So here are 2 of my new(ish) paintings. They're actually not really that new. The Mediterranean scene i completed over 6 months ago and the Chesed one i actually started and finished about 3 months ago. It took me 2 years to paint the Mediterranean scene. Yip, you read that correctly, 2 years! Ridiculous right? I painted that one with oils and any painter knows that painting with oils can take a while. But joy of joys i found this other type of paint called Gouache. It's very similar to oils but it dries a lot quicker which makes my job a lot easier. It also looks like oils as you can tell. I enjoyed painting with it so much that i finished painting this picture in 2 days. Definitely my preferred method of paint.
Maybe you can tell that when i was learning the meaning of the word Chesed and the situation in my life at that time God was really just sowing this word into my heart. I love this word. It's my favourite so i decided to paint this .... and get a tattoo of this word on my wrist. This Chesed painting was actually my first original canvas painting. Usually i copy pictures but this one was all my own. I tried to get an abstract look going and i think it turned out alright.
I'm a huge perfectionist when it comes to my artwork, despite many people gushing all over my work i still look at it and see all the errors.
For this scene i was experimenting with using an art knife to capture a sort of 3D look.
I'm trying to create a separate page on my blog for my artwork but i'm struggling to get my page to actually show on my blog. Here's my other artwork though ....
This butterfly was my first painting on a canvas. I think i was 14 when i did this.
This i painted for my dad's birthday when i was 14 too. Used oils here.
This was probably one of the hardest paintings i've done. It's all about trying to capture the fabric of the tallit. I think i was 15. This picture was taken before i completed the hands ... i just saw that now actually, lol. I really love this picture though and the meaning behind it. The tablets being the Torah and how it's shaped in a heart just portrays that the Torah is not a burden. It's God's heart and His love letter towards His children. We should cherish it and protect it and uphold it with every fiber of our being.
This eagle i painted with oils for my grandfather.
This is probably one of my favourites. I painted it for my family but then decided to give it to the family in Alaska who let my mom stay with them. They really love it so i'm glad i was able to bless them with it.
This i did with watercolours for my grandmother.
Watercolours again. I did this on the front of a birthday card for my mom.
This was my first original. This was a chair we used to have. Watercolours again.
This is excluding all the pastel pictures that i've done along with plain sketches etc etc.
I don't consider myself as being a great artist but i really do love painting. My dream is to one day have a sort of studio where I can go crazy with my art. I don't paint often because it does take a lot of work and having to take everything out of a cupboard, paint and then neatly pack it all away is very irritating for me. I want to be able to have everything out and messy so i can just pick up a brush and get down to business without having to worry about staining a glass or messing turpentine. Ever watch the movie The Vow? I love Rachel McAdam's art studio in that movie! But i will start small and when i get my own room again one day hopefully soon i will probably use my room as an art studio instead of making it into a "traditional" room.
The way my life so far has turned out it's taught me about getting rid of unnecessary things and i'm really so over having a bedroom filled with decorations. When we move to Botswana in December i'm probably going to go crazy from months of being confined and not able to have freedom or independence so i'm expecting myself to be out of the house everyday all day so i probably won't care about how my room looks.
I'm already Googling activities to do in Botswana to explore and get a lay of the land. I also want to go out at night more often. Being active at night has always appealed to me and now that i'm older i'm definitely gonna be doing that. A friend of ours used to live in Botswana and tells us that it's so safe there that you don't feel fear when you're walking around at night by yourself.
I rejoice at such news, believe me.
Will be posting loads of pictures when we arrive. I'm so excited to be moving to a new country. A fresh start, away from the old and in with the new! But again, we won't be settling in Botswana. It's just another stepping stone. We're 99% sure that God is calling us to move to Alaska very soon. Probably towards the end of next year. Super duper excited. I've always wanted to travel and live in different parts of the world and it looks like that's God plan for me too so i'm just beaming 'cause right now, the future looks amaaaaazing!!!