Early in the Morning

Early in the Morning

 I have been so grateful in the last few days to be able to return to my painting! It was not the time or location that caused me problems this time though. I went to my studio day after day and painted, but was not able to finish anything that felt complete. (Well, that is not quite true. I finished a floral painting done in an impressionist style that sold on Facebook before I posted it anywhere else.) Though my world would have appeared to be improving, generally speaking, I had some very, very difficult days! 

12" x 12"

Painted with the finest quality acrylic heavy-body paint on canvas panel, heavily textured

Ready to frame

Click here to purchase via my website.

This past weekend, Easter weekend, My Beloved Husband and I were able to visit our daughter in Michigan and attend the Good Friday service that she was part of in her church. What a blessing that was! I had started my Holy Week with readings in the Gospel of John, and the service we attended was mostly focused on reading the accounts of Jesus' last days on earth as told in the gospels. I felt particularly connected because I had been reading these passages, and was experiencing them once again. I am not sure whether I am expressing that properly, but it felt kind of like someone telling about a movie that you have recently watched. 

On our way home, we decided to take the long way home, and we drove along Lake Michigan as we headed back to Indiana. About the time the sun was setting, we were able to find a beautiful little area along the shore to pull over and watch the color and beauty in the sky and lake. 

As is often the case on weekends, my studio time was very limited! But I did manage to take the time to keep updates on my social media platforms by sharing posts from other years' Holy Week paintings and posts. I noticed more interaction and connection happening with those than often does, and it influenced my thoughts and my direction in my studio. 

Earlier in the week, I painted That Lovely Fragrance as I thought of the Last Supper and the worship of Mary as she poured her perfume on Jesus. I chose to paint it on a canvas panel that was the same size and type as those used for Easter paintings I had done several years ago. Having one more that I wanted to paint, I was pleased to find one more of these panels available to paint on! 

I was wanting to paint a painting for Holy Saturday, or Gray Sabbath, as I have called it. I wanted to express once again the sorrow, the hopelessness, and the despair of those who had followed Jesus when they experienced his death and burial. That day, and the emotion of those followers - these things are quickly rushed over most of the time as we look toward Easter! 

So, I started with black and texture and the idea of Jesus in the grave. Yet, as I worked, I found I could not paint without hope this time around. The painting carries the cross in texture, but there is a dawn of bright color on the horizon. Though there is not much light in the foreground of the work, one can see bright and iridescent tones peeping through the gray and black textures. How surprised I was to see the hope and color of the sunset we saw over Lake Michigan appear in my painting for Holy Saturday!

I feel like I have been struggling to write in a way that helps you to understand my thoughts, so I hope that the painting fills in where my words fail. 

Coram Deo.