Being
an artist is a whole lot easier when you have people around to
support what you are doing.
I
grew up sharing my painting progress with my siblings and mother.
Their commentary was sometimes difficult to hear but they helped me
so much, in so many ways. I'm really grateful to have had their love
and encouragement as I grew in my painting ability.
Early
coloring with crayons and construction paper revealed my interest in
communicating with pictures – I drew a recognizable Giraffe when I
was two years old, and gave this Giraffe “carrots to eat” at the
top of the page. I was interested in food and feeding others then,
too.
I
progressed to drawing horses with pencil in first grade, then to
starting to paint floral still-life with chalky Nu-Pastels by age
eight.
“That
doesn't look like a dog,” I remember my older sister once
commenting, as I worked to copy a dog head with pastels. “Well,
it's not finished yet,” I told her, “and you're looking at it
upside-down!”
My
mother took notes during my initial watercolor lessons, helping me
remember pigment colors or types of brushes I might need.
I
was only eleven years old when I first began learning to paint in
watercolor, and my painting ability far exceeded my ability to write.
When
I grew older and needed help with framing for large exhibits, my
older sister kindly washed lots of glass for me, and she also cleaned
the entire room at my first large solo exhibit of 69 original
paintings under glass, when I was 27 years old.
I'm
so blessed and grateful to have had this help!
One
of the hardest parts when entering paintings in show juries for me,
as a beginner, was usually titling and pricing the piece.
Another
hard, time-consuming and expensive part was framing.
Watercolors
must be matted appropriately, and then framed under glass, to protect
them from light and also from getting wet. Matting keeps the painting
from hitting the glass, which protects the piece from possible
exposure to condensation.
I
used to spend hours
debating about the benefits or detriments of very slightly different
colors and values of matboard with the support of my kind and patient
framer, Marcia. These details mattered.
I
much preferred to just paint various subjects, but becoming an artist
meant developing many more skills than just painting.
When
it came to choosing a good painting title, I usually looked to my
older sister, who was gifted with both marketing and words.
“No,
Elise, don't call this one, Little
Red
Barn Under Big Tree, that's
exactly what it is.
Instead, you should put in some mystery, some degree of 'what if'.
Call this one, If
Trees Could Talk”,
she'd tell me.
 |
| If Trees Could Talk, 20x28-ish by Elise, well-titled by my older sister. Painted in perhaps 2003 maybe? I don't remember! |
I
would agree, her titles were mostly all
better than my own.
This
watercolor was initially called, Top
of the Hill.
But I changed the title when entering it for an exhibit jury to
Darkness
Revealing the Light:
 |
| Darkness Revealing the Light, 20x28 watercolor by Elise, 2017 |
Sometimes
it takes awhile to think up a good painting title.
The
illustration photos in the lower section of this blog are older paintings of mine – some
as much as twenty years old. Some of their titles were chosen by kind friends
and family. I hope you will enjoy these pieces, and their titles!
What Our Father Calls Us
I heard recently how the University of Minnesota plans to punish those who ignore new personal pronoun preferences.
Many Universities now require these new titles for personal pronouns in their student's
papers.
This
made me think more about names, and what our Father in heaven has called
us - those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
In
Genesis 2:7, after man was first created, our Father breathed into
him the breath of life, and God then said, “and man became a
living
soul.”
In
the Hebrew language, man
is “ish” and woman
is “ishah”.
Man
was created from the dust of the ground, made in the very image of
God.
Womb-man
was taken from man. She was made of the man's body and flesh, but
designed to be able to bear children, to bring new life to the world.
Interestingly, the term "human being" has only been used to describe mankind for the last
500 years!
 |
| A Peaceful Place, Center Harbor, Brooklin, Maine, painted perhaps in 1993 by Elise. |
Mankind is Separate from the Animal Kingdom from a Creation Perspective.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. ~ I Corinthians 15:39
While
men and women have very similar DNA to animals, we differ from
animals in several ways. Man's spirit rises, and an animal's goes
down into the earth, according to Ecclesiastes
3:21:
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
 |
| Hope is A Golden Splendor, 30x36 watercolor by Elise, 2000 ~ Psalm 96:11-13, which is our hope! This very beautiful birch tree was on our mountain until a large ice storm took it down. |
Are You an Immature Child or a Mature Son?
We
are called Children
of God,
and also Sons
of God
in the New Testament.
Sometimes these titles are used interchangeably, and sometimes a Son of God, especially in the Old Testament, can refer to an angelic being.
All
people, every man or woman, are really a child of God - because they
are each made in God's image, and retain some aspects of His Glory,
even when they do not acknowledge or know Him.
