"Rest vs. Unbelief"

($60.00......6" x 6"....Mixed Media on 140 HP.....Mounted on a 1.50" depth Clayboard)

"Rest is the opposite of unbelief." This is the essence of the message from Hebrews 4. As you have noticed, I am rather stuck on this particular passage for an upcoming exhibit. It goes to the heart of what it means to be "Fully Alive" as a Christ follower, so bear with me as I complete my work. I am now ready for the larger works.

The challenge of this piece was enormous and why I am so late posting today. The background of pouring medium was very dark, but did have the association of looking like marbled paper so I decided to go with it, in spite of the complexity of making it look integrated with the text pages. 

In this case, I needed the text pages, otherwise the lettering would not have been easy to read. So by dividing the space into contrasting sizes of horizontal bands and by including another bit of text in the largest band, I was able to give significant weight to both types of bands.

It also helped to bring some mono printed rice paper into the bottom section, which gives the illusion that a portion of the large colored band was peeking through. This is otherwise referred to as an "echo" which is one of the keys to good integration. I also did some deconstruction to create erratic edges, a sense of timelessness, and providing more echoes of the text where the area was a bit static.

If you like this type of mixed media work and you are not a lettering artist, you might want to introduce some erratic marks / lines with a pencil or charcoal pencil. Pencil, of course, will be a lot more subtle. The important thing is not to introduce elements in the work that don't appear to go together. Text pages go with this type of background because of the association historically of marbled papers and books.

Also notice how other mixed media artists combine different elements. Being able to analyze and figure that out will go a long way in understanding design. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.