O Dawn

2.5"x3.5" Oil on Board

with Palette Knife

ACEO

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer

our spirits by thine advent here.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death's dark shadows put to flight. 

"O" Antiphons series.

The Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.

There are many different texts for the O Antiphons. For this series, I'm using the verses to they hymn "O Come Emmanuel" which lyrically contains all of the O Antiphons.

A New Day

8"x10" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

This year’s Advent painting depicts the beginning of a new day. The scriptures for this season are full of hope for a new day of justice and salvation. However, this is no soft glow over a dew-filled morning, but rather a saving light breaking through the cold darkness of a world desperately in need of grace.

More than an illustration, this painting is a prayer for the suffering, the homeless and the desperate. It is a reminder that we are not consigned to live in darkness. A new day has indeed come. It keeps dawning over and over.  When we find ourselves in a place where righteousness and justice seem lost in the dark, we have hope. The break of new day will come again.

Flying High

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: September—Day 5.

Want to know one of my favorite things about living in Franklin?
On a fair day, you can look up and see colorful balloons flying by. 

Goodbye Rain

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 11.

It's been raining and drizzling for about two weeks. Today, the front moved on and the sun shined again. This is a painting of our morning sky as the rain clouds retreated. It reminds me that no matter how down we get from long periods of life's "rain," the sun will eventually shine on us again.

Guidance: Day and Night

OK. It’s a new year. For many of us, it’s a time where we reflect on where we’ve been and wonder where we are to go in the year to come. So I thought now would be a good time to post a piece on God’s guidance.

God delivered the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and led them through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Each and every day, God’s people looked up and knew that God was with them—leading them to a promised home.

These are two vertical gallery canvases painted with only a palette knife. This technique rendered the pillars to appear more abstract, yet still very recognizable. Presented as a pair, they harken to the Old Testament like tablets of the The Law. They also possess a liturgical feeling like a stole draped around the shoulders of a pastor. They are meant to remind us that God has always been and always will be with us.

These very different images juxtapose each other in multiple ways. They reflect the many ways we encounter God. At times, God can seem like the cloud. Comforting. Gentle. Quiet. Refreshing. Other times, God can seem like fire. Refining. Protecting. Passionate. Scathing. But God’s love remains the same. God provides our daily bread, the exact portion we need, to survive another day in the wilderness. God guides us with wonders of grace, we have only to look with eyes of faith.

Wherever our journey takes us, no matter how lost or alone in life’s wilderness we may feel, we can always trust in God’s presence and guidance—every day and every night.