Yet born-again Children of God and Sons
of God differ slightly.
A Son of God has not remained a child, but has grown organically to full maturity in their understanding. They are those who take on Christ's character, revealing His likeness to the the world.
 |
| Listening for the Shepherd or Peter's Sheep, 11x14 watercolor by Elise, 2007, painted in honor of Peter. B.'s 80th birthday |
Being His Sheep or Lamb is Good and Positive
We
are also referred to in the holy Bible as Sheep
and Lambs.
Some
say this is because sheep are stupid, but “stupid” is a very
negative term, one more likely the accuser of the brethren would use
for us. I prefer to look for more positive reasons for people being
likened to and called “sheep”.
I
seriously doubt Christ was naming us something negative, He was more
likely referring to our need
for
a shepherd!
Sheep
are pretty defenseless animals – their wool can easily catch on
thorn bushes, and they need direction in where to find safe feeding
areas.
Flocks
of sheep need a guard dog, llama, donkey or man to keep their lives
from hungry predators, who would like to eat their tasty flesh.
Recently
I watched an old Dr. Chris Bondi Vet show on TV and learned something
new about lambs.
Dr.
Chris had pinned a lamb's broken femur, and then as the lamb healed,
Dr. Chris led the lamb around his office to give it physical therapy,
so the limb would regain full mobility.
This
lamb followed Dr. Chris everywhere
he went, a lot like Mary's Little Lamb, in the old children's song!:
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb
Mary
had a little lamb, it's fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went, her lamb went with her too.
 |
| Newborn, 5x7 miniature by Elise, 2014 |
Watching this lamb caused me to realize how lambs develop very strong emotional connections with their shepherd, they bond with the one caring for them and want always to be with them. I remember having this same connection with my dad, when I was a child.
Perhaps this is a better reason why God calls us “sheep”, because He wants us to develop this same strong emotional bond with Him, so that we will not fear to follow Him into dark valleys and pleasant, peace-filled pastures.
The
disciples were also called Saints
by the apostle Paul in the epistles.
Paul
did
not
call these men and women “sinners” - this was the term he humbly
used for himself, in I Timothy 1:15:
This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
We
may be “saints who sin” as I John 1:10 tells us, but “Sinner”
is not a name or title we should strive to live up to, once our old
nature has been crucified with Christ through faith, and the Holy
Spirit has given us a new nature.
 |
| Meeting Adjourned, 6x8-ish miniature by Elise, titled by my sister, I think, c. 2008 |
Beloved
Another
name I love, which God's people are called in Ephesians 1:6 is
“Beloved”. God calls His people “accepted in the Beloved”!
Because
we often live up to the meaning of our names, whether or not we know
this meaning, it is extremely important what names we use for
ourselves, and for others.
Titles,
names, nicknames and terms of endearment are to be positive reminders
of both what we are
and what we want ourselves and others to
become.
 |
| Grandma's Roses, 14x16-ish by Elise, c. 1993 or 1994, painted en plein air in Florida, while my Grandpa recovered from a stroke, I think. |
Losing Our
Spiritual Identity
A
few years ago I met and then later called and spoke briefly with a
woman who works as an Identity Expert. Her job takes her to speak at
universities and schools all over America, where she teaches others
how they can protect themselves from the loss or “theft” of at
least nine different “identities”.
For
example, she told me, you can lose your Medical Identity, Social
Security Identity, Prison Identity, Online Identity, etc. There are even more identities which can be taken away.
“But you've forgotten the most important identity of all, losing your
spiritual
identity,”
I remember exclaiming to her over the phone, after hearing the full list she taught on.
She
was stunned, and then asked me, “Would you repeat that?”
So
I shared again with this highly-trained professional lady how losing
your Spiritual
Identity
is the worst type of identity theft there is!
She
had just never really considered this aspect, and so didn't teach on
it. And she was a Christian believer!
 |
| The Four Sisters, 20x28-ish by Elise, c.late 1990's perhaps...can't remember! This was a private commission, looking from the Vermont side at four sister islands in Lake Champlain. |
Our Spiritual Identity
We must fully know and claim what our Father names us and Who We Are in Christ.
Our spiritual identity is all about believing from God's higher perspective - outside time. It means we see rightly, spiritually, what He says our reality is, and accept by faith it is so.
Then we can live from this place, being rooted in "spiritual ground."
Our Father wants His Sons to have security, purpose, power and stability!
Our spiritual identity is all about believing from God's higher perspective - outside time. It means we see rightly, spiritually, what He says our reality is, and accept by faith it is so.
