Art Frustration

I seem to be in a bit of an art block. Even with a list of goals, right now, I've lost my direction, or mojo, or muse. I'm not entirely sure why. I have been continuing to sketch and work on pieces of larger projects but what I really want to do is start another art quilt.

I have spent weeks looking at photos and trying to decide what I want that art quilt to look like. I decide on something, start a watercolour painting of it and lose interest. None of the subjects I've chosen make my heart sing. I have learned that if I am not into a subject, it's not going to be successful so I abandon them. I'm not sure that is the right way to deal with it.

Perhaps I should power through. Look at the subject from a different perspective or change the composition, colours, values. Ask myself what made me choose that photo in the first place and capitalize on that.

A few weeks ago, I thought I had found what I wanted to do.

This was the photo, I had selected.

This is the watercolour I started of it. I didn't finish the painting because I felt it lacked something. I thought I chose the photo for the scenery so I left out the canoes. Perhaps the canoes are what make the scene interesting. I also think I need to tweek the colours; they're a bit boring.

This is another photo I selected to do. I thought the purple mountains looked nice against the fields and trees in the foreground. 

This is the painting I started and then put away because I felt it was also boring.

I looked at it some more today and decided not to try to paint every tree but just put down colour and value. I darkened the mountains and the sky and gave the foreground more dimension. Perhaps I'll put in some complimentary colours such as reds in the foreground and maybe some yellow in the sky. I'm starting to feel it again. I'm also thinking about how I will piece and quilt it. I may be able to thread paint the trees and other details. I have to remind myself that when it is done with fabric, the art quilt is always more vibrant than the painting I do. We will see if this develops into something.

Well, this was therapeutic. Thanks for listening. Hopefully that is the end of my block.

LOVE: A Valentine Blog

In Hebrew and Greek, the languages the Bible was originally written in, there are many different words used for LOVE. These words express everything from sexual desire to intimate friendships. Often all those words for LOVE are narrowed down to three: EROS, romantic, passionate LOVE; PHILEO, the LOVE of great friends and siblings; AGAPE, parental, self-sacrificing LOVE that seeks the welfare of others.

All of these LOVEs were created by God and should be present in our lives in the proper circumstances.

EROS is necessary and appropriate within the security of marriage. It is a special LOVE reserved for marriage and the one you have committed the rest of your life to. If this LOVE is shared with anyone other than your spouse, you have misused it and will inevitably have to bear the consequence of that. The Song of Songs is a book of the Bible often skipped over but it is a good resource that shows us how EROS can benefit our marriages.

PHILEO, is also found in marriage and is the LOVE that binds friendships and is committed to others. This LOVE can manifest itself in powerful emotions, both positive and negative.  It is a LOVE that is easily hurt if it is not returned in the way we need it to be returned. However, it can also be a powerful motivation to stand by a good friend or family member going through a hard time. It is not unusual for this LOVE to change, grow weaker or stronger over time, whether minutes or years. This shows us that LOVE is not simple, but powerful and often difficult and complicated.

AGAPE is basically Christian LOVE. It is a self-sacrificing LOVE and is pictured in God's LOVE for the world through Christ. I Corinthians 13 speaks of this LOVE and it should be evident in all our relationships even those with complete strangers. It is putting someone else's good before your own. I was once challenged to use the above passage in Corinthians to guide me in a relationship I was struggling with. It made me aware of my wrong attitudes and selfishness and led me to concentrate less on my own wants and perceived needs and more on those of the other person. The amazing thing is when we try to meet the needs of another, God shows us He can also meet our needs or make us realize our needs weren't as important as we thought they were.

God has placed people in our lives to enrich us. Relationships are important and worth working at. How can we enrich another person's life with our LOVE for them?