Upon the day of Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving blessings...

Truly if we have thankfulness and gratitude in our hearts that in itself brings blessings upon us.

Ungratefulness is a germ that infects the heart of some and harms relationships. With that in mind, I express my thankful for my friends who love me unconditionally and bless me with their thoughtfulness. I'm thankful for my family who support me and trust my judgment in family matters who are quick to forgive my blunders. I'm so thankful for my son and daughter and their spouses who make me so proud to be their parents. I'm thankful for a loving faithful husband that I can count on without question and trust completely. I'm so thankful for this country that gives me the freedom to express my ideas and opinions freely and gives me freedom from an oppressive government and the power represented in my single vote.

Finally, I'm thankful to our LORD for bestowing His merciful grace upon me, a sinner saved by Grace, which is a gift of undeserved and unmerited favor before Him, and for His written Words that anchor my soul through faith in His promises to his children. Promises that are for those who love Him and His Word. Thank you Lord for what you have done and what you are going to do in the future. -- In Jesus' Precious Name I Pray -- Amen

Some won't understand...others will.

For many years, I have had this burning desire to teach the Word and teach what I've been privileged to learn. Yet I've been hindered and often frustrated. What I have learned over my life time from my beloved Mother who is residing in the heavlies as we speak is this that God controls my circumstances and directs my lives. She admonished me so often when I became discouraged when nothing happened, "In His timing, He will bring it about." After 30 years of waiting ... He has finally brought it about ... it has happened and it was not by my doing at all.

On December the 1st ... a group of people most I do not even know will knock on my door to enter in with me into fellowship and teaching will begin. I stand amazed ... it amazes me every time this happens for this is when the invisible God becomes visible and very real. Why must it be like this and not my doing? So that I can KNOW that it is His will and He will therefore, enable me to accomplish whatever He desires.

Lord, take my weakness and make me strong. Lead me and I will follow. Thank you for what you are going to do through my teaching and fellowship with whomever you bring to my door. I stand amazed and completely humbled to my knees in thankfulness. At last. Mom, as usual, you were exactly right and I have the full assurance of my faith.

My prayer today...

It is interesting how negative people and negative critical words affect one's soul and the works of our hand. It is so easy to be sabotaged by these people. Everyday I thank the LORD that He is in control of my life and my destiny and when I remind myself of that and humble myself to His will, how truly joyful and happy I become. Therefore, I resist the critical garbage coming my way and turn to prayer for encouragement.

Father, Blow upon the embers of my heart and flame up the faith that is in me this day. Give me strength and wisdom and a forgiving attitude. Help me to be Christ-like in all I do, especially in the works of my hand. Muzzle my mouth to speak only your words. I pray for those who attack me and ask your mercy be upon them for they truly do not know what they do. If it be possible, reveal yourself to them in a profound way that will transform their thinking. Thank you LORD for this season of beauty and reflection upon your goodness toward us for it is your goodness towards mankind ...that leads us to repentance. Thank you for revealing your truth to those who have been given ears to hear and eyes to see. With thanksgiving I pray .... In Jesus Name, Amen.

Promises

Psalms 92:12 "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To shew that the LORD [is] upright: [he is] my rock, and [there is] no unrighteousness in him."

I was at church this morning worshiping. My custom is to turn to the Psalms and read as I worship and especially during the praise singing. I opened the book randomly and this was what I read. I've been feeling my age and thinking that I have started a serious study of fine art too late in my life. I wanted to teach the Word but have been prevented. The Holy Spirit quickened my spirit and I knew the Lord was speaking to me directly from His word ... and giving me a promise for my old age. I will be fruitful. Thank you Father ... you always give me just what I need in encouragement and your promises are true.

Edit: When one walks with the Lord on a daily basis, that one's priorities are kept in their place and when the spirit is fed spiritual growth comes. I desire to be spiritually fat. I know that my relationship with the Lord directly affects all the works of my hands and everything that I do in life ... attitudes and ambitions. I desire to flourish growing a very fat soul and I shall flourish no matter what my circumstances------- ;-]

Impossible to explain...the anchor holds firm.

anchor_wikipedia_image (one side of the anchor is the Promises of God to man and the other is God's Oath to man...in other words his covenant. This is what we "hope" in and put our trust in the fact that God cannot lie. This is why the Word of God is so essential to the believer and where we find strength for the storms of life.)

How truly blessed I am Lord; how satisfied and how comforted am I. What joy there is in my heart and peace . . . impossible to explain. Knowing you, Father, is an anchor to my soul in the midst of life's great storms.

Hebrews 6:¹⁷ Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath. ¹⁸ This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us]. ¹⁹ [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it -- a hope ] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil [i.e. literally reaching into the Holy of Holy's in Heaven], ²⁰ Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek [i.e. Melchizedek ... meaning an eternal High Priesthood never ending for all Eternity].

