Enter the City

Enter the City

"What will your focus be for your presentation?" I was asked quite a while ago now if I would be interested in presenting and demonstrating my painting practices for the Fort Wayne Artists Guild, and I agreed, giving myself a couple of months to prepare. Well, that time is rushing up on me, and I feel the need to get busy! One of the things I have decided to do is get back into some daily paintings, in order to know how much I can accomplish in the given time. So this is my first return-to-daily-paintings example. 

11" x 14"

Painted with acrylic heavy-body paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper

Ready to frame

Click here to view on my website.

It is a good thing that I am practicing, because I had intended for this painting to go in one direction, and it seems to have had plans of its own (ha!). I find that the painting has shown some of what I have been reading and thinking about as I have (finally) finished reading a book that was given to me called Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch. While there was much in the book that I disagree with, (I am learning to look for the good and ignore the problematic, and believe me, it is a process for me!) there were some very good passages, and some concepts that have been shaping some of my thinking in regard to my art. 

It seems fairly obvious to me that this painting depicts a city, and that maybe that city is standing in tumultuous times. I like that the city surprised me as it started to show up while I was working! And I think that, even though it is not what I had originally intended to paint, it does represent some of my thoughts as I worked. There are mostly hard edges, and lots of energy! 

Two verses from Psalm 90 have come to mind as I painted this, and as I am preparing for demonstrating my work for other artists in person:

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days carefully

so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;

establish for us the work of our hands—

establish the work of our hands!

Along with all of this, a fellow artist had a family emergency and has had to postpone her exhibit in a local gallery. I have the privilege of exhibiting in her place, but have had only one day to prepare! Wow! Keep your eyes on my website and social media for more information as it becomes available.