer was FOUR.  All because of "spur of the moment" painting.  And dropping my brush.  And now I have another painting SHIRT...I'm not sure how many painting shirts I have now.  And it's a huge bummer, because I really LIKE this shirt!

From Big to Small

A week ago I was painting ginormous 8 foot square canvases, and today I painted itty-bitty 6 inch square canvases!  Variety is good!  It's been forever since I painted something small, and I discovered today that my small brushes STINK!  How on earth did I ever paint with these things?!  Clearly it's time to go to the art supply store (oh, the tragedy of that statement!!).

The top one I'm calling "Dazed" and the bottom one is "Naked In Winter".

Get to Work Already!

When you're waiting to start a project...when you're waiting for supplies to arrive...when you're WAITING...it's not good to just sit around twiddling your thumbs.  Really not good.  The longer you twiddle, the more convinced you become that this whole painting this is just a little silly.  And then, the longer you twiddle, the more convinced you become that you can't paint worth a hill of beans, and WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING?!

So!

I HAD  to paint.  Just to silence my own silly brain!

These three are all small (6" x 6" and 8" x 8"), and they all used the same colors, so I didn't end up wasting any paint.  I really haven't made up my mind if I like them (especially the one in the middle), but they did their job.  I'm painting again.  

I'm currently working on painting chives.  Notice I'll paint them, but I won't eat them!  I'll post a pic when it's done.

And ONE OF THESE DAYS my supplies will arrive and I'll be able to start on that commissioned piece!

Following the Leader

I painted this just before Christmas, and frankly...I can't decide if I like it.  A couple of people saw it and talked about my painting of SWANS.  Which means I didn't nail it.  I think their  heads disappear against the water.  Which  means I didn't nail it.  And I'm not in love with the water itself.  Which means I didn't nail it.

The problem is, I don't know how to learn from this, because I don't know what to do different!  I'll have to show it to my artist friends and ask them for a critique....that'll help!

A thought here:  this is why Christ-followers need to DO LIFE TOGETHER.  Because we don't always see our struggles in the right light...we don't often see our own sin...and we need to speak truth to one another!

Man Art

 

There are some things that I really never, never thought I'd paint.  Pheasants.  Ships in a storm at sea.  Elk bugling.  GUNS.  Really.  But I find that there is a new family friend that appreciates these kinds of things, so when Christmas rolled around I felt compelled to paint a GUN!  Astounding but true.

I was more than a little nervous about the whole idea.  This friend is a real-live-honest-to-goodness-rootin'-tootin' gunsmith, something completely foreign to me.  And I figured that, as a gunsmith, he would notice if I didn't really NAIL IT.  So I sketched the silly thing over and over and over.  This is the best I came up with.  Then I painted it twice.  I still don't think I was completely  accurate, but he was very gracious and seemed to like it!

Guns!  Who knew?