door

It’s been over 20 years since I was an artist and animator in the video game industry and did art on the computer. I’ve been re-learning digital art since I’ve been stuck in doors during this Covid pandemic, and this is a charcoal piece I just did in Procreate. If you haven’t already tried this mind blowing program, I highly recommend it!

Practicing sketching freehand in ink. Pen + alcohol markers.

Must be in my retro speedo dude phase.

Title: Heart and Soul Medium: illustration pens on sketch book paper Style: surreal Category: illustration Created: Dec-Jan 2024-2024 Artist: Stephen J. Vattimo Heart and Soul This is preliminary drawing for a painting I am about to begin. The concept for this illustration started as a design for a pumpkin carving contest. I feel the message of the design is so important for people to hear, I decided to make it into a painting. The original design, done in pen and ink. The design only shows the two doors of the entrance to a fortress. It was designed for a live pumpkin carving event in mind. At this type of event, the carver must create their piece of art live on site with spectators watching and asking questions, and there is a time limit. The evolution of the design? I added a wall on each side of the entrance, with matching pillars. Explaining the design of the pillars The triangle top: the triune God. Representing three persons of God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The cross shape opening in the pillars: The cross is the only path to God, to have the debt of sin satisfied. To reconcile humankind back to himself. To be released from being a slave to the Devil. To be a new creation empowered by God Spirit. Explaining the design of the entrance way(gate) The top of the entrance is in the shape of a heart, represents the seat of human passion, ambition, and allegiance. The cultic three petal flower is used to represent God in three persons united. The symbol inside the flower: God’s ministry toward humankind. Crown: Highest authority Cross: God’s loving salvation and restoration plan. The dove: Spiritualty made alive, fellowship with God, empowerment to weather the storm of life, and equip for service to God. Change in the design of the door. In the original design, one door had roses carved on it. The pattern took up the whole door. The other door had a grape vine carved on it. The pattern took up the whole door. I modified the emblem on the doors by making them smaller and simplified, so I could place them inside heart shapes, so the new images would more clearly communicate what they are meant to represent. I also added color to the emblems(color pencil) to make them clear of what they are, because of their size and the ink medium ,they were hard to interpret. Understanding the symbol of the two doors. The door with the rose inside the heart emblem represents a heart whose passions, ambitiousness, allegiance are focused on the cares, worries, and abstaining riches of the world. Only giving God lip service. I chose the rose to represent the heart of spiritual allegiance to the world, because roses are pretty, but you can’t eat them to nourish your body. They also have thorns that can cause injury to the body. So, the parallel point is, just as flower fade and turn to dust, so will the person who chases the thing of the world and has no time for God. For life is very short, we know not which will be our last breath on this side of eternity. But if a person leaves this earth without excepting the gift God offered them which is salvation from penalty of sin and given enteral life through the work that was done on the cross by God’s son. Then that soul will appear before Jesus, and just as they did not know him in their life on earth, He will tell them he knows them not. Into the lake of fire, they will spend eternity. The door with the grape vine in the heart emblem represents a heart whose passions, ambitiousness, allegiance are for God. To know Him intimately, to obey His teachings, to serve his will. I chose the grapevine to represent the heart of spiritual allegiance to God, because grapes are nourishing to the body. Jesus also used a grape vine in one of his parables. He paralleled the spiritual relationship he had with his disciples and the grapevine. He told them just as branches of a vine must depend on the base of the vine to live and bare fruit, so they must abide him to have abundant life. Abiding in Christ is not a religious act. It is outside of religion. It is an intimate relationship. Example: you can belong to a fan club of Paul McCartney and know a lot of things you have heard about him, but he doesn’t even know you exist. Where, if Paul is your father, and you have a good parent to child relationship, then you know him intimately. So, abiding in God, we commune with him through read his word and living by its teachings. It is spending time in prayer. Sharing our hearts with God and spending time listing to him. Trusting in him as our provider and giving thanks for his provision. Living our lives, with the purpose of pleasing him with the work of our hand and loving our neighbors in the workplace as well as in the community. Just as a healthy grapevine continues to grow and produce much fruit. Having an imitate relationship with God should be more and more evident in the way we live our lives. So, when the angel of death pays you an unexpected visit, he escorts you to Jesus’s throne, you know for certain he going to welcome you with loving arms and said welcome home my faithful servant. Now to which door I chose for my life? It’s the one that is open. This bible verse one of a couple that inspired me to design this illustration. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 King James Version 12 Now if any man builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. This verse is not referring to the rebellious people who have rejected God, this is referring to people who are children of God, who failed to serve God faithful. Written by Stephen J. Vattimo. 3 Jan 2024 .

