MERRY CHRISTMAS

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

The first time God's voice was heard through 

a human mouth,

it was the cry of a Baby!

"The Adoration of the Shepherds" - Gerard vanHowthorst 1590-1656

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given,

and the government will be on His shoulders.

And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

(Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my followers.  May God in His infinite mercy grant each and everyone of you joys beyond compare and peace to quiet the unrest of these trying times.

Christmas Prep

For those who have been following my series "Women of the Bible," I've taken a slight break from it - although I do have a WIP (work in progress) sitting on my easel right now.  Had to take time to prepare for Christmas.  This year I've decided to use my God-given talent to make all occasion cards for gifts.  Below is a sampling of some I have completed.  It is something I've come to enjoy doing.  On last count I've made 23 - just two more to do to complete the 25 cards originally planned for.  Thank goodness I have some time before it absolutely has to be done. 

My Sunday School class gave me a wonderful "appreciation" gift of a Cuttlebug for Christmas.  What is a Cuttlebug you ask?  It is a cardmaking/scrapbooking little machine that does great things, like embossing as shown in the purple oval of the second card below.  I love it.  Makes cardmaking so much more funner.

I must admit, I'm not chomping at the bit to get back to my painting because I'm thoroughly enjoying creating cards that will bring joy to someone else.  Eve will have to wait a little longer.

Women of the Bible - Queen Esther

Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins.  So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. (Esther 2:17)

The third in my series of Women of The Bible.  

Esther, whose Jewish name was Hadassah, was taken in by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her mother and father.  Mordecai and Esther were among those taken captive from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar.  Scripture tells us that Esther was "lovely in form and features" and when King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) looked upon her he was attracted to her much more than he had been to the other virginal young ladies brought before him. 

The story of Esther is intriguing.  Esther was told by her cousin Mordecai not to reveal the fact that she was Jewish.  If you want to know why, you gotta read the story. 

Your Great Name

My son, Kimo, who is a singer/songwriter here in Nashville  surprised me with this video. I am so proud of him and want to share it with you.  The surprise was that he put some of my paintings to one of my favorite worship songs.  He did a wonderful rendering of the song - love it so much.. Not all of the paintings are mine, but many are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlZLwDiJ8M&feature=youtu.be

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE - Mary

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." (Matt. 1:23 NIV)

Once I laid the sketch in on canvas,  even though just a charcoal sketch, I was so moved by the simplicity and love that showed through the image,. Maybe it is because I am a mother and I was feeling the love a mother has for her child.  Maybe it was because, although just a representation of Mary and our Lord Jesus at the most vulnerable time in His life - Mary must've been so overwhelmed with such emotion of being so blessed as to be chosen the mother of this wondrous child. That this innocent Babe was sent by our God to to be the sacrificial lamb for the cleansing of our sins, giving us a way to Him and everlasting life.

The second in my series of Women of the Bible.  Stay tuned for the next installment.

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE - Ruth

Due to health issues I have not posted to this blog in quite a while. However, as soon as I was able to I got back to my easel. I have decided to do a series of paintings centered on the Women Of The Bible - women whose lives have impressed me. I was inspired to do this series after a study that I did with my Sunday School class on Ruth, the Moabite woman who gave up everything familiar to her...her culture, her family, her god to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem, after the loss of her husband and two sons (one of which was the husband of Ruth). I was very taken with the character of Ruth and her sweet spirit, that it was hard to realize that she came from a pagan culture of peoples who sacrificed children to their pagan god. Other women I have in mind to do are; of course Mary the mother of Jesus, Queen Esther, and mustn't forget Eve - the mother of all living.

Captive Audience II

Omigoodness...I cannot believe I have finally signed this painting as being complete. It has been really a project with a purpose and a history. I've done two other paintings of this pose and after completing the painting for her uncle in 2010, I decided that one day I would do one for myself. Captive Audience II - although showing the same little girl pose, she is now soon to be seven. The story behind the puppies is actually pretty amazing. Her mom fostered an abandoned mama Labrador from the shelter who had just given birth to seven puppies. The puppies were so brand new that their eyes were still closed. The plan was that my granddaughter and her brother would help socialize the puppies when it was time. My granddaughter's whole life at that time centered on the puppies and the need to socialize them. The whole family was commended on what a wonderful job they had done on those puppies. A vet who saw to one of the adopted puppies stated that he had not seen a puppy that young to be so well socialized. When it was time to let the puppies go to new homes, you can be assured that the tears did flow. The two puppies closer in are now part of the family - Piglet and Milkshake. Shiver, the third puppy in the back has gone to his new home. What I wanted to show here was a treasured moment in life.

Let me go back in time, starting with 2010 when her uncle commissioned the same pose but with specifics, like that exact color green ???

In 2008 I did the first of three paintings of this pose of my little granddaughter - she was about 3-1/2 at the time and I entitled it Captive Audience. Some may remember this particular painting.

For me, it was a realization of how far I've come in my painting skills since 2008.

Self Portrait - "Maybe Today"

In an attempt to get back to painting again, I decided to do a self-portrait for one of my art forum challenges. This is a WIP (work in progress), but I think it is nearly done. I have done self portraits before for fun, but I wanted this one to mean something. I have never done rain splashing on windows before, but thought since this is kind of an experimental piece - "why not?" with this piece.

The title comes from my Spiritual Warfare class, where the facilitator posed to us..."Maybe Today."

Starting Up

In an effort to get the creative juices flowing again (I have not drawn or painted for several months), I decided to do a drawing. This is my almost 21 - so hard to believe - grandson in one of his pensive moments. While going through my photographs to find an interesting subject, I came across this photo and was intrigued by this composition. I enjoy most doing people, but like to do them in unusual poses or situations.

I don't know if I will put this to oil, but it did seem to rev up those creative juices I spoke of earlier. Here are some other sketches that I did a couple of years ago.

My Apologies

My apologies for not posting for such a long time...life has been hectic. For now enjoy this painting that I am about to work on. I thought I completed it about three years ago, but now that I look at it I see where much improvement is needed.

It is my granddaughter and I call it "Captive Audience."



I will try to be more timely in posting. I know, I know, I've said that before, but this time I'm really going to work on that.