Words on the watercolor are from Vincent van Gogh's letter to Theo van Gogh (Cuesmes, July 1880). Neal ran away only to discover that all that he was running away from is still with him.
I got a little emotional when I heard the Lahaina banyan tree would make it through the Maui fire. I found a reference and painted a watercolor of the new growth. I come from a Navy family and was born in Hawaii. Let me know if I got the transparency and shading right or if it is aesthetically pleasing.
A bit of a departure from my usual style. I wanted to try something a bit messy, fast, and loose. The scene is an ancient woodland in Pembrokeshire called Tŷ Canol, an atmospheric place and full of inspiration for artworks. Pen and watercolour in Seawhite sketchbook.
I started messing about with line and wash. I really enjoyed the speed and looseness of working on this piece. In hindsight, I'm wondering if it would be worth working on a larger, more considered version as there is quite a lot of nice texture that is missing here. Pen & watercolour on watercolour paper (4x6").
Big Al Lopez from Sktchy. Pen and watercolour. This was only meant to be a doodle in a corner of a sketchbook to knock the cobwebs off as I haven't done pen and watercolour in months, but I quickly got enthused with it and really like the end result!
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)
