I like working! There, I said it. What’s more, I was recently heard to say that I sometimes measure myself by how useful I am. I work well, I have a strong work ethic, I am reasonably skilled in some of the things I do, and I am loyal and committed. See: I like working.

There’s a wee challenge in all of this. To paint, I need to make time to paint. To make time, I need to change the priority of work to less than that of painting. It took an effort: I had to firmly tell myself to stop everything else on my schedules and give myself over to this gift God has seen fit to sew into me. It hasn’t been an easy time. I live in a place that functions and thrives only through the collective input of those who reside there. To pull out of that to paint some “pictures” seemed in poor taste. Well, that poor taste was an obstacle of my own making. I am blessed to have received nothing but great encouragement from my beloved En Hakkore family to paint, paint and paint some more. It’s winter: the tasks are fewer and it’s a good time to disappear behind an easel for a while. Do it!

So I did. It has taken awhile to find my way back into it, having not applied myself to a painting for many months, but I did it. This blog post celebrates the 11th of my paintings completed during this revival time. God has been true to His gift (of course!) and has assisted me through some difficult bits, so much so that I have produced some of the best paintings I have done for a while. (I’ll get them up on this site soon so you can have a look.)

The 11th painting was a delight to paint. It came about from having visited an artist nearby and being absolutely wowed by some of her still life work. Jenny Grieg is a particularly accomplished artist who specialises in pastel work - you can view her site here. Still life is not part of my own art experience so I decided to do something different and give it a go.

“Sauce, Unwanted Vase …. and Chocolate!” is the result. It served to push my understanding of watercolour behaviour quite dramatically and it taught me a lot about using water as a vehicle to achieve beautifully deep, (hopefully) transparent layers of colour and light. If you’ve followed me awhile, you’ll know that I am not trained in any traditional or classical sense regarding watercolour and so I haven’t adhered to perhaps the more common conception of an arranged, beautifully composed still life, but it does have some of the expected ingredients: inanimate, everyday objects, some of which are shiny, depicted in a way that causes the viewer to perceive these objects in a thoughtful way..

The contents of the cupboard these objects are in reflect a value set shared by less and less people these days. It asks you to consider the contents of your cupboard (or….) and contrast that against this one. Material objects have only a temporary value. Quick fixes are just that: quick - that is, not permanent. They are often attractive, easily consumed, very pleasurable, and seductively cheap. What is there in your cupboard has you prepared for times ahead when material value will be meaningless and non-sustaining, when quick fixes do not in themselves provide sufficient to hold you protected against lean and tough times? Is there the wherewithal to sustain not just you but those who depend on you. Is there sufficient to get through a drawn out time of deep need?

And is there sufficient to contribute to those who lack the wisdom or the means to build their supplies?

God provides us with many, many blessings. In the Kingdom of this Loving God, is there a desire that we be frivolous with those blessings, store up that which has no Godly value, and be unprepared for that which His Word says is coming? Perhaps this painting might encourage you to examine those questions.

Seek His wisdom.

Bless you all.
Russell.