Then we can live from this place, being rooted in "spiritual ground."
Our Father wants His Sons to have security, purpose, power and stability!
Having
our feet deeply rooted in the truth of who
we are
spiritually, because of the death, shed blood and broken body, and
then resurrection of Y'Shua - Jesus Christ, is life-changing and
life-giving!
We
can know what
we do,
and how
we do what we do,
but when believers in Christ really know Who
We Are,
we can better know our motivation for Why
we are to live differently than the rest of the culture in this life.
A
Title describes “someone's position or job.”
A
Name,
when used as a noun, is “a
word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is
known, addressed, or referred to.”
We
are to know and claim these positive titles and names by the great
grace of God.
These
names give us real
standing
when the accuser of the brethren comes with his evil lies, berating
us with negatives in our minds and hearts!
 |
| Making Time, 20x28 watercolor by Elise, painted around 1996 - can't quite remember. My dad or I took the reference photo. Sadly, this piece was stolen off the wall of a public diningroom in Warren, Vt. |
Positive Titles and Names to Meditate Upon
Here
below are just some of the important spiritual names and titles God's
people are called in the Holy Scriptures:
Children
of the Living God
– Hosea 1:10 and Romans 9:26
Children of God - John 1:12-13, John 11:52, Philippians 2:15, I John 3:1-3
Sons of God - Matthew 5:9, Luke 6:35, Ephesian 1:5, Ephesians 4:13, Revelation 21:7
Gentiles
(non-Jews) are Grafted
into Isreal
– Romans 11:11-36
Anointed,
or Chosen
– Joel 2:28, Luke 4:18, II Corinthians 1:21-22, I John 2:20 and
2:27
Prophets
– Joel 2:28-29, Acts 2:16-21 and many other New Testament verses
Priests
– Isaiah 61:6 once adopted into Isreal, as well as Romans 12:1-2,
Hebrews 13:15-16, I Peter 2:5, and other New Testament passages
Kings
– Revelation 1:5-6, and I Peter 2:9 (royal)
Strangers
and Pilgrims
– I Peter 2:11
A
Peculiar People
– I Peter 2:9
My
People
– Jeremiah 30:22, II Corinthians 6:16
Trees
of Righteousness, the Planting of the LORD
– Isaiah 61:3, Psalm 1:3, Psalm 92:12-15 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Children
of the Promise
– Romans 9:8
Friends
of God
– John 15:14-15
Family
of God
– those who keep Christ's commands, Matthew 12:50 and Luke 8:21
Loved
by my Father
– John 14:21
Free/Liberated
– Galatians 5:1
Blessed
with all spiritual blessings
– Ephesians 1:3
Chosen,
Holy, Without Blame
– Ephesians 1:4
Stablished,
Anointed, Sealed
– II Corinthians 1:21-22
Quickened
or made Alive
with Christ – Ephesians 2:5 and Colossians 2:13
Seated
with Him in heavenly places
– Ephesians 2:6-7
His Workmanship
– Ephesians 2:10
Bold
and Confident
– Proverbs 28:1, Philemon 1:8, Ephesians 3:11-12, II Corinthians
3:11-12, II Corinthians 3:4, and Hebrews 10:19
Light
in the LORD, Children of Light
– Ephesians 5:8
A
Citizen of Heaven, of God's household
– Philippians 3:20-21, Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 13:14
Risen
or Raised with Christ
– Colossians 3:1
A
Branch of the True Vine
– John 15:1-5
An
Heir of God, and Joint-heirs with Christ,
if we suffer with Him – Romans 8:17
Hidden
with Christ
– Colossians 3:3
A
Temple of (or for) the Living God
– I Corinthians 3:16, II Corinthians 6:16-17
A
House of Prayer for all Nations
- Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11, Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17
Loved
by God
– Psalm 86:15, John 15:9-10, Romans 8:37-39, Galatians 2:20,
Ephesians 2:4-5, I John 3:1, I John 4:19, among many other verses
Complete,
Filled or made Full in Him
– Colossians 2:10
United with Christ and His Body
– Ephesians 5:31-32, I Corinthians 1:30, II Corinthians 13:5
A
Remnant that Remains
– Micah 2:12, Romans 9:27 and 11:15, Revelation 12:17
Adopted
into the Family of God
– Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:15
Sheep
of His Pasture
– Psalm 95:7, Psalm 100:3
His
Lambs
– John 21:15
His
Sheep
– Psalm 23, Zechariah 9:16, John 10, John 21:17, Isaiah 40:11
Inheritors
– Psalm 2:8, Psalm 16:5, Isaiah 61:7, Matthew 5:5, Ephesians 1:11,
14 & 18, Colossians 1:12, I Peter 1:4
Earthen
Vessels, Jars of Clay
– II Corinthians 4:7
Servants
