A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words....

...or so the saying goes.

Our Pastor Marty is an amazing woman of God (Her name is Martha...but most call her Marty.) She is in the midst of an incredible sermon series entitled, "Thy Kingdom Come" and felt inspired to commission me to paint a "coat of arms", if you will, for our church. I am honored to be using the gift that God has given me.

This painting is about so much more than the coat of arms...it goes deeper...the Lord is doing a work in me through it...He is working on the canvas of my heart with each stroke of the brush. When I'm finished with the painting, I may share more about what the Lord is doing in my heart. But for now, just know that God is amazing....and I am a work in progress...just as this painting is a work in progress:

Pencil Drawing Sketch of THY KINGDOM COME
I spent considerable time reading
the scripture references which
Martha has chosen for her series.
And then spent some time in prayer...
and this is what the Lord gave me
(drawing time on the actual sketch: 20 minutes)



Adding a grid so I may transfer it to the canvas



Drawing on the canvas begins (Canvas measures 30"x40")
It took a little more time than 20 minutes
to 'grid off' the canvas
and transfer my drawing to scale



Filling in the background
Randy suggested the color...very good choice


The background complete


The start of the tree


More of the same


The tree complete...for now
Revisions to follow, I'm sure!


The ribbon...


And that's as far as I've gone thus far. I will be painting some more today. Just as this canvas is a work in progress, so is my life. The Lord is painting on the canvas of my heart...changing me, refining me, perfecting me, conforming me into His image. The goal being that I will reflect His character. It's a process. As an artist, I am reminded that at times the design comes easily and the paint flows freely and quickly, but often times, it's a more arduous task to make the painting look like the vision that is in my head. My prayer is that I may not be resistant to the work that He is doing in my life - and that I allow Him to create in me a masterpiece.

...more of the painting in upcoming posts.