High Places

"High Places"
12X16"
Watercolor

I recently read the book Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is wanting a deeper relationship with God. It is a beautiful allegory of a believer's spiritual journey as they follow Jesus. I couldn't help but think of the story as I was painting this mountain scene in a watercolor class. I absolutely love how it turned out, and I am so glad to have a picture to remind me of all the wonderful lessons in the story.

Seeds

"Seed #1"
9X12"
Pen & ink

What kind of seed is this? It could be anything--a seed of hope, of faith, of love. Or, it could be a seed of bitterness, envy, or greed. The possibilities are endless, and it's not always clear what the seed is until it is planted and begins to grow.

My garden this year was full of surprises. I couldn't remember what my husband had planted in the buckets strewn around our front patio area. I patiently watered the soil and waited for something to sprout. After a few months, I was finally able to make some determinations about which plants were weeds and which were plants that I wanted to keep and nurture.

It was a very good life lesson. Of all the things that get planted in my heart, some are worth keeping and nurturing, and some need to be pulled out by the roots. It's not always easy to tell which is which, and that's where I have to rely on the Holy Spirit. He shows me which plants in my heart are the plants of hope and faith and love and which ones are the weeds of bitterness and selfishness and greed. The Master Gardener is always at work uprooting the weeds in my heart and nurturing the flowers and fruits.

"Seed #2"
9X12"
Pen & ink

Okay, I Tried It

"Deeper In"
9X12"
Colored pencil

I've never really been big on abstract painting. Most of it just doesn't make sense to me. But then I came across an article a few months back that made me think, "Don't knock it 'til you try it..." So I did. I took a picture of a flower and started messing around with the shapes and shadows, and I came up with a sketch that developed into this picture.

I wasn't trying to come up with any concrete forms, but when I took a second look at the sketch, I saw a figure in the bottom right corner. It looked like the figure was escaping into the other shapes. I liked that idea, a person escaping into something bigger and deeper. The idea of finding a hiding place and disappearing from all life's cares really appeals to me right now. There's a lot of things that I could disappear into, but honestly, the only thing that is bringing me any lasting peace at this point in time is going deeper in my relationship with God. All the other things that I've been using to escape have left me restless, dissatisfied, disappointed, and completely miserable. God has something so much better, and one of these days I'm actually going to embrace that reality at a heart level, not just in my head.

All that from an abstract painting...maybe that's what I've missed out on for all these years. So now I'm going to encourage everyone else to attempt two don't-knock-it-'til-you-try-it activities: going deeper in your own relationship with God and abstract painting.

Walking in the Rain

"Rain Walk"
8X10"
Colored pencil

I was browsing through some of my projects and old files on the computer and realized that there are quite a few pieces of art that I have not posted on this blog. Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to post some of the old stuff mixed in with some of the new.

I love walking in the rain, especially in spring and summer. Now that I am in the desert, I usually don't get to see much rain. This year has been quite the exception, and I have not minded...even when I have had to bail water to keep things from flooding. This drawing was something that I started for fun, and I really liked how it turned out.

New Life, New "Peace" of Art

"Swallowed Up in Life"
9X12"
Pen & ink

It's been awhile since I've posted anything new. That's not because I haven't been creating anything--I've just been going through some major changes in the last couple of months. After spending some serious time in prayer to find out what God wanted me to do now that I'm on my own again, I felt that I needed to leave my job and dive into full-time missionary work.

Does it sound crazy? Perhaps, but it's not the first time I've made such a move. The first time I quit a job and pursued missionary work, I worked with a ministry to youth and homeless veterans while I was also attending art school. Not only did this give me the skills I needed to create all the wonderful art on this site, it also gave me the opportunity to take the trip on which I met my husband. It's been an adventure that I would not trade for anything, despite the hardships that I experienced.

This time around, I'm not really sure what God is leading me to do. I am helping out a couple of ministries and praying for God's direction. During one of my prayer times, I felt a strong desire to be totally swallowed up in God--all my past accomplishments and failures, all my hopes and dreams, all that I love and despise, everything. I wanted to shed my checkered past and walk into a completely new life. That's where this painting comes from. It represents the prayer of my heart during this new season of my life. Against all human logic and reasoning, I have a tremendous sense of peace about my new path...even if I can't see where it will take me right now.