spiritual

Happy with life and grateful to be existing.

We take things in and digest them before regurgitating them or expelling them again through our being. This is true of many aspects of our reality, not just of caloric intake. We take things in through the senses, through the person. We digest with our intellect and with our perception. Then we are able to share that back out through the senses, through our behaviours, and through our being. Food builds our body even as our experiences build our character. The real mark of a mature human being is developing deeper levels of discretion and recognizing more intimate forms of subtlety. Not everyone likes grapes, but to condemn grapes as evil is not prosperous to our species. Some like cherries, but not all enjoy their flavour. Grapes and cherries are still nutritious even though some have allergies to them. And not all cherries and grapes are ripe and nutritious at all times in all places. We must carry this knowledge into the development of our judgement. If it is important and worth while to discuss food and material nutrition, then it is much more essential that we evolve a greater sense of discretion for experience and for the holistic palette of our physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual tongues. We do that through consumption and digestion. But be aware that a human being can not live on grapes and cherries alone. We should also do our best to not condemn the taste buds or stomachs of ourselves or others. Namaste.

Graphite, colored pencil, on paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, on paper. 2023.

Graphite, colored pencil, on paper. 2023 Continuous line drawings within the field. Hope you enjoy!

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)

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023. 17" x 11 1/2"

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper.

Spiritually guided drawing. Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

The Edge of Night We are living in the days on the edge of night You can see the darkness swallowing up the light As the world of man accepts wrong for right Time is short, and it is foolish to waste it By debating with skeptics that faith in God is intellectually bright We are living in the days on the edge of night The enemy’s delusion is thick So, walk by faith and not by sight Don’t lie around sunbathing in the light We must pick up the banner of Christ And work as long as there is light! (January 23, 1994)

Keep Your Eyes on the Lamp Bearer. Don’t walk around aimlessly. Don’t leave your armor on your bed chamber’s floor. Keep your eyes and ears focused on Jesus. He is the lamp bearer, who illuminates the path you should travel. Don’t walk around aimlessly! Don’t leave your armor on your bedchamber’s floor. Specters are crouched in the shadows of the thicket that line your path. They plot to ambush you as soon as you wander aimlessly into the thicket. Keep your eyes and ears focused on Jesus. He is the lamp bearer, who illuminates the path you should travel. If you have walked into a fog and lost your focus, If you have walked aimlessly into the shadows the thicket If you find yourself in the clutches of the specters of the dark Don’t be anxious. Don’t lose hope. Humble yourself and call out to your commander. He will send in his angelic army to retrieve you To restore you back to the ranks of His army Don’t walk around aimlessly. Don’t leave your armor on your bedchamber’s floor! Keep your eyes and ears focused on Jesus. He is the lamp bearer, who illuminates the path you should travel. (December 3, 2016)

Queen Of Peace.' Part of the proceeds of each sale will go to some good causes. On www.artpal.com/Toddjess This piece was created on drawing paper. 11x15. Acrylic paint. The message within the piece. Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. Approx. 25" x 24". 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023. 13 1/2" x 13 3/4".

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2023

God Provides Mural: acrylic paint on Stretched canvas. Size: H 30 “x 40” w 1” D In this mural I seek to illustrate How God through Jesus provide for the spiritual needs of humans. The first century fishing boat with its nets stretch out to dry on the shore, Jesus calls us to leave our old live behind and join Him on a new adventure. Just as he calls his disciples to leave their lives of fishing and join Him in bring people back to God. The illustration of a boy lunch in a desolate place, we are reminded that God know our physical as well spiritual needs. If we seek to put him first in our lives, He will take care of the rest. Jesus and Peter walking on the rage ocean, God call us to weather many great storms, to be able to participate in rescuing of the spiritually drawing. We always need to be reminded to keep our eye on Christ unless we become filled with fear and we become overwhelmed by our hostel environment and being to sink. Jesus on the cross, God knowing no sin, sent His son to be a sacrifice, the innocent trading place with a vile criminal to face a horrible death on the cross. We can all identify with Barabbas, for because of our sinful words and deeds, we ourselves are criminals before a Holy God. If we identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, for the payment of our transgression. This is the only way to be forgiven and washed clean of our sinful past. We have been given the holy spirit to enable us to turn from sin and walk in the newness of life through His word and spirit. The rock with ALPA and OMEGA and Irish flower carved in it: represent Our eternal God who existed in the eternal past and will exist in the enteral future. The rock with dove facing down, represent the coming of Holy Spirit who Jesus sent, after He went back to Heaven. He came to teach us all truth about spiritual things, about God, to give us understand of His words, and to strength our bodies, minds, spirits to enable us to do the will of God. The rock with fish symbol: Represents the sign first century Christian would draw on the ground to test a person to find out if they were a true follower of Christ or if they were a spy, trying to expose were the Christians met for church. So, the Roman could arrest and kill Christians. How the test was administered: The initiator would drawl half the body of the fish in the grown, then the person being evaluated, if they were a Christian would know to draw the second half of the fish. Written By Stephen J. Vattimo 1/18/2023

Graphite, colored pencil, 2ply acid free board. 2023

Graphite, ink, watercolor, colored pencil, paper. 2023

Graphite, colored pencil, paper

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2022

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2022

Graphite, colored pencil, acid free board

The Truth, Life, and Way Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas Size: 10 “x 20” Year: 2021-2022 This illustration is final illustration, of nine, of a mural about the life of Christ. In this painting I attempt to communicate to the viewer who Jesus is to the Christian. He is the truth; Jesus is the word of God that put-on Flesh. Jesuses’ life fulfills all prophecies that were made about God’s Deliver. Though, Jesus was human, He was also totally Devine. God put on flesh with out the nature of sin, by being born through virgin conception. Since the fall of humankind at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which took place in the garden of Eden. The sin nature is past down through the generations of humankind through the male. Jesus on our behave, taught humanity the requirements needed to reunite with God, and how to live life in a new and better way. The savior then traded places with a criminal to hang on a cross. The guiltless, paying the penalty of the guilty. For a sinner cannot offer an acceptable payment to a holy God to set them free from facing the wrath of God’s upon their sin. They can only be for given for their sins by coming to God through the savior He has provider for them The resurrection After God had poured out his wrath upon the savior’s body, Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb for three days. God raised him back to life, showing that the sacrifice was excepted. Jesus is the first fruit, so that whoever places their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, they to shall raise from the dead unto enteral life. Jesus is the life As believer walk in their new relationship with God, they will face many challenging times. For the Devil and his coworkers are unhappy with your newfound relationship with God. They will wage war with you, but be of good cheerer, Jesus has overcome them for us. Jesus promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will be with us to the end of the age. I painted Jesus and the believers with their back to the empty tomb. This is to emphasize the price that was paid to set us free from the chains of the power of sin. Jesus standing alongside the believer with the direction finger, as He guides Him along the way he should go. What I was trying to capture. In read the account of the first people going to the tomb where Jesus was buried, it describes the woman getting there before the sun came up. I was trying to capture that time of day in my illustration. Every dawning of a new day is a change follow Christ, better than we did yesterday. Written by Stephen J. Vattimo 11/20/2022

Graphite, colored pencil, acid free board mounted on mat board.

Graphite, colored pencil, paper. 2022

Graphite, colored pencil, acid free board.