Watercolor 2003-4. Patience, good temperament, civility, humility, love describes my grandmother's life--born in the late 1800s, she faced more difficulties in life than I have ever faced. This painting represents longing to return to her.

Patron Saint of Lost Keys and Small Things. Reminded me of this poem by Elizabeth Bishop. One Art The art of losing isn’t hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn’t hard to master. Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster. I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three loved houses went. The art of losing isn’t hard to master. I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster. —Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident the art of losing’s not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

#GreetingsFrom #DigitalDetox #Sunset #Typography #Nature #NatureLover #GreetingCard #BoldText #Outdoors #Contrast #Scenic #Relaxation #Unplugging #Landscape #JoseloRochaArt #Greeting #Text #Bold #Playful #Phrase #Quote #Retro #Postcard #Offline #Nostalgia #Travel

Another summer illustration with a beautiful surreal edge!

This is the next redo on tap. It's a watercolor painted in about 2006. Likely I'll only change values of the leaves--the lighter ones. And I will try to define the yellow petunias better.

There’s a lot of waiting in life. Waiting in lobbies. Waiting on answers. Waiting for braces to tighten, kids to grow, hearts to heal, or prayers to be answered. I sat at the orthodontist, watching dollars tighten on tiny wires, and made this sketch. A tree. A house. A street. Color helped the moment breathe. I remember once hearing a chess master say, “There is no waiting in chess.” It confused me—wasn’t there always a turn to wait for? But he explained: “There’s no waiting. Only planning. Plotting. Analyzing. You’re always thinking.” I once repeated that to a FIDE master. He got mad. Maybe because waiting and patience aren’t the same thing. We can be still and deeply active inside. We can pause without being passive. And then there’s Lindsey’s voice in the back of my head: “That sounds like a first-world problem.” “Speak life.” “Be thankful. Rejoice always.” And she’s right. So here’s to filling waiting time with something creative. Something kind. Something that turns a delay into a doorway.

#GreetingsFrom #Offline #GreetingsFromPostcard #Typography #Nature #NatureLover #GreetingCard #BoldText #Outdoors #Scenic #Relaxation #Unplugging #Landscape #JoseloRochaArt #Ocean #Beach #Sea #Playful #Phrase #Quote #Retro #Postcard #Nostalgia #Travel #3DText #Vacation #Escape #Tranquility #Unplugg

#GreetingsFrom #NoSignal #Forest #Mountains #GreetingsFromPostcard #Typography #Nature #NatureLover #GreetingCard #BoldText #Outdoors #Scenic #Relaxation #Landscape #JoseloRochaArt #Greeting #Playful #Phrase #Quote #Retro #Postcard #Offline #Nostalgia #Travel #Vacation #Escape #Tranquility #BlueGreen #Unplug #JoseloRochaArt

I designed this house. It has a really pretty blue exterior, and it has a slight curve to it that gives it a more warm and inviting feel. I like how the walkway kind of curves into the stairs and transitions back into the walkway before arriving at the front door. I like that there’s plenty of yard space with some really nice landscaping. The birds can even come and get a birdbath. I thought that was really cute. I used the multicolored stones to add detail for a more distinguished look. The hedges are neatly cut in a square and follows along side of the house. Looking through those gorgeous windows you can see the house is fully furnished. There are some really pretty chandeliers in there that adds character. There’s a stairway that leads to another level of the house as well. I love how there’s a touch of yellow that highlights the points on the rooftop. Furthermore, the swing in the backyard adds an inviting feel to the scenery. Also, it’s a nice place to sit and enjoy the view.

Another illustration for today!

