“Face of Love” being Exhibited at BIOLA

Yesterday I sent off the four completed diptychs in my “Face of Love” series. The went with John Alderson and his son Bryce to BIOLA University for an exhibit that will last the entire semester. It will be in the foyer of one of the buildings on campus. I will post photos of the display when I get them in. It seems a bit strange to send off my paintings and not be there to hang them. I fully trust John’s judgment, but still odd not to be there.  ;.)

Below is the current stage of the paintings. I have not displayed the “I was Thirsty” paints ever before, and (don’t tell anyone…) there is still a bit of work to be done on it. I want to fuss a bit with the faces still, but I need a break to do some other work, so I shipped them off as is for the time being. Click on an image to view larger.

I was thirsty - You gave me drink" 36" x 72" Oil on canvas

I was sick - You visited me 36" x 72" Oil on canvas

I was sick - You visited me 36" x 72" Oil on canvas

I was naked - You clothed me 36" x 72" Oil on canvas

Passages

In some ways, my recent trip to Assisi was a passage into a new realm… a new reality for me. A realm that allowed me to be far away from all of the things that collect my attention. Passages are like thresholds in that it is what you pass over or go through to get past where you have been. Another way to look at it is like being on the edge of the ocean. While standing on the shoreline, you can see the land where you are, yet look out to the distant horizon and visualize all the potential that is unseen… all of the possibilities. We are often too busy doing the things of life that we never go to the shore, or take the time to open the door that is right in front of us. We get distracted by all of the things that one author calls the “Tyranny of the Urgent” which pulls at you from all directions… like Saint Anthony being tormented by Demons we give attention to the thing that is pulling at your attention the hardest at the moment. While having my own demons to wrestle with during my trip away, I was able to take the time needed to rest, and meditate and ponder my existence and wrestle with these angels and demons. I hope that I have returned with a clearer view of who I am and the life God has layed before me. There is still a lot of work to be done ahead, but moving forward, I plan to take more of these retreats to reflect on the goodness of God and take long walks along the seashore to meditate on the wonderful life I DO have, not be distracted by what is “missing” in my life. We all have so much!

So going with the “passage” theme, Here are some images of doors that I took while in Rome and Assisi. If anyone knows a good “passage” themed poem, feel free to post it in the comments section below. For now I insert a portion of a “Blessing for the Traveler” by John O’Donohue…

When you travel
A new silence goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear what your heart
Would love to say.

May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.

May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.

Unthinkable

It is truly unthinkable to take a human life. Unthinkable to consider, for even a moment, taking the life of your own child, the promised son on which the future of a nation rested.
In Genesis 22, Abraham found himself wrestling with this. God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” There is really something wonderful about hearing from the Lord. This was a tough thing to hear.

When I was asked to do this painting, I was wondering what to focus on. I considered the strength of Abraham. The “halt” from the angel, and the provision of the ram in the bushes, but it was the son lying on the pyre that intrigued me. It was Isaac’s willingness to provide himself, knowingly for this act, that I wanted to be the focal point. As the story of sacrifice was told — the unthinkable offering of the only son that he loved — the painting was started, with in an hour it would be done.

At first I struggled with the structure of the painting, but then I got a flow, a rhythm of motion that allowed the picture to develop into something that resembled what I intended. Once I got the main figure of Isaac in place, I painted in the arm of Abraham, with bold colors of his intent. He was ready to do the thing. What he must have been feeling is indescribable. He was fully committed, and only then was the hand of God moved to stop this act and he sent in his angel with a message of relief. When I got to this part of the image, something remarkable was happening. I painted with such intent, with purpose, that the hand of the angel simply showed up at the end of my brush, literally in 90 seconds. What a wonder it was to see it appear in front of my eyes. I then added a few more strokes beyond the knee of Isaac and a ram was ready for the dagger.

I am looking forward to the next time I can share a story in paint.

Below Deck

Below Deck (16 x 20 – on canvas) – 1.5.2003 $650

The amazing thing about living here in So Cal is the weather. Today it was over 80 degrees and we went to the beach again. Tomorrow will be in the upper 80′s and it is the first week of January!

This was an interesting painting adventure. It began about a month ago and was started from a photograph. There was a really intense sunset that I photographed, and I wanted to paint it. Then when I started to put the brush to the canvas, I got “stuck”. It just did not work for me. I hated the strong contrast that was captured in the photo, but I wanted to make something more like what I saw when I was there. So today, I once again packed up the family and took them on site to capture the scene plein air. The truly hardest part was there was NO light from me to see my palette or canvas. The sun was so bright in my eyes that when I looked at the scene to see what to paint, I was blinded and then I could not see much on the canvas. I knew where the colors were, and I just mixed them from the location on the palette. I used a lot of white and since I was painting over the previous painting, there was already a dark “ground” or under painting that comes through. This painting was over in less than two hours, and the kids were ready for cold showers.