Seek My Face

Seek My Face

If you have watched my progress for very long, you know it is fairly uncommon for me to paint a representational painting. (Notice, I didn't call it realistic! I would still consider this to be an abstract landscape.) But being recognizable isn't the only unusual thing about this painting. It is also huge! It is 48" x 60" - tied with Higher Glory for the biggest painting I have done. 

SOLD
48" x 60"
Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on  deep gallery-wrapped canvas
Ready to hang


Click here to see this painting on my website.

There were several 'muses' for this work. I don't suppose muse is quite the correct word, but the influence of all of these things has been with me as I have worked on this painting.  

First, let me share with you a song that my mother recommended to me, called Is He Worthy?, by Andrew Peterson. It was quite a while from the time Mom suggested this song until I listened to it, but some of the lyrics caught me almost immediately. Here is the beginning of the song:

Is He Worthy? Andrew Peterson
Do you feel the world is broken?  (We do)
Do you feel the shadows deepen?  (We do)
But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through?  (We do)
Do you wish that you could see it all made new?  (We do)
...
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Of all blessing and honor and glory
Is He worthy of this?
He is

This song brought to mind a scripture passage I have been considering: 
Isaiah 64:1-4 
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains might quake at your presence—
 as when fire kindles brushwood
    and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
    and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
    you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
 From of old no one has heard
    or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
    who acts for those who wait for him.

Another prompting came from a couple of quotes by Francis A. Schaeffer from his excellent little book Art & the Bible. "Much modern art is far too intellectual to be great art." p. 36 (I have a smiley face in my book's margin next to that sentence.) "When, therefore, there is no attempt on the part of an artist to use this symbolic vocabulary at all, then communication is impossible... there is then no way for anyone to know what the artist is saying... there is a distinct limitation to totally abstract art." p. 40 I actually do not agree with him about this particular thing (as you might imagine), but it spurred me to work with a more recognizable subject. 

Next to work on my imagination was a sermon preached at the church we attend by our friend Aaron Hooks.  "God's glory is the manifestation of His holiness." Believing Him Brings Glory, 10/11/18  largely based on Isaiah 6. As you can see, glory was once again a concept that I wanted to communicate. This reminded me of this passage:
Psalm 27:8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

And then there is Advent. I have mentioned this often lately. The concept of waiting for the saving of the world, both at Christmas, and someday when Jesus returns to right this world's wrongs has been on my mind almost constantly. So, I have painted this painting to communicate waiting... looking down the empty road with clouds looming. Are they coming or going? I hope you can both feel the tension and see the beauty. 

Coram Deo.
(before the face of GOD)