The Lord Has Compassion...

The past couple of weeks have been hard.  I mentioned some of it in my last post.  The loss of a dear friend has really taken its toll.  It's strange how we can think we are struggling and suffering in life and then a true tragedy comes along and it puts everything into perspective.  The struggles don't seem so bad and all the worries become silly and petty.  The true tragedy tears at us and jolts us back into reality.  Then real pain grips us and we are overwhelmed.

Yet always, God is there, offering his comfort.

I did this watercolor as I grieved for my friend and his wife.  I am so glad we have the gift of creativity to express our deepest emotions.  In this expression there is comfort and healing.

Thank you for stopping to see my art and read my words.  I would love to know how you, dear reader, use your creativity, art, writing, music, etc. to work out the hard primal emotions.  Please leave a comment.  You might help someone find an outlet for their pain.

Trying Out Hand Lettering and Gouache

 Sometimes trying a new medium can be intimidating, even if it is not a terrible messy one with lots of preparation involved.  But, even then, it can be hard to pick something up that is new.

sketch

sketch for Matthew 6:25 - 26 

sketches and lettering rough

 I decided to try two new things today.  Hand lettering and painting with gouache   I bought the gouache last year and finally decided to try it after looking at several picture books which used it in their illustrations.  I must have expected it to behave like water color.  It only slightly mimicked watercolor.  So it is a whole new thing to me and reminds me of when I was a kid using poster paints before I graduated to acrylics.  The worst thing is that I have lost my flexibility. When I took art classes in junior high and high school the teachers would come up with all these different projects with all kinds of different mediums.  Whether that is good or bad, I don't  know.  It could be argued that there should be more focus to allow for mastery of each kind.  At any rate, it was easy to try new things then.  Now, I feeling frustrated with my first tries, which is ridiculous but I feel it none the less.

The plan now is to keep at it.  Try it some more.  I wish I had more patience.  I want to have a finished piece RIGHT NOW!  Okay, take a breath!  Let it out.  There.  Okay, gotta calm down!  Slow down.

Thanks for taking a look at my sketches.  I like how my lettering came out, though my hand did tremble a bit, but I think that adds to the hand crafted quality.  Please leave a comment.  I'd love to know what you think.