Shine

Oil on Panel

For Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Joseph

by Ascension Press

Available for purchase here:

https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/product-page/shine

Have you ever beamed with joy? Have you ever had a time when you were so filled with happiness that it felt as if you were full of an uncontainable energy that radiated from you?
I have had experiences like that as a parent when I look at my children and marvel at the miracle of who they are and who they are becoming. Even now as my children are entering adulthood, they make my heart swell with pride, joy and love. That feeling motivates me to be a better parent and a more loving person to my neighbors. 

I imagine Mary and Joseph may have had those moments of beaming joy as well. In this painting for Ascension Press, I imagined a moment where the Holy Family is just spending a moment together. Joseph holds Jesus and gazes into the his incarnate eyes. Mary reclines, relaxed and content, next to Joseph as she watches Joseph and Jesus bond. And Jesus reaches out to Joseph the way babies do—full of love, trust, and curiosity. The whole family is in a moment of beaming joy together—illustrated by the flood of light surrounding them.

Advent is over. The baby, Emmanuel, (which means "God with us") is here. Now is the time to bond with Him. Let us make time to get to know Him. Let us marvel at who Jesus was, is, and is becoming. May our time with Him swell our hearts with so much uncontainable joy and love that it radiates out to the world. May that love make us lights to the world with Him. May it make us shine.

Merry Christmas to you all.

40 Days: Day 35: Morning Song II

5"x7"
Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife

Click Here To Purchase

Here is a little impression from my back yard this morning.

40 Days: Day 30: Pink Magnolias

2.5"x3.5" Acrylic on Paper

ACEO

OK. I've missed a couple of days this past week. Life just gets in the way of your goals sometimes. Hopefully, this two-in-one post will make up for it. 

While frame shopping for an art exhibit last week, I found these really nice frames for Artist Trading Cards. I still had a couple of Antiphons left from December (type "Antiphons" in my search box to see what I'm talking about), So I bought a few frames to make a nice set. For the remaining two frames, I whipped up some abstract studies in pink based on the same pink magnolia from the "Early Bloomer" post. I hope you like them.

By the way, the happy little ceramic angel in the background is from my daughter's elementary school days. What could brighten a day more than spring pink and smiling angels?

Have a great day!

40 Days: Day 7: Echoes

12x12 Oil on Canvas

SOLD

My life flows on in endless song;
above earth’s lamentation,
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.

Refrain:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing? [Refrain]

What though my joys and comforts die?
I know my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth. [Refrain]

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
a fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his!
How can I keep from singing? [Refrain]

Author: Robert Lowry

Tune: HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING

New Earth

12"x12" Oil on Deep Edged Canvas

with Palette Knife

As an artist, I’m very aware of the concept of “work in progress.” It’s that messy stage of a painting that lives between inspiration and completion. Often times, many artists are reluctant to share their “WIPs” with others for fear of judgment or rejection of their unfinished work. The audience cannot see the end result. It exists only in the mind’s eye of the artist. 

This year’s Advent scriptures show us images of a world changing into a new creation of joy, justice and peace. From beating swords into plowshares to lions and fatlings lying together, the images of God’s kingdom abound in these ancient texts of hope. 

Two thousand years after Christ, however, we struggle to find where these dreams have come fully true. But if we look at God’s work of grace though Jesus Christ as a WIP, the discrepancies make more sense. 

During Advent we live out this mystery. We celebrate by remembering the Prophets of old, longing for the Advent of Emmanuel. By doing so, we also wait for Christ’s return. Christ has come. Christ will come again. And somewhere in between, we continue in the WIP of the kingdom.

The painting for this year’s “Joy to the World” Advent theme is called “New Earth.” The inspiration comes from Revelation 21, where we are shown images of a new heaven and a new earth. The painting depicts a future earth, full of joy and peace, in orbit with the Christ star. It is to give us perspective and hope when we are discouraged in our season of working and waiting. We are all a work in progress. We need these images from scripture to glimpse the big picture from God, the master painter, and keep ourselves motivated to work towards the completion of God’s masterpiece of grace.

Psalm 30: You Have Turned My Mourning Into Dancing

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Click Here to Purchase

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
    and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
    restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
 For his anger is but for a moment;
    his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
 By your favor, O Lord,
    you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

 To you, O Lord, I cried,
    and to the Lord I made supplication:
 “What profit is there in my death,
    if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    you have taken off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with joy,
 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

40 Days: Day 17: Healing

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

40 Days: Day 12: Psalm 100

6"x6" Oil on Deep Edged Canvas

with Palette Knife

Commissioned

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come into his presence with singing.

 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

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.

Seaside Joy

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 23.

Our family loves the beach. We try to vacation there every year. There is something about the beach that just rejuvenates and livens the soul. As I long for the beach on this winter day, I painted an image of my youngest daughter splashing around on the shore. It sums up all of the feelings I love most about our vacations by the sea. 

We Light A Candle

5"x7" Oil on Canvas

In response to the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, this painting and the poem below is dedicated to anyone who's heart is hurting this holiday season.



We Light A Candle

Every season we come together to light a candle.
We light a candle of HOPE that God hears our prayers.
We light a candle of PEACE to calm the storms in our lives.
We light a candle of JOY—for one day all will be made whole in God.
We light a candle of LOVE for our families, our neighbors—and our enemies.
We light the candle of CHRIST—who’s suffering love heals our wounded souls.
Every season we come together to light a candle.
We light a candle to overcome the darkest night.

Songs of Peace

The liturgical season of Advent us again upon us. It is a time of waiting and anticipation for Christmas. During this time, we remember the promises of old and stories about our Messiah, and in so doing, we wait for Christ’s return. Our pastor has a tradition of focusing all of the weeks of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany into a certain theme. For the past four years, I have had the honor of designing art for each theme. This year’s theme is “Songs of Peace.” As our congregation journeys through Advent this year, we will be also be celebrating with psalms. It will be interesting to combine the traditional songs of this season with the ancient cries of hope and longing from the psalms.

This year’s art brings the wonder of Advent in communion with the wisdom of the psalms in the image of a shepherd. The pastoral scene is of a young shepherd with his or her flock. The shepherd sings songs of God and dances to the dawn of a new day. It is a scene full of HOPE, JOY, PEACE and LOVE. The spring colors of this painting contrast what we are used to seeing this time of year. They reflect the contrast of the Advent season. Although our days darken towards winter, the Church grows brighter towards the Advent of the Light of the World. In this painting, you may see mountains echoing joyous strains of “Gloria.” You may see green pastures to restore the soul. The Songs of Peace span the testaments of scripture. They have been sung centuries. They remind us that our hope in God’s promise should not lose its resolve.

This Advent season, may you sing the ancient Songs of Peace, and dance in the dawn of Emmanuel.