Chill And Chill

You Raise Me Up

This painting occurred as a result of an inquiry from a mother who lost her son. Of course the question was, could I, would I paint her son in Jesus' arms. I'll tell you there is something about painting a person that is intimate and personal. It's hard not to fall in love with the one whom your painting. You pour over their face and marvel at their life you don't know, and wonder about them and spend time with them. It never fails to impact me. I have liked this painting from the start and really don't have anything critical to say about it. In this one I was a success.

Crucifixion
This has got to be the hardest painting I've ever done, not only because of the subject, but to paint a man as if he were hanging with weight from that cross was a challenge. I felt the Lord wanted me to do this painting and I tried to find reference but struck out. Lord if this is you I need you to bring me the materials I'm looking for cause I can't find them. That was exactly what I prayed and 7 days later he had an individual to provide me with a stack of books 3 feet tall! Needless to say I got started right away.

The centurion

This painting is a self portrait, and not just literally but spiritually as well. I'm forever under the blood ! It's inception came by way of my taking part in a passion play this summer, where I played the part of the roman centurion who is recorded as saying, Truly this was the Son of God. I suppose it only natural that it have an impact on me . I intended to paint someone else as the soldier but in the end I was only able to get what I was after by placing myself in the scene.

The bride

This painting was difficult to execute not because of the design or palette or any other artistc consideration but because of the intended message. If you read the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in the gospel of Matthew 25;1-13 with the understanding that Jesus prefaced it in saying "The kingdom of heaven is like..." then you realize how weighty is the responsibility of keeping our lamps going and full of oil. The foolish virgins were wholly unprepared for the bridegrooms coming and therefore missed out on the wedding feast. In fact when they tried to get in later His response was to say " I know you not." If we therefore follow this to It's logical conclusion they missed out on heaven because they had no relationship with the bridegroom. And how is yours? Do not be unprepared, because we do not know the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Arise Shine
I painted this image during a conference in Columbus Ohio called exhaltation. It is a celebration of the arts in the church. In truth I don't know what to say about this image, I guess It should speak to the viewer whatsoever the Lord intends. For me it has to do with what has been revealed to myself and my wife over the last few years and that would be the Jewishness of our savior and a new love for the Jewish people.

The lion of Judah

This Painting is a commission, so I can't claim that it came through any other avenue. I was given wide latitude in the actual composition so if there is a problem in any way the fault must lie with me. As I do so often I painted this in a show with people watching and their comments did help me finalize my idea. It was amazing to me that without the crown of thorns the Christ figure had absolutely no tie in with divinity. So to all the people who unknowingly contributed to this image with their comments both great and ludicrous I give you thanks. I did do something different with this image. Which is to take pictures of it in progress so that I could post a series of photos that would give you an idea of the process I go through.

God Bless America

This painting was exciting for me; not so much because of the image, but because of it's intended use. A commission from the National Eagle Foundation, the painting will be used as a fundraiser for the foundation and also will be made into a specialty license plate for Tennessee. Now, not to pat myself on the back, but I was really blessed that the foundation chose me out of all the artists across the nation. As for the image itself, it should stand on its own merits. I suppose the eagle set against our flag can be an overdone, contrived sort of painting, running the risk of playing on our patriotic sensibilities rather than appealing to our artistc eye. Yet I'm satisfied that I've done a good job with the eagle, and I had fun with the fabric of the flag. In the end that's a good measure of success: I'm satisfied and I had fun. :-)

Feathered Friends

Basically my wife and I dreamed this image up together. During the process somewhere we parted company as concerning how it was to be finished. I pulled rank and reminded her I was wielding the brush thank you very much. So I am to blame entirely that it got sorta busy. Don't get me wrong, I like the painting but I tend to fall into that trap often, trying to cram too much into the painting. Ahh well, I pulled it off even if just barely.

The way, truth and life
This is the first in what I hope to be a long line of paintings of the savior. It started as a commission of the lion and lamb but changed somewhere in the process to what you see here. Of course it did not happen without the owners permission. There is also a neat story of how this man was used by God to get me to finish a painting that I was having trouble with at the time. I had been painting for several months on the Crucifixion and had reached a place where I didn't think I could finish it. I just needed a mental break and that is when I got this painting to do. It allowed me to paint a peaceful image of Jesus so that afterward I had the focus to finish the hard one.

The hands of Christ

This painting is wonderfully uncomplicated and pretty much straightforward. All of us should rest in the Masters hands as these birds do. Did you notice there are seven?

Crown of rejoicing

This painting is another in what might be considered my trademark in that it is a surrealistic statement of Christian symbolism. To me the white dove of the Holy Spirit and the crown of suffering along with the skyline of Jerusalem are obvious. But did you know that while the Temple existed, as a marriage ritual the groom would wear a crown of roses which speaks of a king coming for his bride? And the crown of suffering is even now being turned into that garland of roses, that even now preparations for the wedding of the lamb are underway!

The back of Christ

This is the first painting that I feel can't stand alone, that It needs an explanation. I saw it as it were a vision in my head. It is simply on one hand a depiction of our Lord's scourging along with the whip they might have used. Also a cup spilling it's contents as did he. I see the white tiger as a picture of the bride purchased for God by Christ. The marks that he bore define our character, they make us who we are. As do the stripes make the tiger who she is. A powerful creature arrayed in white bearing the image of the scourging as beauty marks, now for us a reminder of the cost of our salvation.

Follow Me

This is an oil on canvas, in and of itself the surface is different for me because there is a texture that masonite doesn't have. Usually I'm distrustful of people whose adjectives tend toward the extreme, i.e., ... biggest, wildest, hardest, fastest, the most this or most that, but I have to say this painting was at least in it's execution one of the most difficult in recent memory. But now the composition is simple, if not even static. I'm just saying that my experience in painting a portrait of Jesus without a model wasn't easy. If you think I was successful then to God be the glory cause I tried to mess it up. In the end I am happy with it and want to do more like it, Lord help me.

Aslan

This may have been my earliest and first Christian painting. Right between the lions eyes is a slight crucifix. It was my intention to paint an otherworldly lion, like Aslan.

Ark of the Covenant
This painting was a commission and seemed to take on a life of its own.In the end I like it and also like what it has to say. All the elements are to a believer very familiar and yet they are all very Jewish. What that says is that the foundation, the flavor, the very roots of our faith and God are inextricably linked to the Jews. We as believers better be about giving honor where honor is due.