Just a Little Bit of Work

I received a small commission not long ago, and found myself surprised at how LONG it took me to complete!  What on earth?!  This is a tiny little painting, but it took FOREVER to find the right reference photo, and then I sketched... and re-sketched... and re-sketched.  Somewhere in my mind I still believe that all the other artists in the world just whip out their brushes and come up with a masterpiece without any effort at all.  IT'S NOT TRUE.  I gotta keep reminding myself of that!!

Anyhow, you see the final sketch, and now here's the finished product.  A fun little oil with fabulous colors.  I love the color choices God made when He put flowers together!

More Sketching

Just a page from my sketch book.  Another lovely evening of sitting by the fire.  I initially looked up reference photos on-line, and there were plenty....but none of them really grabbed  my attention.  So then I went to the CHILDREN'S section of the library.  How brilliant was that?!  Their picture books are fabulous!  So I will be happily drawing elephants until the books are due!

When You Don't Paint, You Sketch

Now that I've finished my painting jobs, there's "nothing to do"!!  Doesn't that just sound like a teenager?

So, I sketch.  Wisdom and Good Sense tell me that I should SKETCH EVERY DAY.  Yah, right.  We'll see! This is...Murphy...concentrating on a computer game.  When I asked him to "look", he glanced over for a full 1/4 of a second.  "Mom, I'm fighting for my life here!"

At the moment I think it looks like him.  Give it a day or so and I'll be able to see the flaws.

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.

JOY GIVERS

One of my greatest joys is a good cup of tea.  Nothing fancy-schmancy.  Just black tea with a teaspoon of sugar.  My son, Murphy (not his real name, but I'm trying to protect the innocent...or something like that)...anyways, Murphy is particularly gifted at making a GREAT CUP OF TEA.  Truly astounding.  He's a JOY GIVER.

I called this sketch "CuppaTea" (think Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady").  I drew it with my hubby's carpenter's pencil which had been sharpened with a knife.  Tricky.  The sketch now resides in the kitchen of a delightful friend, and that fact is also a JOY GIVER!!