"My life vest is in the boat, and I'm in the water." ~ A blackout poem from a recycled page of Riding with the Hides of Hell, a young adult love story now titled Burnout.
A serene coastal scene with a building structure in the foreground on a colorful blue water body, likely a canal or lagoon. In the background, there are boats floating on the water under a cloudy sky.
4 year old Henry engaged fully with thick applications of watercolor and oil pastels. He said it was a stormy sea with a small boat. This was at the onset of the pandemic, when we were all a bit uncertain and confined to our homes. I was reminded of an insight by Kierkegaard written in the early 1800s: “When the sailor is out on the sea and everything is changing around him, as the waves are continually being born and dying, he does not stare into the depths of these, since they vary. He looks up at the stars. And why? Because they are faithful – as they stand now, they stood for the patriarchs, and will stand for coming generations. By what means then does he conquer changing conditions? Through the eternal: By means of the eternal, one can conquer the future, because the eternal is the foundation of the future.”
A watercolor painting about Seashore. We sit and enjoy the Sweet sounds of sea waves and birds chirping. They are soo much relaxing. It is a Watercolor painting.
Still the same concept I've been working through for a while, but trying to dig a little deeper. I had a 1:45 min flight and I worked on this the whole time (minus turbulence).
There is really nothing more I can say about this than it is truly just a doodle on a notepad while I was on the phone. The more I do this though, the more ideas I get for larger work.
This is a painting of a first century Galilean fishing boat, most likely the very type of
boat used by Peter when he was called by Jesus to follow him.
This illustration is part of a bigger mural I am working on, about the ministry of Jesus
the Christ.
If you notice, the boat is beached facing backward, with the fishing net coming from
the back of the boat. This is to signify that Peter, like all the other apostles, except
Matthew the tax collector, dropped their fishing occupation and followed Jesus, Who
would make them the fishermen of men’s souls.
Here is a truth about me as an artist. Two parts of this painting gave me trouble in
carrying out this illustration. The fist was illustrating the ropes of the rigging. My first
attempt was horrendous it took me a second try to get it right. I had to look up pictures of ropes on the Internet to overcome this challenge.
The second was illustrating the rocks on the bottom of the Sea of Galilee and the
reflections of the boat on the water. I must have made about five attempts until it
finally clicked. Even when I kept looking at the reflections of boats on water, I could
not make the breakthrough.
In creating the kind of art that I do, it is very rare to find a model that meets all my
requirement for what I am illustrating. So, it takes photos and imagination and the
grace of God to create an illustration that looks better than a stick figure and communicates the message intended.
So, I figure God has me go through these challenges to keep me humble because, without humility, God is not able to use our talents for His glory.
(October 12, 2017)
The lake was busy with light, the grasses busy with wind, but the boat sat quiet against the shore. There is a gift in this tension: to be held still while everything moves, to be carried without effort, to find rest in the very heart of motion.
Another pleasant illustration for today! Who does not like a little break at the strand without having any cars or boats or anything distracting around. Just some beautiful way to spend outside. And why not.
A boat floats at the center of swirling, vibrant blue waves, creating a sense of motion and energy. The contrast between the warm tones of the boat and the cool hues of the water highlights the image's dynamic composition.
Jesus And Peter On The Water
Medium: Pen And Ink On sketch Book Paper
Size: 12" X 18"
Date Completed: 9/ 22/15
This study is for an upcoming paint about the life of Christ.
The drawling it's self took about two week time of working on it off and on. The research stage took about two months. This study is attempt to capture spirit of being out on the water walking with Jesus during a storm on the sea of Galilee. I hope the viewer can feel Peter anxiety as he is sinking in to the lake as fierce storm drain peter faith in his ability to walk on water through the ability the lord gave him. I wanted to show how compassionate Jesus is to quickly crouch down to rescue peter from drawing and get him back to the safety of the boat with the rest of the disciples, which is outside of the illustration..
Some people feel that i should have Jesus feet visible above the water,so people don't get the notion that Jesus is sinking in the water too. But if I do that it would alter what it would really look like in the natural world ,because even if Jesus's feet were on top of the water this might not be visible to the viewer because the waves in front of Jesus might block the view of his feet.
This illustration make think about the time we have all tried to do a task that the lord has call us to, but we have tried to accomplish the task depending on our own strength in stead of the strength of the holy Spirit. Then we Find our self sinking instead of making head way and we have to call on the Lord to rescue us and put us back on the right track.
Written By Stephen J. Vattimo
Sept 22,2015