of God
– Romans 1:1, Ephesians 6:6, Colossians 4:12, Titus 1:1, James 1:1,
I Peter 2:16, Jude 1:1, Revelation 1:1, 7:3, 10:7, 15:3, 19:5, and
22:3
Sons
of God
– Mathew 5:9, Luke 6:35, Romans 8:14, Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 1:5,
Revelation 21:7
Living
Epistles,
known and read of all men – II Corinthians 3:2
Pearls
of Great Price, Precious Pearls, God's Treasures
– Matthew 13:44-45, Deuteronomy 7:6
Precious
– Isaiah 43:4, Isaiah 49:16, Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16, I Peter 2:4
Living
Stones
– I Peter 2:5
A
Spiritual House
– I Peter 2:5
Those
who follow Christ are called to be:
Kind,
Tenderhearted, Forgiving
– Ephesians 4:32
Full
of this Fruit: Love,
Joy, Peace, Long-suffering/Patience, Gentleness/Kindness, Goodness,
Faith, Meekness, Temperance/Self-Control –
Galatians 5:22-23
A
Blessing
- Genesis 12:2, Isaiah 52:7, Matthew 28:19, Romans 12:13, Romans
15:1, Ephesians 6:18, I Timothy 2:1, I Thessalonians 5:11, Galatians
6:2, James 5:16
Overcomers
– John 16:33, Romans 8:29-39, I John 2:13, I John 4:4 I John 5:5,
Revelation 2:7-11, Revelation 2:17 & 26, Revelation 3:5-12, 3:21,
12:11 and 21:7
Through the Power of the Blood of Christ we are also Called and Given these Precious Names:
Redeemed
by Christ's Blood – Ephesians 1:7 and I Peter 1:18-19
Cleansed
by Christ's Blood- I John 1:7
Justified
by Christ's Blood (just-as-if I'd never sinned) – Romans 5:9,
Isaiah 61:10
Sanctified
by Christ's Blood, set apart from
sin, and set apart to
God – Hebrews 13:12, and 12:10
Given
Life by
Christ's Blood – Leviticus 17:11, John 6:53-57, I Corinthians
10:16, I Corinthians 11:23-26
Interceeded
for/given an Advocate
by Christ's Blood – Hebrews 7:25, 12:22-24, I John 2:1, Romans
8:26-27
Given Access to God
by Christ's Blood – Hebrews 10:19-23
Note:
I'm grateful for Derek Prince's booklet, The
Power of Sacrifice, which
I recently read, and he noted these seven important aspects, above.
 |
| Hurry Up, Ladies, 20x27 watercolor by Elise, painted in New Zealand in 2007 and well-titled by Peter B.! |
False Accusations can Hurt and Change Lives
So
many people today, young and old, have been falsely accused or
hurtfully critisized here on earth.
These
damaging names, titles and words come from family, friends, school
teachers, college professors, sports and personal coaches, court
judges, policemen, church clergy and church goers, etc.
Because of sin and evil's presence in the world, people through millenia have been reviled, railed upon, berated, called bad names, insulted, embarrassed, maligned, condemned, mocked, experienced verbal bullying and/or have heard derogatory, deprecating and demeaning things said about them – sometimes truthfully but other times quite presumptuously and very wrongly!
The
words we say to others and about others matter!!!
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. ~ Proverbs 18:21
I
know I've said hurtful things to others.
When
my sister and I taught children and teachers about good character
years ago, we learned people need to hear nine
praises for
every critisicm!
As
the School Year begins next week, try praising your students,
teachers and friends. Tell them all the good things you see in them!
Lets
remind our friends, our family, and all people of their great value
to God and others. Be a blessing and an encouragement to others!
If
you are in a place where you are being called negative things,
sometimes you just can't change the direction the wind is blowing.
But I hope this list of words which our Father in heaven has so
graciously named us, called us, titled us, will encourage you.
For,
after all, His commendation and praise is what really
counts, now and for eternity.
Also,
the Holy Spirit chastens and corrects us when we go astray, as well
as praises, but I've always found that when our Father is speaking to
us, it is done with grace and kindness. When I face the
consequences of disobedience, I know our Father is often allowing
painful times for my good, to mold me or help me turn to His way.
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. ~ Job 5:18
Friends,
I'm grateful for all the support and kindness you have shown me!
Thank you for reading this blog!
Warmly,
your painting friend,
Elise
