Showing posts with label still life. Show all posts

The Omelette


I was on a still life roll during the autumn of 2010. Living back in the boondocks of Vermont after the bustle of NYC was difficult. Having only my bike to get around gave me great motivation to just buckle down and paint what I had on hand around me. Gone were the crystal vases and fine antiques. I can't stand plastic. So wood and iron seemed the best, combined with vegetables and of course, eggs. Blue Hubbard squash isn't really an omelette ingredient but I added it to the composition at the last minute for height and depth. Finding a suitable mat color when I framed this was difficult. I chose a dark shiny purple and someone at the Sterling College exhibition told me this mat really resembles the color and look of an eggplant!

A Lemon Study

I had never painted a "political statement painting" before A Lemon Study. Each painting I've ever done has a story behind it. I work from my surroundings, from my experience. I rarely paint a scene I don't know. This work has a rare double meaning...it's a joke and yet a serious still-life that came from my time in a law library. It also speaks to the life I've lived for three years - that of being homeless as a result of an unlawful tax eviction. The wonder-filled home my family and I cherished and owned outright for thirty years here on earth is gone, forever. In its place is an adventure and enormous opportunity for growth. I did this scene to say that law is a sour study. Lemons make your mouth pucker. The study of man's law can make your life "pucker". Studying the law of the LORD is never a waste of time. It can transform your life and provide a foundation set on a rock, unshaken during the storms of life.

As Psalm 19:7 says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." Romans 8:1-9, the verses selected for this painting, are full of wonderful truths.

Blessings Abound

blessings abound painting


The simplicity of this little 12×16 watercolor reminds me of how I have been so wonderfully provided for, for many years. The oatmeal bread was made by a friend, Katie. The tomatoes were gifts from another friend, Ken. I made grilled-cheese sandwiches with garlic and tomato, after finishing the scene, so the props did not go to waste! The bread was a bit dry, though I had refrigerated it each evening, and the muenster cheese was quite inedible after sitting out for many hours…

I have often lived and painted “in the wilderness”. My sister recently shared with me an insight: the “logos” is the entire written Word, which we know as the biblical scriptures. These words have given me so much direction in life. However, a “rhema” is a more personal direction, the hearing of His voice, and it is this direction that has enabled me, by grace, the sustaining power to continue to walk what I know is the path set for me before the “foundation of the world”. I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven, who has been to me exactly what He has promised to be during these many years – a kind and gentle Shepherd!

“And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy Yah led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest obey his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” – Deut. 8:2-3

Blessings Abound

blessings abound painting

Joyful Harvest


NEW WORK! It’s been a busy year, full of travel and other interruptions to artistic endeavors, but I was finally able to pull myself together to produce something visually solid, in honor of a dear friend’s 60th b-day. At least five gardens are represented and the result is very satisfying to me. I’ve not painted a still-life in about fifteen years but hope to do more, soon =)

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the LORD YAH will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations – Isaiah 61:11
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