TheStephen Vattimo 7 mins The Three Witnesses Acrylic on Canvas Size :48"x68" Year finished: 2004-14 This painting illustrates three witnesses who are taking part in the salvation of a homeless person. the figure in the background is angled, this imposed by them being Positioned on second-floor balconies, symbolizing they are not humans, they are a higher class of beings. To the left side of the painting a demon and to the right side an angel of God . the kingdoms they serve are identified by the breastplate emblems of their armor. The demon has a dragon head overlaid on a pentagram. The angle of God has a lions head overlaid on a cross. The demon face is partly hidden by a hood which represents deception, where in contrast the angle of God is wearing nothing on his head that hiders the view of his face., representing honest. Angel is always involved in the affairs of the human race. The demon is warring against man to turn their heart against God, and lead them to destruction. God's angel is always warring lead mankind to salvation through Jesus the Christ, and lead him away from the path of destruction that comes from sinful living. The ally way is representing three kingdoms, to the left, the kingdom o Hell. The center road, the kingdom of mankind. To the right side, the kingdom of Heaven. The path of these kingdoms is represented by the direction of stairs. To go the way of Hell is to take the stairs down to the sub-level door. To the go, the way of heaven is to take the fire escape upward. The lighting and the condition of the structures of the walls also identify the nature of the kingdoms they represent. The kingdom of Hell is represented by the dark and crumbling wall. Man's kingdom is represented by a boarded up windowed wall that is a dead end. Symbolizing that mankind only has two roads to chose from, there is no such thing as a third reality. The left side of the paint is a cardboard box and a newspaper floor which serve as a makeshift shelter for the homeless man. The turned over bottle reveals which devise he had that lead him to a life of living in the street. The tipped over trash can which spills its trash onto the light source that is lighting the alleyway, which is in the shape of a cross, represents mankind's sin which Jesus The Christ paid in full the debt which God demand for the payment for sin which is death. So that The guiltless took the place of the guilty, that by faith in this truth all will escape Hell and enter the Kingdom of God as children and heirs of The Highest God. The Homeless man, who is dirty,ill-clothed, cold, tired, hungry, hopeless, symbolizes the condition of Mankind outside a flourishing relationship with God. The Christian witness is better dressed implying he is walking with God, and his life is blessed through God provision. The witness is showing compassion and the love of Christ to this homeless man by wrapping his arm around the shoulder of the dirty smelly homeless man. He points the homeless man in the direction of the path that leads to salvation through faith in the work of Jesus The Christ which is His work on the Cross, receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. That through a relationship with the Christ, He can receive the guidance, the strength, the willpower to leave his old life of being a drunkard and living in the street. Because in Christ old thing pass away, and all thing are made new. The light that falls on the Christian witness and the homeless man and opens up in the shape of the cross in the alleyway, comes from a heavenly source outside the picture. Written by Stephen J.Vatttimo June 16, 2014

I miss camping.

A digital sketch for today inspired by days out and old train wagons combined in a surreal setting.

Another illustration for today!

Page from winter art journal. Used micron .01 pen. I try to draw quickly--partly my temperament, partly about staying away from focusing on every detail.

The meal was my attempt to bring a little comfort into the rugged outdoors. The sketch was my reminder—to hold onto the moment, even when mosquitoes, ashes, and deflating air mattresses had other plans.

Another illustration for today!

This is another atmospheric sketch for today! This could be someone just being outdoors taking a walk away from the strange or uncomfortable streets embracing the outdoors.

Another illustration for today!

Pen and watercolour ATC (60x90mm). I'm giving away 50 mini paintings this year including this one (sorry, all slots are taken).

06/16 Travel Memories : Door in Morocco . Commissioned work: sketches about travel memories for an interior design website with graphite pencils only

Another illustration for today!

Another illustration for today!

I designed these multicolored trailers using different shades of color only in a different pattern for each trailer. I felt like this color scheme would give the trailers a uniform look yet their own distinct look. The roads look freshly paved with small shrubbery on the corners of the entry ways of the driveways. There are some pretty brown steps that leads to a door on each trailers. Also, as you can see the trailers have been topped off with the same flat style roof only with a different solid color which is one of the colors used on the sides of the trailers. There’s a fishing area with plenty of fish in it as well as places to sit. There’s even a place to use the restroom close by the fishing area so you can continue to enjoy your day catching fish with minimal interruption. This trailer park has a fresh look to it. It has a warm, inviting feel to it and is perfect for living a more simple lifestyle.

Break on Through to the Other Side