Playing With Watercolors

Recently a friend asked me to ink these words for her as a memorial for some time she had spent with God.  I love giving ourselves reminders of God's work in our lives!

Having gotten out my watercolors, I had to do more!  So here are three greeting cards that I did today while I waited for our latest snow to melt:

I love those two.... but you take your mind off the task at hand for JUST A SECOND... and what happens?  Even with my Bible open to the appropriate passage (which is in Matthew, by the way), I wrote JOHN.  What?!  Really?!  That's just... ridiculous.

Tonight's Occupation

I've spent the last three days on a scaffold painting huge canvases.  With big sloppy brushes.  Hopping down to get a good look, climbing back up again to continue painting.  The scale of it gets almost mind-numbing after awhile...and definitely shoulder-aching.

So tonight I got out my sketch book and my colored pencils (and a blanket, and a glass of water, and an ice cream bar) and worked small.  And as I worked small, I reveled in COLOR!!  I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that I thank the Lord for color at least every other day.  It is a constant source of joy to me.

So Teach Us To Number Our Days

This started out as a request for a crow.  Actually, let me back that up:  it started out as a request for an owl.  "Why an owl?"  Because the recipient loves them because they're so smart.  They also love crows.  I'd much rather paint a crow!

But wait.... that sketch is of a raven.  Or is it?  I went hunting, and frankly, I'm still not sure.  But in the process I found an image that I like better!

Along with this, there will be a verse (done in calligraphy by my sister-in-law) from Psalm 90.  "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  Funny how the details of life play themselves out (ahem.... insert here a grateful bowing to the sovereignty of God!):  I've loved that verse for years!

What better way to ponder the passing of our days, than to have this so-wise bird perched on a clock face?

The finished painting, leaving space for the calligraphy on the left.  I haven't worked with watercolors in YEARS.  It was definitely a challenge!  You HAVE to wait for the previous layers to dry!  I was reminded of that the hard way.  This thing got painted twice, partially for that reason!

Sometimes It's Just Plain Work

Two sketches.  Trying to figure out the layout of a piece I was working on.  I never actually used either of these, and so they hang out in my file.

For most of my life I thought that as an artist you just picked up a pencil, or a paintbrush, and started creating.  And then after a short period of time ... "voila!"... you had a lovely finished  piece.  Boy, was I wrong!!  It never ceases to amaze me how much time I spend in prep-work.  Sketching, and re-sketching, and searching for reference materials, and changing my mind, and sketching some more.  Add to that making mistakes and having to start over!!

That bit about "changing my mind"... that's the problematic part!!  I'm guessing the Lord didn't wrangle over creating like I wrangle over a painting!  Yes, He called it work.  And yes, He rested when He was done.  But I'm guessing He didn't have any self-doubt in the mix!  And I'm very thankful for that!  There's no fussing and second-guessing in my God!

What On Earth?!?

Yes, that's an eyeball.  No, wait.  It's a football.  No wait....

I should be used to it by now... people ask you to paint the oddest things!  And that's a good thing, because it was a LOT of fun!!

For those of you who just CAN'T  FATHOM  WHY someone would ask me to paint an eye on a football... it was a sermon illustration!!  If you want to hear it, you can listen here:  http://www.woodlandparkcommunitychurch.com/  .... it's the sermon from January 4th, 2015.

Finally!

Remember this?  I posted progress pics awhile ago, and couldn't post the final image until now... because it was a Christmas present, and it was a surprise... and wouldn't it be awful if I posted it and ruined the surprise?

So, here's the finished product:

And the recipient is pleased!  I'm so glad.  There's a wicked voice that lives way back in the back of my head, and it likes to whisper that I'm really not any good at this.  Be silent, wicked voice.  I am measured by the love of my Savior, and it's His approval I live for.

Just Finished

I haven't been completely slacking, honest!

I just finished this on the wall of a friend.  She chose the general image and the verse, then I went hunting for a reference pic that fit her requests.  This picture was taken up behind Alma, Colorado.  It was a lovely summer day, but one without a blue sky... that doesn't happen very often!

If you look closely there are two stick figures on the left peak.  My friend informed me, after I had  painted the image, that she and her hubby had actually climbed that mountain!  So, OF COURSE, I had to include them!

ART FOR CHRISTMAS!!

Don't you just hate a blank wall??!  Don't you think it would look MUCH better with a piece of original art hanging there?  Well, art makes for a GREAT Christmas present!!

The following original paintings are all FOR SALE!  These are all done with oil paint, all framed in black floater frames, and all ready to hang on a wall somewhere.  I've listed the size of the canvas  panel first, and then the finished, framed size in parenthesis.  If you're within driving distance, I'll hand deliver.  Otherwise  you'll need to add shipping costs to the price listed.  Unfortunately, I'm not set up to accept credit cards, so you'll need to do cash or a personal check.

I also am VERY willing to paint something original for you!  I already have the frames for these sizes, so that makes it easy.  Let me know if you're interested!!  You can e-mail me any time, but if I don't personally know you, be sure to put something in the subject line saying you're interested in an art piece.  That way I won't lose you in my spam file!  You can write to adinahens@gmail.com any time.  The sooner the better, because oil paint takes some time to dry!!

