Untitled Musings

  This piece is the marriage of childhood memories, an inspiring song and a specific color scheme.  It didn't quite take shape as I had originally envisioned but that tends to be the story of my art life  - or just my life in general.  I first had the idea I would like to do an abstract piece with specific colors to fit with my living area.  Unfortunately, I have yet to get to the place in my artistic self where I can let a squiggle be just a squiggle, a blob just a blob, etc.  So on to another idea - a couple of photographs from the Yakima river which brought back good memories of my childhood and the beauty of Eastern Washington. The thing was, I really wasn't digging on a straight landscape....Hmmm....so on went the tunes and out came the paint brushes and palette knives. Right about this time, I was completely obsessed with Rhett Walker band and when Come to the River came on the ipod I shamelessly hit repeat until it played on auto in my head for weeks. At one point while singing along, I painted the verses into the layers of water - if you look close enough at the original you can still see it in some places. For some reason the twists and turns this piece took and the random words I can just barely glimpse in the water make me happy - I think the twists and turns remind me of my life and the words peeking out of  the surface layers remind  me of my deeper foundation in Christ.
So now this big girl is hanging on my wall, grabbing attention as soon as the door is opened and generating lots of questions and conversation.  She really needs a name...

Untitled
4ft x 5ft Acryic on Canvas

Building Bridges

Have you ever done something you really didn't want to do but you did it because you love the person who asked you to do it? If  your answer is "yes!" then you can relate to where I was coming from while working on this piece of art. One of my sons asked me to paint him a scene of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  A perfectly fine request except I really, really don't like painting pieces of architecture - the straight lines kill me. So, because I love my son (and let's be truthful - he wouldn't quit asking for it or change his mind and pick something else) I took on the dreaded Golden Gate...



Noah's Golden Gate
oil on canvase 20X24

I had to push myself through this piece - not just because I didn't like the subject matter (did I  mention straight lines are certain creative death!) but also because of all this piece became in my head. Paramount to my head space is that my son is very ill. He's dealt with debilitating illness for over a year and half now with no answers from traditional doctors and non-traditional medicine. We've traveled down roads that have lead us to too many medical tests, hospital visits, doctor, accupuncture, and osteopathy appointments to count. Along these pathways, we've battled mightily with road blocks of depression and anxiety. Through all of this, there are no words I can use to describe the depths of where I've been - how it effects every aspect of reality and dream. There is a point where human comfort is ineffectual, prayers become uncomfortable and helplessness settles in the bones. There are many days when the weight has been so heavy, the "what if's" become so big that I could hardly breath and in those moments all I've been able to do is ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me because there are no words, just raw helplessness before His throne. Moment by moment, step by step, The Lord has been leading me down these roads and as I look back I realize each step has lead me over bridges...bridges that span the gap between my unbelief to a place of trust, from tumultuous fear to contentment in my circumstances, from doubt that He loves me truly to clear sight in how He does.  So, I've decided bridges are good.  And as painful as it may be, I keep praying God continues to build bridges in me and that he will use these circumstances to build bridges in my son. And if you've just read this, You've been prayed for - that bridges would be built in you, too.