Elephant Painting

I just started this new painting to enter into the Spring Salon here in Utah. It is a continuation of the "Journey" series, and has some cool twists which are not yet represented in this underpainting. 

And yes the elephant's legs are really long, that is on purpose. I love the elephants in Salvador Dali's elephant paintings which have really long legs (much longer than these) but I didn't want to exaggerate it as much for this painting because I am trying to teach a point with the imagery. I won't go into it here, you will just have to watch as it develops.

Imagination's Pathway

Ok, so I woke up at 3:00 in the morning last Sunday and couldn't sleep so I decided to come down to my studio and paint.

I had seen a landscape painting while browsing through online artist portfolios, and decided I would like to create a similar painting just to learn the use of color. The painting was quite loose and as I am on an "experiment with loose painting kick" I decided to try it, adding of course my own touches. I had this odd shaped strip of hardboard so I adapted the portion of the painting I most liked to fit the board.

I think the painting turned out rather successfully and it was a great learning experience as I copied the painting, putting together colors I normally would not have. I am learning that in order to make color vibrate and "sing" on canvas it is important to add color you normally wouldn't think to ad. Certain colors "vibrate" when placed next to each other, and this can create the effect of life and depth in a painting when simply using a color and it's tint and shade makes a painting look dull and lifeless.

Death Knight

I'm almost finished with my "Death Knight" painting. It sort of matches the other painting I (last post). I not sure what to think of this one, but it was fun to paint, I am learning to paint quickly, yet in some areas the paint looks really good, in others it just looks slopped on.

I did this painting of a scene from the Linkin Park video "Numb", I was trying to do a very quick painting going for recognition and emotion.

I guess the gist of this is that I am honing my painting skills and searching for a style I love and can call my own.

Step One

Step One is a journey piece.

I have been through  so much over the last few years, culminating in the literal hell I have experienced over the past months, a hell of the mind as I have struggled against things of which I have no experience.

As I have searched deeply my relationship with God through these trials, the saying which says "When the Lord closes a door, he always opens a window" has come to my mind repeatedly.

I asked many times over, as I watched the door closed, bolted, barred, chained, nailed, welded, and glued, "where is the window, where is the light, will I every find the abyss fleeing before the tiniest light of hope? God are you there?"

Sometimes God expects us to try our faith by allowing us to step into the dark for a few steps before he actually opens the window.

The bride is beginning her journey, she is not looking up at the window which is the goal for which she begins the journey, but rather she begins the ascent without her eyes fixed upon the goal, rather her heart set on achieving the goal, trusting that the steps will lead where she wants to go. This is like the faith I have discovered and strengthened over the last several months.

The Journey begins when we place our trust in the divine and take our first step into the darkness.

Jeff