In Remembrance

For over 2,000 years the church has had a many opinions as to what communion means. Is it just in remembrance? Or do the elements become the body and blood of Christ? Do they give merit? Lots of questions. A few books I've read recently (one being "Looking for God knows What" by Donald Miller) suggest thinking about the disciples getting together for communion as a time of community and sharing stories, memories of what they had shared with Jesus. Friends enjoying each other over a meal.

Clothed with Compassion

Throughout the Bible we see references to how the Lord is clothed with splendor and majesty, and how he covers or clothes us. We are to put these garments, a new nature given as we inherit Christ's standing. Heavy stuff. Started thinking what would that look like. Thought of someone placing a robe or covering on the other. It's received. It's given by grace not because we did something to deserve it. As I started painting it lead me to thinking about those in our society who have little. What they have is piled into a shopping cart. Is that what we look like to God? Wandering around, everything precious carried with us, when really we have nothing of worth. And He gives us what we really need, sees us for who we are, and embraces us, covers us. (See Isaiah 61:10, Psalm 30:11, Zechariah 6:13, Romans 13:14, 2 Corinthians 5:4, Colossians 3:12)

Molded

As an artist I'm drawn to the imagery of God being a potter and we are the clay. He shapes us just how he wants us, he reshapes as he sees fit. He works skillfully and each creation is made carefully and purposefully. We are his workmanship.

I am HIS

Recently I was reading in a book that talked about how relational God was, he refers to himself as a shepherd and a father and a groom to the church. I've explored some of these relationships with previous paintings. I'd never explored what it looks like for Christ to be our Groom. As I thought of how to portray this I scraped the idea of the wedding day, as it would look very western. I think the idea of marriage as a relationship is one where the person sees you as you are, you are vulnerable, loved, accepted. This is what I strove to capture here.

This is probably the riskiest painting I've done, I didn't do it to be inflammatory. I just thought that clothes came with the fall, with sin, clothes were not worn in the garden. I thought they got in the way of the message which is why the couple is portrayed as they are.

Prodigal returns

Prodigal Returns

Finally finished, largest pastel I've ever done. Wanted to capture the father's love and acceptance of the son who has nothing to offer but himself.
Luke 15:11-32
11And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me(A) the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided(B) his property between them. 13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in(C) reckless living. 14And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16And he(D) was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17"But(E) when he(F) came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father,(G) I have sinned against(H) heaven and before you. 19(I) I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' 20And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and(J) ran and(K) embraced him and(L) kissed him. 21And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.(M) I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'[b] 22But the father said to his servants,[c] 'Bring quickly(N) the best robe, and put it on him, and put(O) a ring on his hand, and(P) shoes on his feet. 23And bring(Q) the fattened calf and kill it, and(R) let us eat and celebrate. 24For this my son(S) was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.
25"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' 28But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might(T) celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came,(U) who has devoured(V) your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31And he said to him, 'Son,(W) you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32It was fitting(X) to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother(Y) was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Emergence

I completed the "Waiting for Transformation" piece over a year ago, although I did make some recent small adjustments. I kept waiting knowing I wanted to make "Emergence" but wanting it to feel more true to where I am in life. When spring arrives, things are alive and fresh and vivid! You feel hopeful and full of faith. Not sure I'm there yet, some days I catch a glimpse.

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

I love the image of Jesus as our Shepherd. Perhaps as I so often feel at a loss. We were going through this passage at church several weeks back and I found myself sketching on a small scrap of paper so I decided to do a pastel. Enjoy.

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...