Canaan

Canaan

"Your flight was canceled," read my email late last week. To be honest, I had not even thought about the heavy fog blanketing the area, so I was a bit surprised. What makes it even odder is that I am a (hangar) private pilot, so I ought to be very aware of weather, but I just wasn't.

$100 plus shipping and handling

6" x 6"

Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas

Edges painted black

Click here to view or purchase on my website.

One good thing to come from postponed travel was more time in the studio. I have been trying to keep working on some new goals and plans this month, and the delay gave me opportunity to continue moving (slowly) toward them. This small abstract was one of the works that I was able to complete in the waiting, but I couldn't find a good name for the work. So, of course, I asked social media for some insights. Once again, there were so many good answers, and my favorite one was Canaan. 

Painted with a lot of texture and metallic copper paint, Canaan actually seems to have a different message when it is oriented differently. Because of this, I plan for the painting to be able to be displayed which ever way it seems to be most meaningful. 

The texture has built up through many layers of paint and trial and error in working through the composition of the painting. I love that the work that has gone before still leaves marks  so that the whole journey of the painting is evident. 

Let me give you just a couple of reasons that Canaan is such a good name for this painting, though I could go WAY down a rabbit hole with this one. Canaan is the Biblical Promised Land that God gave to Abraham in the Old Testament times. Abraham decided to obey God and leave for a place he had never been, and his path to the Promised Land was a step by step, slow trip following the lead of God, even though he couldn't really see where he was going. 

As I mentioned, I am trying to work on some new goals this month. I am seeking new direction, a step by step path, led by God, in my painting endeavors. I know I do not always get it right, and often I cannot see where I am headed, metaphorically speaking. Just like having my trip postponed due to blinding fog, I feel like I sometimes miss my goals or plans by not seeing, not following as I would want to. 

At many points along his journey, Abraham would build altars, plant trees, and he even purchased land to bury his beloved wife. He was leaving his mark as he traveled as a way of responding to the leading of God. It reminds me of the marks showing in the many layers of the painting. 

My words seem grandiose, and at the same time, they don't quite say what I want them to say. (Do I say this every time I blog about a painting?) This painting is  small, and is not my lifetime masterpiece, so the message of following God's leading may be too big for it to carry effectively. But I have enjoyed thinking through what the term Canaan reminds me of, and how it seems fitting with this small work. 

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.