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received this email forward entitled Two Wolves... so the picture and cut line below are not mine and I'd give credit if I could.

I was immediately struck at how this illustrates a passage in scripture wonderfully.

TWO WOLVES

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between
two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

"The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love,
hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,
empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then
asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

Now CLICK HERE....and read this passage of scripture from the Amplified Versions

Zero in on this and ponder it.

Christ's Spirit taking up residence IN YOU. This is what is meant by being born again. So the two wolves are the flesh and the spirit. Which is in control of your body? Which one do you feed?

(There is much to say about this and if any of you do not understand this very basic concept of the Gospel, I would be happy to share more privately. The truth will set you free and when you are free, you are free indeed. If you are a prisoner of your flesh and this control has literally killed you, if you feel dead inside and do not want to live, you can be set free and come alive. When a man or woman finds spiritual understanding, and what is the purpose of living, though he were dead he shall surly live. Jesus said, "You must lose your life, to find it." I encourage you to feed your spirit; "if you seek me you shall surly fine Me" . . . and Jesus cannot lie.)

Establish the work of our hands...

"The days of our years are threescore years and ten (seventy years)--or even, if by reason of strength, fourscore years (eighty years); yet is their pride [in additional years] only labor and sorrow, for it is soon gone, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? [Who worthily connects this brevity of life with Your recognition of sin?] And Your wrath, who connects it with the reverent and worshipful fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom. Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]! How long--? Revoke Your sentence and be compassionate and at ease toward Your servants. O satisfy us with Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning [now, before we are older], that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad in proportion to the days in which You have afflicted us and to the years in which we have suffered evil. Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants, and Your [glorious] majesty to their children. And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands--yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it." -- Psalms 90

I hear you LORD. Thank you for your Word and the Holy Spirit to quicken me. I will go to figure drawing tomorrow night and grief will not defeat me. I will count the number of my days as precious; grief will consume them. Therefore, I will trust in you, Oh LORD, dry my tears and move forward. Grief will not defeat your purposes for my life . . . for in my weakness You are made strong. Thankfully Lord, unlike David, I am under Grace and not under Law in this age ... and all of my sins are forgiven and covered and favor resides upon my head because I belong to you.

"Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:3, 4
-- Amplified Version

Stars on my figuritive gestures!

A 20 minutes drawing on newsprint with vine charcoal.

I received a star on my drawing last night from my instructor. He doesn't give them out often.

This drawing is moving toward artistic express. I was given a star for the artistic line and achieving what he has been drilling for the last five gesture classes.

I am truly at a turning point now. This is what I have been working for; not that I think for a minute I have "arrived" rather this is a break through. From this point forward Glen will be emphasizing artist expression and aesthetic beauty of the figure...and likenesses.

I'm more energized than ever. How fortunate I am.



The following drawings are 45 second gestures. My instructor says "you must learn to achieve the figure in less than a minute. It should be in proportion, the figure balanced, and it should have movement showing exactly what the figure is doing."

I got stars on these drawings.


The second figure especially. This is not about a finished drawing ... it is getting the structure solid. As you see, you have to draw quickly.





These are all good.


Here I use simple pink sidewalk chalk and have 15 seconds to first gesture the figure using the flat side of the chalk. Then I drew the figure in the remaining 45 seconds with as few lines as possible the figure ... achieving the same three criteria as stated above.

These are a total of one minute drawings. See how they read as a complete figure allowing your mind to fill in.





My instructor, Glen Thomas, says this to his student artists, "If you do not gesture first you run the risk of having to keep correcting your figure because the gesture assures that your figure will be convincing in the end because it will be balanced, in proportion, and dynamic ... that it will show exactly what the figure is doing regardless of whether the figure is still or in motion. Even a motionless figure has weight."

He is right. Now begins working on likenesses, aesthetics, and not in just getting the features correct and recognizable but in showing the real person and intent of the figure.

August 2010 - Drawings

This series of drawings are 5 minute sketches. I'm pretty happy to get the whole figure and it be in proportion but better yet the right gesture that is in balance.

Progress....at last. These are loose and quick and I really think they are some of the most expressive work I have done in a while.

These in color are 20 minute conté compressed charcoal sketches.

Apology...

To those who follow my blog, I apologize for neglecting to post much. I love to write and express myself and expound about my opinions and beliefs.

Lately, I've been working intensely on wedding plans as my beautiful daughter prepares to begin a new life with her chosen love, Heath.

I've tried to maintain my art and regular life but all the intensity of this planning and the many roadblocks that keep being piled in front has had an adverse affect on me and my work; there is a reason for no new posts or new artwork.

