Wait for the Lord

One of the greatest gifts the season of Advent gives to the church is the gift of waiting. As our attention spans shrink and our cravings for instant gratification grow, the more we need waiting space in our lives. Waiting is a gift that fills us with blessings. Waiting blesses us with hope, wonder, patience and self-control.

This year’s Advent art is an abstract depiction of a dawning morning. It is that moment when the sky glows in soft, low light, but the sun has not yet revealed itself over the horizon. That’s how if feel about waiting for God to act in my life. I feel like I’m never alone, but rather surrounded by God’s presence like dimmed, soft, pre-dawn light. I wait for a fully revealed sunrise over the horizon. The metaphor is also quite true for Christian Advent waiting. We live in the pre-dawn light of Emmanuel while we wait for the full light of Christ’s return.

Accept the gift of waiting this season. Let us slow our rhythms for a fuller experience of time and discernment. Let us enjoy the gifts of wonder, hope and patience. Let us walk towards the horizon in the soft, dim light. God is faithful and will answer our prayers. And sooner or later, the day will come.

40 Days: Day 2: Lent

5"x7" Acrylic on Paper

Available for Digital Download

email me to purchase the original art

This project is all about experimentation and exploration. That includes techniques, medium and subjects. This one was on the road to failure. However, the more I worked on it, the more interesting it became. The painting took on all kinds of layers and textures. Just when I was about to give up, something beautiful happened. Cross turned into Christ. If you look carefully at the top of the cross, circled by the thorny halo, is a christ-like face. It almost looks like a South American or Gothic European carving. What an unexpected joy!

This painting is an invitation to the journey of Lent. It sets the stage for all that is to come. The cross, palms, purple cloth, blood, a crown, and most importantly, Christ. Welcome to Lent. Come along with Jesus as he sets his face towards Jerusalem to suffering the cross.

This painting is proof that  I need to let go of my personal expectations for this series. There may be failures. There may be surprises. Thanks be to God for both.

Dust

5"x7" Acrylic on paper

Available for Digital Download

email me to purchase the original art

You are dust. And to dust you shall return. That is the theme of Ash Wednesday. It is what is said when a cross of ashes is placed on the head. The sobering kickoff to the season of Lent hammers hard on getting us to face reality. God is God. We are not. We are but creatures of dust. Apart form God, we are all mortal, broken, suffering, lost, naive, delusional, hopeless failures.

But here's another truth. God chose to lovingly take the most meaningless of stuff to create a masterpiece—us.  And flawed and frail as we are—destined to be dust—we are God's beloved. The cross that is placed on our heads also remind us of God's saving love that endures beyond death itself.

In life and in death, we belong to God.

40 Days, Day 32, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down
your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one,
stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me; your morn shall rise,
and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till traveling days are done.

Text: Horatius Bonar, 1846

40 Days: Day 14: Transformed

5"x7" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:1-3

40 Days: Day 8: Evensong III

3"x3" Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife
Click Here to Purchase

May the Lord, who is our peace, give us peace at all times and in every way. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

40 Days: Day 5: Inseparable Love

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Click Here to Purchase

Romans 8:38-39New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Happy Valentine's Day!

40 Days: Day 4: Psalm 139—The Inescapable God

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

Psalm 139

The Inescapable God

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15     My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
    all the days that were formed for me,
    when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
    I come to the end—I am still with you.

19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
    and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
20 those who speak of you maliciously,
    and lift themselves up against you for evil!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

God in the Storm

9"x12" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

Psalm 29

The Voice of God in a Great Storm

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
    worship the Lord in holy splendor.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
    and strips the forest bare;
    and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
    May the Lord bless his people with peace!

What Wondrous Love Is This 18x24

18"x24" Acrylic on Deep Edged Canvas

with Palette Knife

As the lesson of Lent begins, I'm posting an enlargement of the hymn abstract of "What Wondrous Love Is This". You can see the original 8x10 here.


What Wondrous Love Is This
American Folk Hymn

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free
I’ll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.

It Is Well with My Soul 6x6

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Commissioned

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 28

Today's painting is a 6x6 replica of my abstract based on the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul." It was commissioned by a daughter for her mother who is a lover of sacred music and recovering from illness. What a beautiful thing to know that this art will aid in the healing process and remind them of the comforting words in this beautiful hymn.

It Is Well with My Soul

Horatio G. Spafford

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

See the original painting and the full hymn text here.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Not Available

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 23

Feeling grateful today.

Prayer of Petition

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 11

It seems that 2015 has been a rough beginning for too many people close to me. Many prayers have been given for them. Remembering back to an abstract I made on prayer last year, I'm painting a new prayer abstract today. This time, it is a prayer of petition. A prayer to lift others up to God. A prayer for healing, strength and peace. 

May it this painting help you as you pray for the needs of those close to your heart.

Peace.

(After) The Baptism of Jesus

8"x10" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 10

This weekend, many christians will reflect on the baptism of Jesus. So I thought I'd do a little reflection of Jesus and baptism. This painting is based on the story according to the Gospel of Mark:

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

The painting is an exploration of the latter part of the story. After Jesus was baptized, and the spectacle of the Holy Spirit, what happens next is quite like a parable. After the baptism, there were no celebrations, no baptismal certificates, no luncheons with family and friends. After Jesus' baptism, the Holy Spirit (who had just come down like a dove and rested on Jesus) lead him into the wilderness for 40 days of solitude and fasting. 

This painting depicts that moment where Jesus steps out of the water and walks off the stage, soaking wet, with only the Spirit to guide him. If we really think about our life after baptism, Jesus' experience doesn't seem all that uncommon. After we are baptized, there is still a life of suffering, journeying, temptation and uncertainty. But, like Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit as our companion and guide. Together with the Spirit, we face the wilderness head on.—walking wet with the water of our calling.