Linen...In progress

Sunday morning...preparation for Praising God. Unashamedly Christian, in love with a God whose love holds all things together and yet allows man to find him of his own choice. Awesome. Had to say it, record that thought before anything else is said.

Sunday morning. I'll keep this brief - I hope. Sometimes the flow starts and things are stated I didn't know were there. Like the painting currently on the easel. It began as an act to fill a huge canvas purchased about a year ago. Had another image in mind but knew I didn't research enough to bring it to canvas, yet. So I grabbed the canvas, setting aside a "self-portrait" (I might allow that one to get some "air time," one day), fresh paint remaining on the palette, I did what has become my habit: applied a stroke here, there, allowing an image to take shape. The colors to guide me. Subtle oranges, yellows and tainted white began to appear, like "Linen," folded, stretched and creased over a surface. Beautiful!

That was some months ago, before giving my best hours of the day to an employer. At short intervals, I sit with a few dabs of paint on the palette, apply a little here or there and observe its progress. More often than not, I look at the painting as I sit in my morning devotional time, contemplating its message and direction.

Anyone that follows my work knows I LOVE colors, and mixing them in ways both unexpected and strangely subtle. Texture is another vital part of my work, as I mirror what life is to me. Life is full of complexities, layers of people, thoughts, experiences, sounds, sights and LOVE. Like the journey of life, the experience of painting has become a long distance run. There are certainly times when I want the sojourn to be over, the Finish Line to be in the perceivable moment, but that isn't life, and for this painting, for the time being, that is not possible. I see so many more layers to go, so many subtle colors to apply and when it's all said and done, we will ALL see the end result.

It's a a surface with a linen texture and when it's all said and done, it will remain the same. Except it will have multiple layers of colors, strange textures and daily experiences where you find yourself wondering "how did I get to this point?" That life...that's Linen.