This week I’ve been working on generating ideas for my abstract art. Part of the process is moving away from my natural inclination and setting rules at the onset as a guide. Some of these are, a four color limit on my color palette, only circular and curved brush strokes, and blending the colors I’ve chosen to form new colors. These ideas were initiated from a collage of ideas from four thumbnail prints. Then they were arranged in a eye catching way to move into another painting from the sane themes.
I find it interesting how art mimics life in so many ways. There is a narrowing process of choices made by our own preferences that leads us down the road of destiny. Nothing by chance ever happens to us but all is chosen or ordained by a higher authority. All the twists and turns and messy journeys that happen to us are marked by this rule. They all have meaning and purpose and are writing our story, whether we possess realization of it or not.
The Son of Man said that He came to seek and save that which was lost and that if He was lifted up, He would draw all men to Himself. Our lives are not clear cut paths to God. We must often take detours, hard roads, windy paths and trial laden journeys, and yet He is drawing us, as he promised, to Himself at every turn. He promises us, ” he that seeth the Son and believeth on him, hath everlasting life and shall not come into judgement but has already passed from death to life.
Jesus is the answer at the end of all our wanderings.
I have been experimenting with negative space in my abstract paintings attempting to create a layered effect with different shapes and colors. The following are just a few of what I’ve been working on this week. I started by mark making on a colored background and moved to adding a solid color for negative space.
A 3d effect is created through the many layers with a window space into the original painted layer. I used mostly pallet knives to create these effects.
I find the mark making , as a creative process, so effective. No two marks are the same, yet they embellish the painting, each one, in unique ways. They create the composition with their thumbprint. The negative spaces is a solid color which breaks up and defines the boundaries of the painting.
Everything we do makes a mark in our lives, a thumbprint we leave behind that traces it’s roots back to us. The negative space is what we cannot control, that breaks up our markmaking with life and it’s arbitrary realities. Yet our marks are powerful and influential, inspite of the negative space dominance. We can leave a trail, a map, a message. God gives each one of us that opportunity.
It’s late in the afternoon and the sun is setting on China Lake. The sky and lake seem remarkable in the cool hues of gray and blue. It’s not frozen yet. The water laps against the shore and ripples across the rocks. The snow is soft, melting and mushy, for winter has not set in yet. I love this time of year. Fall has ended, another year approaches it’s final days, all is quiet, and calm. The sky changes at these later hours, the winter solstice is about to commence. The sky and water look so icy. So deep. The squirrels are scattered, the birds are few. The crunch of the brown leaves tells me fall is over, another fall past. Winter in Maine about to begin.
I enjoy these quiet seasons. I think on the hope I have in Christ. Yes, time is slipping away so fast. A greater glory is in my thoughts. The Lord owns it all, all that this world possesses, and all it’s people. He is God. He is the Lord, mighty in battle.
Albion, Route 202 Maine
Another afternoon approaching twilight. The sky is an apricot as the sun descends in the west. The dark foreboding clouds of late fall encroach on a white landscape filled with frigid air. The bare trees have let go of all their leaves of summer. They are on the ground now beneath the frozen white. Their stick branches reach high into the sky as if beckoning another chance at summer’s joys. But none shall be granted until another winter has come and gone. They are stiff, these trees and as the north wind blows they clap their hands in the winter sunset, the last light of another day. A short day it was, as here in Maine days end in but a moment it seems. Its late fall and it’s growing dark, the long horizon sheds the last rays of sun for this day in December. God sees us through every season. All the ebb and flow of times and days and seasons and years, He is there. For the believer, He promises to stay and guard our walk in this life until the final sunset comes and our eternal Father bids us ” fly away”.
It is December, and the season of Christmas, peace , joy and light. So much to reflect on this past year, so much for which to be grateful, and then there are the lessons that we learned that we didn’t see coming.
I am thankful for all that the Lord has done in my life this year. The unexpected surprises, the blessings, and the times when I didn’t see His hand and my faith was stretched.
One profound lesson I believe I am beginning to contemplate is that the Lord controls all things. Of course, we say we know this, I said I did. But until this truth really settles in your heart, through life’s inevitable realities, does this message really sink in. I see that I am limited as we all are, that things don’t go as we think they should. God is God! And He is writing His-story, not us. We are given the power to respond to His sovereignty. How we respond determines our life’s message, and whether we are happy or miserable. Sadly, this is a lesson the proud never learn, as they want to believe in their own destiny, their own agenda and power. Yet no one can control outcomes, the power of God is what determines fate and not ourselves. If we learn this and humble ourselves, yielding to His power, we are most greatly blessed both in this life and the next. Learning to yield even as we age is truly a gift if we seek God for it.
