"An Open Heart"

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"An open heart is ready to worship." The essence of worship is to put God first.


There are no more scraps from my large piece, so this is the last one of its kind. And only two more days of 4" x 6"'s and then I will be back to my 6 x 6 format. If you would like to receive one of these 4 x 6's...you will have a chance this Friday evening at the Opening Reception for "Visual Rhapsody". The pieces are all hung and this is an extraordinary exhibition.  (140 pieces)  Check out the invitation on our website at pactofaustin.com

After the many commentaries on "echoes", division of space, and designing corners, you can plainly see all of these things coming together in today's posting. If you like collage, design, and old books, or any other odd bits of paper, you can have great fun and a hugh learning experience in design by playing with a small piece of this type every day. If you need someone to hold your feet to the fire...call me. I'm quite good at doing that type of thing!

If you are also into other media such as mosaics, kiln formed glass, or assemblages, you will find that learning more about design through the medium of collage can help all of your work go to the next level. You can still be spontaneous and think about design at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the idea that things simply fall out of heaven on your head is a myth. Even people with tons of natural ability, must work hard to improve their skill level. So have fun, think, and work hard and you will soon be seeing much more depth in your work. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Private Chapel"

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"The heart is a private chapel." Joys and sorrows are deeply felt and worked out in the private chapel of the heart. That's where the conversations with God take place through prayer.

Black, red, white, and gold are a time honored combination going back to the time of monks. It was in the monasteries that they labored over their writing and illuminated capitals to preserve the scriptures. A very interesting fact is that paper had been invented in China long before it ever reached the shores of Europe. Consequently, vellum was the preferred writing surface and that's a good thing since paper would have deteriorated. We now can view hand written Bibles in many museums around the world because they were written on calf skin vellum.

This piece (like yesterday's posting) consists of the leftover cropped portions of a larger piece. This is a great exercise in design. Any scraps from any of your work can be cut up, rearranged into a totally different piece. You will discover divisions of space and odd combinations you would never have thought of on your own. So I would definitely place this technique in the spontaneous category. I will admit that I added the three bits of black and gold (in three different sizes) to give strength to the piece. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Enter In"

($200.00.....12" x 12".....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)


Today's posting is a 12"x 12" piece created for an exhibit at Hill Country Bible Church NW. The verse is from Psalm 100...a favorite of many Christians. It was inspired from a similar layout in one of my "6"x 6" postings. (June 10) Enjoy and have a wonderful day!

It is a good practice to work on a smaller piece and then take that same piece...expand the concept and translate it into a larger work. Going from a 6" x 6" to a 12" x 12" is good because the proportions are the same. So it is wise to use the same proportions going from small to large.

It is very easy to figure by drawing a diagonal line from the left bottom corner to the right upper corner. You can then figure out a proportional size by selecting a size where the upper right hand corner lands on that diagonal line. It may sound confusing, but is really very simple. (e-mail me if you can't figure it out)

Another way to work on a composition is simply to divide a space into black and white shapes or divisions in a thumbnail size and create as many variations as you can possibly create. It doesn't require placing in all the details, but gives you a strong direction for a foundation of your value arrangement. Then when you actually begin your piece, you will at least have a strong beginning and then you can place intermediate values and details such as imagery or lettering where you choose.

Today's posting was made much easier by having a smaller version first. The lettering was different, but the main elements were the same. And there you have it...a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Spirit of Grace" (sold)

(sold)

"Prayer is the spirit of grace flowing through us." This image from a cathedral in Santa Fe was the perfect background for this prayer quote. My personal prayer is that it will inspire you to pray and meditate on the grace of God today.

When writing on top of a photographic image, I think it is important to use techniques that will help the image recede into the background. Just writing on top of a photograph can often create a conflict of interest between the photo and the lettering. So if you have been captivated by this technique, refer to the late November or early December postings to review the instructions. It is a process that requires several steps of drying in between and finally drying overnight in order to be able to write on the surface.

The lettering I chose for this piece is a very unusual and compressed Spanish versal from the 1st century. I've always been fond of it because it has an "aged" quality and characteristics that are very charming. It was written with a pointed pen and Winsor Newton Bleedproof White. The little dots were fun to do and carried over into the flourishing. Yet another thing to try or think about.