The silver lining of this shelter in place is my daily afternoon walk to put my son down for a nap in his stroller. In our previously scheduled life, he would fall asleep on the drive home from school. These are non native eucalyptus and my beloved favorite tree, a Monterey pine, on a shady side trail of Golden Gate Park.
It's official. I've gone to the dark side and fallen in love with acrylic gouache - specifically the Liquitex one. If you'd like to read my detailed thoughts I've put them in my blog ( https://www.lindsaymadeit.com/2020/03/05/acrylic-gouache-review-new-portrait/ ) , but otherwise, here's my first painting with them.
Sower and the Seed
This painting illustrates the parable “The Sower and the Seed,” a teaching of Jesus
recorded in the book of Matthew chapter 13. The four hearts in the sky represent four
different responses of those who hear the Gospel message.
The heart on the lower left represents those who have heard the gospel but reject it.
The devil then comes and takes it away from their hearts. This is illustrated by the
crows flying away with the seed that fell on the road side.
The second heart on the upper left side of the sky represents those who receive the
gospel message with joy, but it doesn’t take root in their faith, and their faith is temporal, falling away when trials or affliction come their way because of the gospel. This
is illustrated by a grape vine withering away in the heat of the day due to a lack of a
deep root system.
The heart in the upper right corner of the sky represents those who received the gospel
and believe, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the
word, and it becomes unfruitful. This is illustrated by the grapevine being choked out
by a purple, flower-bearing, climbing, strangling vine called, morning glory.
These vines produce pretty flowers, but they are an organic farmer’s enemy because
they will choke out his crops. I learned this firsthand in organic farming when I was a
missionary for a couple of summers.
The heart in the lower right corner of the sky represents those who hear, believe, and
are committed to living for the gospel, so they produce much fruit. This is illustrated
by a healthy, strong, fruit-bearing grapevine. The tilled field represents the world that
God has prepared to receive the Gospel message. The sower represents all Christians
that are commanded to go into the world and proclaim the gospel message. The seed
being thrown by the sower represents the gospel message going out to the world.
The seed bag has written on it, “The Word Seed Co.”
(October 28, 2017)
A few years back in the fall/autumn I collected lots of lovely red/yellow leaves and made a photo which I then manipulated in photoshop to create this illustration of gossips!
As awesome as summer and winter are, I love the transitional seasons the best, especially fall. It's the best time to do sports, orienteering, bird watching, hikes. The crisp air feels so good, and I love the rustle of the dead leaves and grasses on a windy day. While sometimes I get sad to see the branches bare, I also love looking at and analyzing their structure. I find it fascinating that a tree can go from this mighty, fluttering thing to a spindly, knobby structure and remain fundamentally unchanged. It's a bit of a miracle
This pen-and-ink illustration was done for the cover of a church statement of faith.
I named this illustration Foundation of America because I believe this country was
founded by Christians who had strong faith in the God of the Bible, and through
faith, prayer, and sacrifice, the patriots overcame the mighty British military. By the
hand of God, a new nation was born: the United States of America. When the United
States was filled with God-fearing people, God raised the country to be a super power,
and the world envied the United States and flocked to her shores, the land of freedom
and opportunity.
Now this country has forgotten the God who gave birth to her and now is setting
up new idols to worship: idols of wood, stone, metals that do not hear or see or
care. Because the United States has forgotten God, it has been plagued with storms,
tornadoes, floods, droughts and her enemies are waging war with her, waiting to
celebrate her fall.
It is my hope and prayer that people who love this country will return to honoring God
and return to giving Him thanks for all the great works He has done for this nation
and turn from our sins and follow God by obeying His Word: the Holy Bible. That
God will remove His hand of judgment and His blessing may return to our country.
This church was fist built in 1890 and is still being used as a church. It is in Norristown,
Pennsylvania. This was the first Bible-believing church I attended when I became a
Christian.
(October 28, 2017)
**Are Red Foxes Endangered?**
Currently, red foxes do not have such a status. The IUCN claims that the mammals’ population is stable and does not consider red foxes to be endangered. In fact, they also say that their highest population density is in the UK. Up to 30 red foxes per square 0.5km can exist. However, in the UK the red fox population has fallen by about 41% from 1995 until 2017.
There are several large threats to the red fox population, mainly habitat losses and fragmentations, plus exploitation and hunting. Habitat loss is the most serious of them all. Luckily for the species, they are very adaptable and can live in different conditions, which is also one of the reasons foxes have been regular visitors to urbanised areas and people’s yards. They come to look for food, which their natural habitat offers less of.
In the UK, there are some strict rules about dealing with foxes on your property and you can get a serious fine or even get jailed if you do not follow them.
One of my favorite times of the year is Autumn. It’s a time that reminds me how blessed I am for the rich friendships I have in my life. It’s also a time I enjoy making new memories with relatives I have a deep emotional bond.
And for some reason, pumpkins symbolizes this wealth of love I have for these loved ones. Maybe because orange is a passionate color for me. Or maybe because the color orange is abundant during this season when warm a fuzzy feelings show up when I’m with my loved ones. This hue is in pumpkins, persimmons, hot apple cider beverages, cinnamon spice on pies or lattes, and the obvious autumn leaves.
But my focus for this illustration were big, fat pumpkins. I love hugging and squeezing them and feeling it’s cold flesh on my skin. I look forward to my next bite of pumpkin pie from our very good friend, Terry, who makes them very excellently!
I genuinely can't believe it's already March (I also can't believe it'll be a year since the pandemic really started). Yesterday also marked one year since I started journaling, which isn't an actual major thing, but still. How quickly time flies and how big of a difference a year can make. "And when it rains, the rain falls down Washing out the cattle town But she's quite safe up far away in her eiderdown And she dreams of crystal streams Of days gone by when we would lean Laughing, fit to burst, on each other."
Thought I'd upload a closer look of my pfp lol, basically it's just an odd coloured dog with my favourite colours: pink and brown. With a fallout boy (big fan sksks) earring added to the mix.
Observations from an expedition to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which features an incredible paleontology hall. I brought with me a pad of sticky notes, a couple Micron plastic nib pens, a set of Copic Markers, my fanny pack, and some headphones. Prehistoric life has been an infatuation of mine since childhood, and there is something very humbling about drawing in the shadows of these fallen giants.
Colorful Goldfish - Another watercolor sketch from my newest sketchbook. I'm using Strathmore Mixed Media 300 Series (5.5 in x 8.5 in). It has 40 sheets of 90 lb. vellum surface paper. They cost under $10 and can be used for most anything including wet media (light washes) without the paper falling apart or warping badly. One of the best all purpose sketchbooks I've found and the size makes it easy to toss in a backpack and carry daily. Anyway, just wanted to share my good experience with the group. What's your favorite sketchbook brand/format?