Another lesson is somewhat antithetical to the first. We do have control over ourselves. What we eat, what we drink, what we wear, what we buy, what we do with our time, how we treat others, how we respond to how they treat us, is all within our power. God gives us choices, He gives us opportunities every single day. What we do with them is entirely up to us. We can respond by keeping his commandments, bowing out heart to understanding, and receiving the blessings of such a wise choice, or we can be stubborn, lie to ourselves, chose a proud heart and attempt to make truth bend to our will. The fruit of these choices will be tremendous sorrow, pain and regret when we mourn at the last and lament that we did not obey our teachers. I’ve witnessed both this year and the end result of both paths. It’s all very clear in the end where wisdom guided, where folly led. Alas, it’s too late in that final hour to reverse life choices. The time to answer the call of wisdom is now, today.
It’s the end of 2024 and as is true every year, God is faithful. God is good! Take a few moments in the coming days in this beautiful season of light, to reflect on your path and to ponder your choices. Where are you headed in 2025? Where do you want to be at this time next year?
The Lord bless each one of you this holiday season.
It’s October and the fall colors are just about peak this week. It’s absolutely glorious this time of year. I love to walk and be outside, especially at this season of change and anticipation. Fall always gives me that vibe, that something exciting is on the way, transitions are emerging, and a new perspective, a new goal in on the horizon.
I’ve been challenged as of late to question some age old patterns of thinking that were producing the same miserable results in my life over and over again. Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole can be a frustrating experience. Sadly I’ve wasted years on this pursuit and the fruit of this quest has got me thinking, as these orange and gold leaves come to life all around me. Like the leaves, I am ripe, to see things as never before, to make some changes, to take a leap in the dark as it were, a leap of faith.
For some 30 years my thinking has been as stoic as a stone, unmovable, blind. I’d see things, but as the Word of God states, I had not observed them. I had not learned what the precious Lord of heaven was so patiently trying to teach me. I’ve not been a good student, as my thinking inside my own box prevented me from seeing the truth on so many levels. Some things can’t be taught, they must be experienced.
” Come ye out from among them and be ye separate sayeth the Lord, and I will receive you.” I’ve never fully understood this passage. I always thought it meant, “repent of your sins” but like so many other mysteries in the Bible, it had a deeper meaning. On reflection, I’ve discovered for myself a profound application to this verse. Who does Jesus warn us about in the New Testament? Of whom does he say” Beware of them”? Who does He stop speaking to plainly and only in parables? Who has he the most disputes with? Come ye out from among them, he warns. Who are they?
It astonished me how blind I could be. How self deceived I could become. What is so well hidden in plain sight is the very thing that often trips me up. I wanted to be good, I wanted to be religious. I wanted to go to heaven, to associate with ” godly” people. Did I check my own heart before I pondered such lofty goals. Not likely. My eye was set on the prize. It has taken me a long time to see that what I truly sought was a booby prize at best. It’s not out there, this reward I hoped for, in fact, I wasted a lot of time seeking a twisted version of what the world seeks all day every day. You see that apple, that sinful apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
To follow Christ in truth, I’ve found out, is to be hated by this world. It is to be the ” offscouring of all things.” it is to take up my cross following Him and to become one of no reputation in this life. It’s a lonely road and one of pain, suffering, and rejection. It is being misunderstood, undervalued, and tasting meekness. The road our Lord traveled on earth was not lined with glory land praise or worldly acclaim. It was one of humility, marked by unpopularity. The fanfare of all the horse and pony shows going on in Christendom bear no likeness to this difficult path, nor are they, pursuing such things, or interested in the lessons of this road. What I’ve learned, however, in these lessons is that if you want to know Christ, in truth, this is the way. There is no other way, and it’s not gloryland down here. If the world loves you, you are probably not on this road at all.
I’ve come to a crossroad because the truth beckons me, but it requires a decision, a reality I didn’t anticipate, and it comes at a cost. To have fellowship with His suffering was all along a part of His plan. In fact, it wasn’t just part of the plan, it was the plan. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive His free gift of forgiveness and salvation, we die and are quickened to life and oneness with Him eternally. This automatically brings suffering as we become the targets of hate by this world.
Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and He will embrace you, fellowship with you and show you the truth.
September is here, and with it all the ambition fall brings. The days grow short as the sun sets lower in the sky. The mornings are cool, and the soft, gentle breeze aloft whispers change is in the air. It is autumn, and one senses the passage of time more acutely at this season of the year than perhaps any other. With each coming fall, there are new starts, school, college, and maybe a new job after graduation in spring. A year older, as your birthday has either already passed or soon will approach. The anticipation of the holidays and the year’s end come into view, as well as the wonderment at what lies ahead in the unknown of the future year.
Many have felt particularly unsettled as the election in November will surely bring change and move us in a direction we don’t yet fully understand. There is much that is hanging in the balance, and one can feel the tide slipping to a place from which we can not return. The future is before us and as we race into this new reality, what was is looking more and more ancient.
Corn Field at Sunset
It is a great comfort to know that God the Father is already there, in the future, just as He is in the past. He knows our time and has ordained all our days. The Father holds the world in His hands. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the author and finisher of our faith is on His throne. To the one who has placed their trust in Him, there is no fear of the unknown, for He has told us what will be in His word. He is coming for us and we are to watch and wait. For it’s later than we think.