"BDLING-BDLING"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"CHRISTMAS LIGHTS"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"CLOVER"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"FADING FAST"

8" X 8"

(12" X 12")

$85

"FREEDOM"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"PRETTY IN PINK"

8" X 8"

(12" X 12")

$85

"REST"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"UNDER FOOT"

6" X 6"

(10" X 10")

$60

"WATCH FOR ME"

8" X 8"

(12" X 12")

$85

Hope

Just a word of encouragement.  Life is tricky sometimes.  Rough.  Scary.  We tend to wring our hands while we're praying.  Sort of a mixture of honorable dependence on God, and fretful worry.  Take heart.  When you know Jesus as your Savior, His comfort and activity become real.  He is always at work, and He is always faithful.  

"LET US HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE WITHOUT WAVERING, FOR HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL."  Hebrews 10:23

Our hope is not based on our own activity, or on the choices of family members, or on the promises of flawed people.  Our hope is based on the CHARACTER OF GOD.  Solid.  Perfect.  Never changing.  Trustworthy.

In Process

Yes, that's one doggone bright yellow canvas!  I thought I'd show you what you do when you've got a BIG canvas to paint, and it's getting a wee bit chilly to paint in the garage:  You improvise!  Well, really, you ask your husband to improvise, because he's much handier with a screw gun!

So this is where I'm spending a great deal of time... and all with OIL paint, which is just delightful beyond words.  I really don't know if I can express how much I LOVE painting with oils!

Next, the pencil drawing, which you really can't see.  Then some outlines of the foreground.  And then the beginning.  Here's where the house starts to smell strange.

I've reached the point in life where my son can take some pretty decent pics.  So, these days when he comes home from school, I say, "How-was-your-day-will-you-take-some-pics-for-me?"  In this instance he also took a bunch of pics from funky angles that made my brain sort of hurt.   I chose to show you the ones where you can actually tell what's going on!!

Can you tell the sky changed?  I painted that initial swatch of blue and white and then laid in bed thinking, "what was I thinking?"  So a couple of days later, I edited.  And once I was content with the sky, I was able to move on to the Peak.  It got edited too... you'll see...

Can you see the edit?  The darks in the Peak were a bit too dark to please me.  Not a lot.  But when something isn't quite right, you really can't sleep.  Really.

That's all for now!  I'm THOROUGHLY LOVING THIS!!  I tell my musical friends it's like hitting that perfect note, with the perfect tone, and a lung full of volume.  And I tell my writer friends it's like coming up with just the right string of words... poignant, lovely, unique.

I'll show you the final thing in a few days (providing I don't lay in bed one night and decide that the whole thing is wrong!!).

Bed Head

If you saw a rumpled up rooster, wouldn't you call him Bed Head?  Honestly, I couldn't help myself!!

This was GREAT FUN to paint!  He's just 6" square, and fits in a lovely black floater frame.  I was going to take progress pics, but then I got all consumed and completely forgot!  So all I've got is the very beginning.

My hubby came home and said something like, "you've got some green in there...", like maybe it was a mistake.  But no!!  IT WAS ON PURPOSE!  A rooster's neck just begs for a splotch of inappropriate color!

Pulling Out the Oils

"UNDER FOOT"

"FADING FAST"

The other day I pulled out my oils to do a chicken for a friend (I'll post him later), and OF COURSE, I couldn't waste the left over paint!  So I played and came up with these.  We're just coming to the end of our fall colors, and I've taken a plethora (love that word) of reference photos.  We'll see if I can wrangle my self-doubt long enough to paint a few more!  It was great fun.  I dearly love painting with oils!

More Items for the Arts & Crafts Fair

Remember I told you about an Arts and Crafts Fair that would benefit Choices, a local organization that preserves life for unborn children?  It's coming up in another month, and these are some of the final pieces that I painted for them.  

The first three pics look sort of wonky, because it's kind of hard to get an image of a shelf...when the shelf isn't hanging on the wall.  Just stand on your head, and you'll be able to see it!!  There were two shelves, each having a groove for a plate to stand up in.

The three trees are painted the same on the back as they are on the front.

It's astounding to me how long I pondered these before I figured out what I wanted to paint on them!  Particularly the trees!  In fact, I think I painted them three times!  I like the results though.

If you're local, here's some info on the sale:  It's called the Rocky Mountain Christmas Boutique.  It will be held at the Shining Mountain Golf Course, north of Woodland Park on November 7th and 8th, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Gray Jay

I've always called them Camp Robbers.  I don't know if it's really the same bird, or not.  They have very well known behaviors, though:  no fear, a strong longing for whatever you're eating, definite curiosity.  It's a delightful thing to lure them in for a cracker (or whatever!) and end up with them landing on your head!

And my Father cares for them.  But He cares for me far more.

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?"  (Matthew 6:26)

It's a good thing to rest in the care of our loving, sovereign, saving God.