"Safe and Secure"

($50.00...6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"The secret place of God is safe and secure." This is my own revision of Psalm 91:1. It's one of the most powerful chapters on dealing with God's protection. No better image comes to mind of a secure place than a hugh rock. In this case, there is a small opening in the rock where someone could easily hide.

Learning to see all paintings as broken down into shapes with a color and a value is the essence of painting. I am learning to notice each value as a shape in relationship to the other shapes and to isolate and mix that particular color. By doing that throughout the piece, it eventually turns out to be a painting. There are times when I have my doubts, but it is best to just keep painting until yo get through before making a judgement.

And if you paint often enough, it will become faster and even more abstract. If you prefer to paint more realistically, all you need to do is slow down, blend more, and add more detail. This piece is actually a "study" for a 12" x 12". I will switch to acrylics (with retarder) since I need a fast turn around. The process for painting in acrylics is very much the same with less working time. So it is very useful to try the same painting in a smaller size with oils first just to get the "lay of the land" before going to acrylics.  

My working time has speeded up which shuts down my internal critic and keeps me moving forward. One other tip...wait until you have several paintings done before doing a hard critique of your work. I often think a painting is too abstract and rather "a mess" until I view it for a few days and in context with my other work.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.