I understand why King David speaks in the Psalms of the length of our days being as hand breaths. They come and go so quickly, and just keep coming. Time just races on as we age, and life literally is like sand falling through an hour glass. It is finite, it will end, and it is all passing so incredibly fast.
My children, once little and dependent, are all grown now. The youngest is on the brink of adulthood at age 17. I never saw this day coming. But it came, it’s here, and ever so quickly.
I myself on the brink of old age, am a senior citizen. It doesn’t appeal to me as I had hoped it would. For old people are not valued in our society. Their whole life behind them, they become weak and fragile and in need of care, much like little children again. They are easily forgotten, pushed aside, neglected. They have little anyone wants from them anymore. Their beauty gone, their homes sometimes are lost, their children grown and gone, and their health changing and often not what it once was. They are left to die.
The Lord says He will carry us even when we are old. Many sit in nursing homes with no one to visit them. They wait for their change to come, their deliverance from this dark world. They wait for the Saviour, if they know Him. The greatest day of their life is soon to approach, the day they cross the Jordan.
The importance of living for God now, while there is time, comes into view, serving Him now. Solomon says” better to be in the house of mourning than in the house of feasting, for that is the end of every man.” Better to mourn than to feast, because we will all mourn eventually. If we are feasting, we are not thinking about our eternal destiny, we are rather consumed with the pleasures of the moment, eating, drinking, and momentary joy. If we’re mourning, we’re in sorrow, we are hurting, we thirst, and in our need, we make room for God.
Today is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow. For tomorrow may never come.
In thee O Lord do I put my hope. Jesus paid it all. Our sin debt, the sins of the whole world fell on the Son of God! If our iniquities were to be measured, it would lead to utter despair. Jesus is the rock of hope this world needs.
Our whole world is based on a merit system. The merit of a life brings riches, popularity, fame, and reward, but it does not bring salvation of the soul. Only Jesus Christ, the rock, can give this. All earthly pursuits, however worthy they seem in this life, lead to emptiness. Men of high degree are a lie, and men of low degree are vanity. Jesus is precious. Jesus is the rock.
” Let me never be ashamed, deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me speedily, be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me.”
If Jesus and his blood shed on the cross as payment for our sins, is all our hope, and He is perfect, we have no real fear. The rock of hope is enough. Our faith may be very flawed, mixed with doubt at times, our works also flawed, our minds flawed. Yet Jesus has no flaws! All we must do is look! Look at Him! Look to Him and rest! Forget yourself!
There was never anything we could do. From the womb we were broken and fallen, but we are offered through faith something far more priceless than ourselves. We have a rock, a rock of hope!
Jesus saves souls, and no one can take that away! He gave each one of us an earthly life and it’s a precious gift. He now offers an eternal life to everyone who will place their faith and hope in His death, burial and resurrection to pay for their sin debt. To those who believe, we will be with Him forever and ever.
” Look unto me all ye the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other”. Look and live unto the saving of your soul. ~Isaiah 6:22
My latest art work is a departure from the sea scapes and nature scenes that have so charecterized my focus. I’ve been following abstract artists of skill and passion and it has awakened in me the curiosity to explore this style as it appeals to me so much.
What I have found out is that it is not as easy as it looks, especially if you are held back by tight lines, realism in presentation, and the opinions of others. It has taken three years and many canvases to let go of the “rules” in my head and simply enjoy the freedom of expression I long for in creativity and art.
I love color and the contrasts of light and dark. I love the creative flow of abstract art and the interesting ways an abstract painting can be perceived and interpreted. I found out it’s harder than it looks to create the beauty I see in some of the abstract artists I follow. But the hardest part is simply to let go and take risks and freely paint what you feel and see with no fear of failure.
If we cannot be free in art, there is no place where we can be free. We must be free in our creative pursuits and not held down by rules. What is art? It is our own interpretation of a subject, an idea, a vision or even a dream. Art is whatever we create, even if it is not liked, appreciated, or well understood. It is our creation. In this way, we are made in the image of God, our Creator. We have the ability to make something from our own mind and bring it into being.
Many years ago, a wise artist once said to me, ” Paint what your soul feels.” I never forgot this advice. I thought, if I can do this, then my work will be good, genuine, creative. I hope I am beginning to learn the essence of his words. Let’s celebrate art and the uniqueness God gives each one of us to express the beauty that is inside all of us.
How to Get into Heaven, Spiritual Union with God in Christ, and a Believer's View of Life.........................................................................READ. SHARE. COMMENT.
This site is a hommage to Pierre Joubert, one of the greatest illustrators ever lived. He was born in Paris (june 27, 1910 and died in La Rochelle on January 13, 2002). On Wikipedia is suggested that (quote): ¨He had a controversial side. He has been tarred with collaboration with the Nazis during Worldwar II¨. Documents, however, have proved that this is not true. Intimi have confirmed that.
Sarah Hopkins Art 