Christmas Art

In an attempt to give Christmas gifts that would truly be enjoyed and wouldn't cripple our budget I decided to make a few paintings. The boy is my nephew. The others are for the grandparents of their grankids. If you want to drive yourself insane, try getting two toddlers to sit nicely together and give a nice smile or expression at the same time. With each painting I had to composite a few different photos to get the views I was after.

Downtown from Lake Ivanhoe

This painting makes me happy to be a painter and not a photographer. I knew this was the scene I wanted and I got my husband to take some reference photos for me, but this view, if it exist would be from a helicopter or maybe a small boat on the water. The sky was also unremarkable that day and I referred to some concept art to help me place a completed building into the picture instead of one that's still under construction.

Waiting for Transformation

I'm a product of our gotta have it now culture, I do not enjoy waiting. However there are plenty of examples in the Bible where God is in no hurry. Moses spends years in the dessert after the burning bush and before he tells Moses to let my people go. Then once free they still spend 40 years in the wilderness before going to the promise land. Jesus goes to the dessert. Even Paul has a period of waiting after his encounter with Jesus. A book I'm reading talks more about God's redeeming purposes in waiting. She uses the imagery of a caterpillar waiting in the cocoon to be transformed into a butterfly. That's the inspiration for this piece. Waiting in a time of winter for the time to emerge for the cocoon with wings!

Ransomed

This past summer I saw Chris Tomlin in concert. He sings a version of "Amazing Grace" that has a different chorus:
"My chains are gone/ I've been set free/ My God, my Savior has ransomed me/ And like a flood His mercy reigns/ Unending love, Amazing grace" Those words resonated in my mind, such powerful imagery. In my mind I saw someone who was being washed clean, rain coming down, chains having fallen off. This painting proved a challenge. The intention was to show rain washing over her, but it was not working well with my chosen medium. I added the window later as well as the background needed something more. I was trying to explain what the painting was about to my daughter, who is almost 3. A hard concept, that Jesus sets us free from our slavery to give in to selfish impulses, and frees us to be who he wants us to be. My prayer is to understand this more fully and live this truth.

New Old Town

This is a painting of a few houses in Baldwin Park, Orlando. It has the feeling of an old small town but only a few years old.

Hope of Harvest

Most of the time I start with a concept and then find a way to portray it visually. This painting came about a bit differently. I was drawn to the imagery of a hand in wheat. (Think of the scene at the beginning of the movie Gladiator.) I had my husband take a reference shot by the side of the road over a month ago. I wasn't sure why that imagery was so powerful in my mind. As I thought about the imagery, I thought of hope: hope of seeing a harvest, results for work done, a sense of satisfaction, of homecoming. I ran across the following passage:
"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." John 12:24-25 (The Message Version) I portrayed a young mother with her child. She gives of herself generously, endlessly, dying to self for the sake of caring for and training her child. She looks forward when she will see the results of this loving sacrifice in her child's life. The wheat is a reminder, a promise that that time will come. Her efforts will be rewarded.

Through the water

Isaiah 43:2,4
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life
I've always loved this passage and wanted to do a painting that would show this idea of God being with us through the difficult times in life. I tried to picture what it would look like for Him to be with me through the waters. Holding hands, side by side? I decided to show Him holding us, protecting us. Again I used my Husband and son as models, showing how strong our father is, and how much we need him.

Tree Painting

I had the opportunity to paint these two paintings during our church service. They wanted to show a visual representation of what was being talked about. The pastor talked about how there are things that are root issues in our lives, things that bear fruit-weather good or bad. Thus they wanted me to paint images of trees. It was a bit nerve wracking being on stage, being watched, wondering if I'd be able to finish each piece in a hour, but it was a great opportunity. (I'm glad I did it and that I attend a church that values visual expression.) Here are the results.

Covered

Psalm 17:7-8 “Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” Rich Mullins has a song that says “Hold me Jesus for I’m shaking like a leaf, you’ve been my king of glory, won’t you be my prince of peace.” I often feel like that shaky leaf and so want to be held by Jesus, protected, at rest. That’s what inspired this piece.

A Father's delight

Isaiah 43:4 “Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me.You are honored, and I love you.” God delights in his children! This one is called “A Father’s Delight”

A Father's embrace

My daughter is a daddy’s girl. She loves spending time with her dad, and her dad really delights in her. It’s a great picture of how much God loves and delights in us. This images is “A Father’s Embrace” and is inspired by Isaiah 43:13 “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”

Stepping out of my comfort zone

I love doing landscapes. They show beauty, they are neutral, forgiving. But this past year I felt God calling me to venture out and do something other than landscapes. I was scared, I didn’t know what I would draw, and what if I failed. What if I couldn’t translate ideas in my head to pastel on paper? I finally got up the courage a few months ago to go ahead and try. I gave myself the freedom to fail, the freedom to portray concepts. It’s an ongoing series that I share with you, and I’m loving it!

My son is almost starting to walk, he crawls like a pro, and will stand and take steps if he is holding onto something solid. The phrase “walking by faith” keep popping up in my head. I thought how God will help us to walk by faith, he will hold our hand as needed and cheers with each new step we take. That’s what I wanted to portray, a baby who is taking those first steps, learning he can do it and daddy is nearby.

Un-forgotten

Isaiah 49:15-16 "Can a women forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..." Just before this passage Israel is saying that God will forget them, and this is the assurance he give them. It's become more personal to me now that I have children. I was trying to portray here the tenderness between mother and child. God's feelings towards us surpass this tender relationship. The mother and child are placed in 'God's hands' to remind us that we are not alone, he is thinking of us. Over and over again in Isaiah it talks about the imagry of God holding our hand, being with us...

Broken but Beautiful

I heard this phrase in a song several months ago and it stuck with me. I'd been feeling broken but not particularly beautiful. I didn't like the feeling, still don't, but I think God is fine with us being broken, with our feelings of desperation. It's there that we know we need more than ourselves, we need him, and he can make the brokenness beautiful. So I had the phrase but wondered how to portray it and a broken vase came to mind. It's back together, not perfect, but useful, beautiful and what it contains is beautiful. I used different papers along with oil pastels for the piece. I was almost done, had the vase, window and table done but it looked unfinished. It needed something else on the table, and I wondered what I would put there. I wanted something that would show what brings about the brokenness. It came to me that my kids while a source of great joy, are also a great challenge to me. I often feel that I'm just not enough. Again I don't like it but realizing that God is ok with that feelings and wants me to turn to him. Hope you enjoy the piece.

Little Econ Trail

Here is a pastel of the Little Econ Trail in Orlando. We enjoyed biking along the river and I noticed the beautiful purple water flowers.