"Knowing God"

($200.00......12" x 12".....Water Soluble Oils on a 1.50" depth Gessobord)

"Be still and know that I am God." This Bible verse is from Psalm 46:10. The piece is a 12" x 12" and created for an upcoming exhibit at Hill Country Bible Church NW. There is nothing quite like snow to indicate "stillness".  And being still is a prerequisite for knowing God.  (Look closely to see the quote inscribed in the snow.)

Those of you who follow this blog might remember that I did this same painting with a different quote as a 6" x 6". Doing it smaller first helped me to work out my values and techniques. Some things will change as the work goes larger. For one thing, it takes a lot more paint since this piece would be the equivalent of (4) 6" x 6"'s.

I used a larger glass palette which I think is the perfect surface for mixing up paint since the paint is much easier to remove than using a wooden palette. The hard surface is very important to me, but there are other artists who don't mind disposable palettes or stay wet palettes. I've tried them all and so if you have a desire to work with palette knife...I highly recommend a glass palette that is painted white on the flip side. You can also use regular glass and tape it to white foam core. (Just be sure to tape all of the edges since it will be very sharp.)

The dominant color in my photo reference of this piece was a "charcoal" looking gray in all of its tints and shades. However, I chose to lean my grays towards purple. The tree trunks are a deep purple and "grayed down" tints of purple were used for the sky and snow. Even the dark green trees were grayed down with purple. To me, it just gave the piece a bit more vibrancy than matching the colors of the photo precisely.

Another thing I learned about working larger, using a "wet into wet" technique, is to complete the painting all in the same day. Even coming back to it the next day will make a big difference. When that paint begins to set up, it is very difficult to paint over it using the same techniques as in the smaller versions. Fortunately, it did work out, but it would have made things much simpler to do it in one day.

If this is not possible, then paint enough of one area where you are not having to go back into that area. And those of you who are doing mixed media can greatly rejoice, because you can "string out" that process for days without consequence. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.