Peaches

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With the summer fruit coming in now, I wanted some sweet, juicy peaches! We had our first batch last week. Just about the same time, Anna Mason offered this tutorial of peaches.

In this day and age, we can have most anything we want whether in season or out of season. If you’re hungry for peaches in the middle of winter you can get canned or frozen peaches to satisfy your craving. But there is nothing quite as good as fresh from the orchard, ripe fruit. (Is your mouth watering yet?)

I don’t believe God wants us to only have canned or frozen versions of His Word. He met with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

He wants to share His heart with each of us.

Sometimes the only time we spend with God, we are quoting our grocery list of requests. In our busy, noisy lives, the only way we will learn to hear God is when we get quiet enough to listen.

Most of us will never hear the audible voice of God. But we can all sense Him when, like Samuel, we say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant listens.”

We will hear words in season if we take time to be quiet in His presence. He talks to us through the Bible, through a thought we know didn’t come from our own minds, through a gentle breeze or clap of thunder. He may remind you of something a friend said or the way you felt when a someone touched your shoulder or wiped a tear. He is not limited! He will make sure you hear, if your heart is open and tuned to Him.

Let’s enjoy fresh fruit from His hand!

Wind on the Hill

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I have always had trouble with backgrounds, so most of what I have painted is just on plain white paper. I decided it was time to learn how to do the washes necessary to make pretty backgrounds.

I found the artist/teacher Oliver Pyle on YouTube. This was the first tutorial I did of his teaching of washes. I’ve watched a few more tutorials to understand his method better.

I wanted those of you who follow my art journey to get a sneak preview of my newest lessons and practice.

This method requires learning the proportion of paint to water, understanding the wetness of the paper, strokes, and timing. I have the order in my head, now I have to translate it to my hands.

Red Fox

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After the Great Horned Owl painting that had so little color, I was eager for a subject, other than a flower, with lots of color. Mike found this picture and I instantly fell in love with this sweet face and beautiful color!

The Red Fox is the most widespread land mammal on earth. They live in mountains and deserts and in all but South America and Antarctica. They are only about 16 inches tall but can easily jump over a 6-foot-high fence. They can run up to 30 miles an hour. Their vision is so good that they can see small movements from a long distance and can hear a mouse squeak from 100 feet away. Even with all these wonderful attributes you would think they could easily elude their predators. Yet they rarely live more than two years.

This made me consider our lives. We have no guarantees of how long we will live. Jesus assured us that God sees us as valuable. In Luke 12 he tells us not to be afraid of lacking what we need. When we are seeking the Father’s kingdom, God will take care of our food and clothing. We should stay ready for action and make the most of every opportunity, use every skill, and share our lives with others. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. So then, whether we live a long or short life, we will have fulfilled God’s purpose for our lives.

The Great Horned Owl

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This majestic Owl is quite common from the Arctic to South America. They are so adaptable they can live in suburbia, farmlands, or woods. A phenomenal photographer in Colorado, James DeWalt, took the reference photo I used. However, this photo was taken in winter conditions, so the coloring was very light. I also used stock photos to adjust the colors for this painting.

Owls see best in low light conditions, but they can see up to ½ mile. Their eyes cannot move, but their neck turns ¾ of a circle. Their wingspan is about 6 feet, and they can fly almost silently. The owl has all these features to make him a great hunter.

Even better than the eyesight of the Great Horned Owl, God sees us. Some verses in Psalm 139 tell us ways God sees us. God has searched us out. He looked for us long before we looked for Him (vss 1-6). He saw our unformed body in our mother’s womb (vs16). And even if we try to hide, He sees us. Vs. 12 says, “Even the darkness is not dark to You. The night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You.”

Oh, my friends, take comfort in the fact of God seeing you. He knows everything about you and doesn’t ridicule or reject you. He keeps His eye on you even when you are crying in the night. He sees the dark times in your life and wants to bring healing and forgiveness and joy and a story to share. Rest in knowing He is watching over your life.

Orange Oak Bolete Mushroom

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Anna Mason offered two short tutorials using this Orange Oak Bolete Mushroom. They were free-hand sketching of the mushroom and then graphite shading. I really enjoyed these tutorials. They helped me build on what I had learned from some of my very first art training in 2018. I was glad to see my progress, even though I haven’t been doing much in graphite for quite a while.

But this image was so beautiful! I couldn’t stop at graphite. I had to take the opportunity to paint it. What fun it was!

God often shows us something that has a familiar outline. He wants to show us more about it, however. But we see the outline of the lesson and say, “Ah, yes. I see that.” Then we turn our attention to something else.

Or, we may go ahead and notice the shape by looking more intently at the light and dark values. Sometimes we are satisfied to just see the values in what God is showing us. We say, “Oh, that is a good lesson. I see it is valuable.” But then we lose interest in the subject.

But for those who are eager to learn the lessons God is teaching, they wait to discover the colors. With the vibrant or subtle colors, they fall in love with God and want to sit as His feet and learn.

Let’s not be satisfied with the outline of the lesson or stop at seeing its values. Let’s press on to explore the color and beauty God offers us. Then we will be ready to share this richness with those around us who are also hungry.