"Cactus Flower" 20x20 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones... So you do not know the work of God who makes everything. ~Ecclesiastes 11:5

Hello and Happy 2025.

I'm sharing a favorite Bible verse to help us focus on the word "everything" today. As as artist I am constantly scanning my surroundings and looking for something that might strike a spark of creativity in me. But, I have come to learn that the spark is everywhere, every minute, every day. More importantly, everything as seen so clearly in the verse above, comes from a hand that is much more creative than mine.

For example: Using, the photo below, I might see and be inspired by the almost neon colors of the trees and I might be able to apply paint to canvas in such a way that I almost mimic the luminous colors. However, no matter how hard I try I cannot make the sun shine just right through the hazy atmosphere and light up a grove of trees with bold, bright color.

Another example: Driving west into the Texas sun I might come across an old building that looks like this. I might even set up my easel and try to capture with paint the clear blue sky or the rusty tin on that roof or the rotting wood of the siding. I enjoy so much imitating the beauty of Creation, but I do not have an ounce of ability to clear the sky or cast the long shadows on the rusted deteriorating structure.

All of this to say simply that I love all the amazing beauty of the mysterious world we get to live in. And just like the "Cactus Flower" painting above, some of the most beautifully wonderful things bloom with prickly stickers from time to time. Keep looking! There's always something new to see.

Happy Trails!

Pam

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