by admin | Jun 6, 2016 | Stories
I painted this story awhile back using Procreate on my iPad. I liked it then. Now, it seems so primitive.
So I decided to revisit the blue coyotes theme because they are such a part of my life. Each night and early morning darkness coyotes, although not necessarily blue ones, do what they do best – hunt and howl. My neighbor has a beautiful Alaskan husky who howls along with them. Sometimes a 3 am, 2 am, I am dreaming of coyotes because I’m subconsciously hearing them. They run in the empty fields and shallow canyons around my home. Sometimes they even boldly venture onto my driveway and use it as a highway to wherever they’re running to.
I don’t fear them. I welcome them in all their beauty. Some times when I’ve been out walking early in the morning, I have encountered a solitary coyote. I stop and stand very still, watching him in the distance. He sees me too. He stops and stares at me. Does he wonder what I am, why I’m looking in his direction, if I mean him harm? It may sound a bit neurotic, but I kind of think we’re communicating.
The above painting is a placement print, suitable for products or hanging on the wall. Below is a repeat print version, for wallpaper, gift wrap, fabric, etc.
SheDreamedofBlueCoyotesHD
Hope you enjoy the print and the story behind it. You can see more of this print and others on products at my store on Society 6.
by admin | Jun 6, 2016 | Stories
More and more the world is angry and chaotic. People are defensive, even outright aggressive, when threatened or offended. Rude and vulgar language is no longer surprising whether on the road, in places of business, or on TV. Have you noticed the increase in videos of people brawling over the least little provocation? Aggression has become the subject of entertainment.
The truth is kindness is not my natural inclination. I wish it was. However, I have learned to embrace and practice kindness like the necessity of exercise. The results are kind of amazing. The kinder I am to complete strangers, the less stress I feel. But when I go the way of the world and lash out at someone’s insult, ignorance, or poor service, I’m the one who feels terrible afterwards. I am painfully aware by experience how unkind words destroy the spirit.
Each of us is a victim of someone’s unkindness. Each of us has also been a perpetrator. The upsurge in bullying may not be on the rise at all. Maybe we’re finally noticing the long term effect it has on the human spirit.
I have the freedom to criticize, bully or make a sarcastic remark. Everyone does it so it’s easy to fall in step with the culture. Choosing to be kind in spite of how I’m treated is just that – a choice that God instilled in me.
When I choose kindness instead of my natural inclination, it produces joy. I’m less stressed. Like any exercise, the benefits are worth the effort.
I made this latest print to remind me that I can’t be neutral on this issue. I have been given freedom of choice by a loving God who has been amazingly gracious and kind to me. Shouldn’t I do likewise?
The print above is available as a hand signed giclee or on various other products at Society6 and Fine Art America.
by admin | Jun 3, 2016 | Stories
In college I took one astronomy class but it was enough to create a passion for the stars. I studied the constellations, spent time in our planetarium looking at all the seasons of stars and their patterns. Who would have known that I would be so drawn to patterns in the skies that I would make surface pattern design my vocation later in life?
Sometimes I wake up and go outside at 2 am just to see what God has done. It wasn’t always that way for me.
I also studied Astrology. I was attracted to the complexity and mystery of it, sure I could discern people’s personalities by knowing their astrological signs. I guess I thought we were somehow ruled by a random universe.
Today I hear many people refer to “the universe” as a powerful force, or higher power in their lives. I often hear them say things like, “whatever the universe decides,” referring to their fate or actions. They also put their wants and desires “out into the Universe” seriously expecting answers.
Throughout civilization, people have allowed their lives to be controlled by whatever attributes they assumed the stars held over them, even worshipping the stars. According to the Bible, in Job 9:9,10, it was God who created all things, including the stars which He set in the sky. The universe answers to God alone. The stars themselves are mere balls of fiery gas and energy. If they have any effect on me it will be if they explode and fall down on my head!
Astrology is a man-made attempt to assign stars tasks over our lives so we can blame balls of gas for our flawed personalities and behavior. That’s kind of irresponsible.
Instead the Bible tells us that the stars point to the real truth – That God made them for His plan and purpose, and by the Word spoken from His mouth – perhaps the big bang. He also tells us in James 1:5 that if we lack wisdom we should ask God and He will tell us what to do. The stars do not promise to answer – they are fiery gas balls.
Since God does promise to answer, I will ask my Creator for wisdom rather than the objects He created.
