New Life

I usually don't paint people- they are less forgiving if a nose is too long, or eyes too far apart. But I am a few weeks away from gving birth to our second child, a son. I'm emmersed in motherhood. I was sitting at my midwife's office and decided I wanted to give them a painting but my landscapes didn't seem appropriate. I wanted to show the reward at the end of pregnancy, bonding with your new baby.

Oaks of righteousness

One more painting to go along with the series for Isaiah 61. "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." How I want God to plant me, to put me in a place where I display his strength.

Isaiah series

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives,
And freedom to prisoners;

To grant those who mourn in Zion,
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61: 1,3

In effort to try and get this scripture into my head and heart I've started a series of sketches depicting some of these things. I was encouraged in my reading to see that when Jesus read scripture at the temple and said this has been fulfilled in your time it was this passage. He is a healer and comforter, restorer.

It had been months since touching my oil pastels. I just felt uninspired. I needed fresh material to paint, yet I think I would've stalled even if I had some great landscape scenes. I felt like God was calling me to trust him to do something different. To venture beyond my normal subject matter of landscapes to something more personal. It struck fear in me as I wondered if I would fall on my face. But I waited and eventually got an impression, an idea of what I was to attempt. I've been learning about faithfulness, mostly of God to bring about what he wants in our lives. And about fruitfulness, the idea of producing things of value like hope, joy, love, patience and other vitures in our lives. I wanted to see those kind of qualities in my life. So above is the result so far. I don't have a title yet, and will probably look to find some scriptures that speak to the theme. God impressed another concept in my head recently and so I set out again seeing if I can protray this mystery visually.

Flowers

I have a black thumb, give me a plant and it will be dead within a few weeks. However I do enjoy other people's gardens. One of my favorite spots in Orlando is Leu Gardens. The following piece reflects the variety and beauty of some favorite flowers. I decided to use hexagons and arrange them to make the shape of a flower.

Glimpses of Central Florida

A local magazine sponsors "Paint the Town" every year. They invite artists to submit pieces depicting Orlando. I will be submitting "Glimpses of Central Florida" that shows little pieces of what makes Orlando what it is. This and the asian piece were fun to do, brainstorming image ideas, and then creating them.

Glimpses of the East

Several years ago I spent a year living in Asia. It was hard at times, yet it was a grand adventure that has shaped part of who I am. Rather than doing a series of paintings of Asia, I decided to do a "mini-series" that would give a feel for the richness of the culture.

choking worries

Sometimes it's easier for me to express my feelings visually, than in words. Here I was processing while painting how hope feels at time. I want to hope but the circumstances of life come in loud and dark, and threatening my view, my hope. There are still glimmers even in the darkest times, yet I long to break free, to not let my circumstances dictate how I feel, to see what's unseen, to see God's purpose, which I believe to be overarchingly good, in my day. Having hope, having a whole heart is a battle.