After July 3rd, I will return to art full blast to art and hopefully writing. Please bear with me until then but please please feel free to read my past posts that are archived....and comment if you want.

I'll be checking every day.

Meet Mike

Slideshow http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii3/padurrett/?action=view&current=7782b4dc.pbw

Meet Oklahoman, Mike Wimmer...what a talented and successful artist!
It was a productive and informative two day portrait workshop. For the first time in a workshop, I actually got my painting blocked in with the underpainting. Using a very limited palette, the ground work was laid.



The second day, I worked mainly on the face and had there been more time, I would have built up the values in layers. I was a little disappointed that Mike did not get to my easel to instruct me personally. It could be that the class was just to large to do that but it did seem that he spent most of his time on the other side of the room.

Anyhow, he is a charming man with a very pleasing way and great broad smile that is infectious. His ideas are clever and I can tell he is very intelligent.

The only thing is that I worry that he is using Liquin which the artists I know have had problems with. It peels sometimes and in lots of discussion on the Cennini Forum about plastics and how they break down with age, I fear Mike will one day have a whole lot of ruined paintings. That would be tragic.

Another thing I could not agree with him on is his fear of turpentine. Yet, mineral spirits has just as much toxicity. Expensive triple distilled turpentine is VERY expensive and does not have as strong an odor as hardware store cheap turpentine and every studio should have adequate ventilation ... period. Mike didn't seem to have a problem with fixative spray and that is far more dangerous to the lungs than turpentine's fumes. Everyone knows that turpentine is used drop by drop as an additive to oil paint that causes a chemical reaction whereby the paint will dry from the inside out not the other way round and thereby lessening the possibility of a skin to form. Turpentine is NOT used to clean brushes; mineral spirits is for that.

As Rob Howard, moderator on the Cennini Forum says, some artists have drunk the cool-aid on this matter from the environmental wackos and this fear is not based in reason.

In the studio an artist must....

• develop good, safe habits working in a well ventilated studio

• NEVER ever put brush handles in their mouths ... whether using turpentine or mineral spirits and especially when painting with cadmium paint colors
  

• always properly washes their hands before leaving the studio...always

• NEVER eat anything at the easel

• NEVER allow children in the studio
  

• always uses PAINTER'S SAFETY SOAP in the final hand wash which is designed to react to the toxic chemicals and release them from the pores of skin.

Painter's Safety Soap® along with the greatest brush cleaner ever made ... Ugly Dog® Brush Soap may be purchased at Studio Products, a professional boutique paint manufacturer. www.studioproducts.com. Ugly Dog...I would never be without it!

ALSO, I learned that to put a protective finish on a painting, you must use a special fine quality varnish and on top of that a thin coat of wax that may be polished to a absolutely gorgeous sheen which is museum quality. The wax may be removed as the painting ages and gets dirty ... back to the varnish and then a new coat of wax applied. THAT is how you do it.

Anyhow, this only shows how valuable my training was at the Cennini Boot camps, especially the Technical Boot Camp.

The other issue is just a preference. I was taught to paint the eyes last while Mike paints them first...just a preference and not as critical. I don't know whether it was just time for me to go to another plateau of learning or if it was Mike's simple presentation and method but I've improved and felt like I knew exactly what I was doing. It was just a great workshop and I am so proud that a native son has done so well as an artist.

One other thing. Mike is a Christian and it is evident in his the portraits of his children. He placed them in heroic fairy tales and Bible stories ... painting them throughout their childhood. How clever.

Mike Wimmer Portrait Workshop

The Portrait Workshop is coming up thank the Lord!!! I am praying that I will get something out of this two day event at the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum. I'm still planning a portrait of my daughter in her wedding gown a challenge to my skill and creativity. Subject matter so trite, how can it be fresh and interesting and say something about the bride?

www.mikewimmer.com

I will blog about this and my continuing Life Drawing Class with Glen Thomas at City Arts studios.

Since September when my daughter got engaged and with the demanding Christmas and New Years activities, I've been unable to sketch or paint except for some Tuesday nights at the City Arts Life Drawing sessions.

It seems impossible.

I just can't get into anything serious with all of these distractions. Sometimes I think if earning a living as an artist would demand studio time and be beneficiary stress. Now I am in tax season and it falls on me to do all of the grunt work in Quicken and Excel files.

Sometimes I feel like running away to some far away place to work. Will I ever become productive and what is holding me back? Maybe it is the inferiority complex I have about my work. I'm pretty ordinary and "ordinary" has never inspired nor motivated me.

October Gesture & Slow Contours Drawings

One minutes gestures....


Contours, negative space within frame...


Slow, blind, contour drawing 20 minutes....drawing contours very slow without looking at paper.