This print is available here as a hand-signed giclee print and other products from my stores on Society 6 and Fine Art America.
by admin | Jun 3, 2016 | Stories
Do you find it hard to be grateful at times? Does the popular practice of “gratitude” grate on your nerves especially with Oprah tells us we should do it? Yeah, I know, but I now admit she’s right. Not because she’s right or I’m right, but because God’s word is true and right, and especially practical.
The Bible has so much to say about the practice of being thankful and how it changes our lives by changing our perspective.
When a person has a lot, or more than enough, they tend to think they deserve even more. I thought I deserved to drive an expensive luxury automobile and I did. The more expensive it became the more unhappy I was with it. Suddenly its sleek beauty became dull and even a bit frightening when contemplating my next bill to maintain it.
Isn’t that how it goes? We think we want something. We buy it. We use it. It becomes less shiny and attractive then we replace it or throw it out with hardly a thought. I’m guilty.
I learned a valuable lesson and it’s no secret. Practicing gratitude is a discipline worth acquiring because my life is happier and more satisfied with what I have. I no longer clammer for more. I don’t engage in “retail therapy,” because I now know that whatever I buy won’t make me more fulfilled.
Make no mistake – I don’t deny myself something that will delight my heart, or is beautiful for the sake of just being beautiful. I consider buying something wonderful and artistic as an act of appreciation – an act of gratitude for the maker of that work of art, or innovative design.
What I’ve learned is that if I want to live in fulfillment and satisfaction that only comes from God, then I must practice thanking Him for the blessings He provides. I look for them. I seek them out. I am in a perpetual state of discovery. And more important, I write them down. That way I can refer back to what God has done that only He could do. It gives me confidence that He will continue to bless and provide. I have no doubt because I have evidence of His hand in my life.
OK, now I’m gonna go all retail on you. This print is available as wall art and other products at my store on Society6. Hope you like it.
by admin | Jun 3, 2016 | Stories
Isn’t it true that we often struggle and strive to justify our actions, when all along we’ve chosen to do the wrong thing in the first place?
My friend Christie uses this expression and it always rings so true to me – so much that I had to create this print. It reminds me about my motives for doing anything, thinking a particular way, making choices. What I choose has impact on so many other people, so I’m not choosing only for myself.
Breaking Bad is Biblical in its story structure, even Shakespearean, which is why I love this TV show so much. I can watch it over and over. The choice one man makes starts out with the motive to leave his family financially sound after his impending death from cancer. (Spoiler Alert – but you’ve had enough time!) Then it becomes a march toward the death of so many, along with his marriage, his family relationships, his friendships, his career, his identity, until he has left a pile of corpses strew about the bleak New Mexico landscape. A man makes a choice to do the wrong thing and justifies the “rightness” of it until almost everyone in the story is dead including himself. What a cautionary tale!
I don’t always make the right choices because I’m human and come with ego, neediness and all kinds of ugly attributes. I need the kind and merciful work of a Savior to fix me. For Jesus, I’m deeply grateful. I still don’t always make the right choices. When I don’t, I have some place to go and someone to go to who will show me how to make better choices the next time.
Meanwhile, this statement should be in front of my face at all times. If you’d like a copy, please visit my store at Society6.
by admin | Jun 3, 2016 | Stories
The principle of giving and receiving is a simple one and it comes from Jesus: “Give and it will be given to you” – Luke 6:38. He made it plain that in what ever measure we give, that same measure it will be returned to us, or come back. If we are generous we will receive generosity in return.
How do we measure our generosity? The verse goes on to describe that a good measure is “pressed down, shaken together or running over.”
When I bake something using brown sugar, I have to press it down firmly into the cup because there are air bubbles between the granules by the nature of its composition. White sugar doesn’t have the resistance that brown sugar does. Brown sugar must be pressed firmly into the cup as the correct measure of sweetness for the recipe.
To me that describes a kind of generosity that doesn’t skimp on flavor or sweetness. I know that if I’ve measured the brown sugar correctly, the recipe will have robust flavor as expected. If I’m stingy with the brown sugar, I’ll be disappointed with the result.
Giving generously has practicality. I will get back what I give so why not give freely and with anticipation? My immediate return is a heart filled with joy at the giving. It’s fun to purchase just the perfect gift for someone you love, wrap it up in a special way and present it with the hope that they will really love what you’ve given them. It’s exciting to watch their face as the gift is revealed.
That’s how God gives to us, with joy and excitement at anticipating how we will receive it.
Here’s a new print to express the joy of giving, available from my store on this site, or as various other products from my stores on Society6 and Fine Art America.
