I have placed more of my paintings online (click this link to see them). The pictures didn't turn out all that well. I am finding that taking good photo's of paintings is pretty difficult. But, I am having a blast with this stuff and will learn as I go.
In a previous post I talked about how welcoming the art community is in Terre Haute. Here are some examples of what i am talking about...
I pulled up an email this morning from a person in the Wabash Valley Arts Guild and she had taken it upon herself to send out a notice to everyone about my show (hey it's the little things right?). I thought that was great!
Also, yesterday I was going to lunch with a friend of mine, Chad, who is planting a new church in Terre Haute called Mosaic. His office is on the same floor as 3 other artists studios (how cool is that?). I went across the hall to Studio 333 and gave one of my promotional cards to Petra Nyendick the owner. She was really excited about my first show. We talked for a while and she ended up giving me some practical tips for some of my own pieces and she showed me some of the materials that she is trying out. She is a great artist and makes some of the most interesting pieces I have ever seen. They are huge and are loaded with a variety of textures and color. She creates pieces that really get your eye moving around the canvas. She has inspired me to take some risks in my own work.
Right down the hall from Petra is Stephanie Doty's Studio. Stephanie is one of those genuinely nice people that you like instantly. I absolutley love her work. She uses a lot of texture and imagery and rich color. We have very similar tastes and she has been very willing to share her techniques and helpful tips with me.
I guess this is community. People helping each other grow and celebrating that growth. I pray I get a chance to return the blessings!
I was read someting in the Bible a long time ago that I have not been able to get out of my head: GE 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
This may not seem like a very moving piece of scripture but the thing that got me was this little statement: He brought them to the man to see what he would name them. Now, I need to do a little research on this but that seems really cool to me...that God just wanted to see what Adam would name the animals. I can almost see God gathering around a few angels and saying "Guys, check this out...I'm gonna run this [holding a monkey] in front of Adam and see what he names it. "That's totally righteous" the angels say.
I think many people get so caught up in what God wants them to do and trying to figure it all out that they just give up.
What if God created you just the way you are because he loves the creative spirit within humanity? Maybe God's desire for you is for you to be yourself. Maybe he just wants to see "what you will name the animals."
WELCOME! Thanks for stopping by my blog! My primary focus will be the close ties between creativity and our spirituality. You will hear me mention eXchange, and ArtReach a lot on this blog. eXchange is a community of people following Christ and serving in his cause. We meet at Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, IN. I have the great privilege of serving the community as their Associate Pastor of eXchange or APE as I am affectionately called.
I will be showing off some of my creations at Coffee Break during the month of July. There will be a reception from 7-9pm on July 7th.
We will have snacks live, live music, and some great conversation.
This is my first show and I am pretty excited about it.
A lot of my work was limited to 3 colors and black. You may think that I put this artistic challenge to my self but...I donated all of my other paint to ArtReach, plus I'm cheap.
I think this will be a great night to connect with a lot of great people. I am not a trained artist and have been surprised at how welcoming the arts community is in Terre Haute. What a great bunch of people!
Here are some of the paintings that will be hung at the show...
This one is placed within a shadow box which gives it a window feel.
