Another Thought - "Blocked"

Open Channel 24 x 36, Oils 

I'm Listening 24 x 36, Oils

You know you're "blocked" and what blocks you. You know you practically strengthen your barrier with thoughts and actions. You know life is a struggle because you choose to make it that way. You know instinctively, if you would grasp, hold on, give careful consideration to the desired life, the old, decayed and crumbling life would fall away.

Consider...

Thought for The Day - Maybe You Need Word with Your Pictures?

Phoenix 18 x 24 pastels

Abstract images get a bad rep from the uninformed. Yes I know, calling someone uninformed is the equivalent of using the biblical analogy where Jesus said you shouldn't cast your pearls before swine. People don't hear their "name" called until they perceive an insult. But the "uninformed," those who won't look into the multiple abstract images floating in their head and perceive the message; for those people, an image on a canvas is best represented by faces, torsos and bowls of fruit! To those people, that's art! Expand your mind, friend!

I don't like seeming insulting, but honestly it's just as insulting to be told: "I don't get it!" Or the worse "my five year old niece/nephew/grandchild could do that!" Honestly, they couldn't! Unless they reached into that place where souls are willing to go, first of all. And then they would have to allow that "source" to flow through them. Not many go there; and quite honestly, not many should. Every person has their unique expression and gifts. 

Admittedly, our "message" isn't readily received. I've long thought to add words, maybe a little story to make things clearer. Not sure if I'm getting the desired result, but until I hear differently, I will continue to do so. The image above is one of those images. It's entitled Phoenix and is named after the mythical bird that regenerates itself. But the story is more important how my image came to be.

Sitting down one evening, pastels and a sheet of paper, I started with a simple stroke of green. I've always liked building layers of colors and moving them about the surface. Equally pleasurable is mimicking contour, depth and form. These are objects we see every day: the surface of a car, your arm, a child in motion. With all of that flowing through my mind, but not necessarily the goal, I went at it!

I can't begin to explain the many thoughts going through my head while rendering, I can only tell you about the "middle place." At some point, I begin to make more concrete decisions as opposed to simply flowing. Judgement, correction and intention play into how an image develops. With "Phoenix," at some point I saw there was a wing to the left and this ghost-like, energetic bird in the middle. My sense was this image represented life, or the progression of life. I didn't "intentionally" place an egg in the lower right hand corner, but when I realized it was there, it made perfect sense. The images were coming together as one and as a result you have a representative of life: how it comes to be, how we find ourselves (the bird's wing) and our eventual transition into another. 

Words and Images; not sure where else I can take the idea, but for now, we will leave it at that. 

Thought for The Day - Drawing a Blank

Linen with a little swirl (in process) 24 x 3 oils

An expression that refers to a momentary inability to retrieve one's thoughts, a line of thinking or what one intended to say. Yes, I'm drawing a blank at the moment... what is it I wanted to share? What significant thought, idea or "revelation" came to mind that seemed worth sharing? And it's not only about telling you what I'm thinking; my thoughts turn to the question: "what significance would this have in someone's life?"

Many people have responded since I began writing this daily blog and some merely by "liking" the status on Facebook. But these people and those I never hear from, flash across my mind as God seems to minister to me. The biblical notion: "you are ambassadors of Christ, as if Christ himself were saying 'be reconciled to God,'" comes to mind. I've been ministered to, he shares with me knowledge and insight and I share it with you. Please believe, He never leaves me without some valuable nugget of information. However, some of it is personal and for me. But ultimately, after the work is done in me, I share it with others.

So, yes, this morning, I'm drawing a blank. But believe me, you remain in my heart. Thanks for stopping by. God's richest blessings on you.

Thought for The Day - It's the Movement

Clear Channel 24 x 36 Oil painting

"You don't know what you think you know" and in the same breath: "You know more than you think you know."

That being said, there are times I certainly don't know; confusion is a blue haze around my head. And then, at other moments, not only has the smoke cleared, the light shines around and within; drowning in it! Not one area, but many.

Short story/example: one evening, before I got back to painting and drawing, and while working in the downtown area of Chicago, I walked from the job to the train stop. My head was filled with that blue, purple and brown haze; I didn't understand where my life was headed, and especially where it was at that moment. I knew I was tired of the commute, tired of career I could barely stomach and ministry that was stalled once again. Anticipating the ride home with a neighbor, talking about minuscule details of his job and the culture, I slowed my pace to a near snail's pace to avoid the small talk. I prayed for clarity, for an answer to the where of my life. I remember thinking "I need answers! Not because I deserve them or I'm anyone special, but I need to know what all 'this' means!" It began slowly, I remember being on Lake street, between Wabash and State street. And then I remember being "elsewhere," another time and place as if I were involved in a movie, where I was one of the characters. I saw my life far better than it was then and it is now. I saw answers given in ways I would expect, but with far more definition and clarity than I could imagine! However, during this time and as I got closer to the stop, I remember thinking I would like to right this down so I don't forget. But immediately thinking I would forget it, but it was okay because the reassurance was given. If I could remember that eventually "I know by experience" all I've ever imagined or been shown, I had a true hope.

Now, mind you, you don't see details of that revelation because I forgot them! All of the cinematic lighting and the scene changes as if the editor had done his work and pieced together a five minute short-story, all of it is gone. I only know what I was told and what was shown and that is enough for now. Certainly I have moments where I really want to "go there" again, and by go there, I mean back to those days, weeks and months leading up to that moment. I especially want to return to that vision and that time. But for now, I live my life in the light of what's happening now. And pray that patience and longsuffering find me where I need to be when the time is right.