Why do you put your trust in man who has but breath in his nosrils ?

The above work is oil on canvas, 3' x 4' .

In 1905, all physicists explained light in the same way. Whether the
flame of a candle or the glow of the sun, light was known to be a wave.
It was a time-honored, unquestionable fact. For over a century,
scientists had grown in their certainty of this, citing experiments that
made certain the wave nature of light, while overlooking some of its
stranger behaviors. For example, when light strikes certain metals, an
electron is lost in the process; but if light were only an electromagnetic
wave, this would be impossible. Albert Einstein would not overlook these
peculiarities, proposing that light was not only a wave, but consisted of
localized particles.
The writers of Scripture engage the hope within the unfathomable realities around us: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or
who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34).

As we walk through this season of light and shadows and inquiry, it is
evident that there is much to life and faith which is unplumbed by our own
minds, even as it has been searched by minds long before our own. Why have
we been given minds to search and know? How is it that we should know God
by name, or know the voice of the Son? And how shall we respond to the
call of God among us: "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth,
the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: 'Call to
me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do
not know'" (Jeremiah 33:2-3).

In 1905, Einstein's departure from the established beliefs about light so
disturbed the scientific community that his particle theory of light was
not accepted for two decades. His theory was and remains a revolutionary
concept. The idea of light being both a wave and a particle is a vast
reality to grasp. Even so, it is incredible that we should know light
enough to marvel at it. It is altogether unfathomable that God who first commanded light to shine out of darkness calls each of us us by name.

The world is putting its trust in man and his wisdom and ignoring the wisdom of putting our trust in God. The image of a dead, youthful, figure , in the prime of life, speaks of how fleeting life is. Humanity is liken to this young man who no longer is alive. Who cannot function. He has no power. He cannot save himself much less humanity.

In a world broken with violence, greed, selfishness .... spinning out of control, searching, wanting, confused, discouraged. A simple, yet politically incorrect, solution can be found by putting ones trust in God. Patterning ones life after Christ not after "Christians" or not after some human or rock star, or sports athlete etc. but after Christ.

The "politically correct" box we have gotten ourselves in does not allow for expression of faith. Many are tortured each year because of their belief in Christ. It is socially acceptable to bash Christians. But where does humanity turn when all appears vain? Back to itself ? Throwing itself on the flawed man ?

Is. 2:17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
Is. 2:18 and the idols will totally disappear.
Is. 2:19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.
Is. 2:20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.
Is. 2:21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.

Psa. 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.

Jer. 17:5 ¶ This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

They Were Promised Bread But Given Stones

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" Matthew 7:9
The world, and by that I mean the secular, non-christian culture, even though some in the culture may have compassion, do not know how to give good gifts, according to the Scripture.

To understand the term "gifts" one has to understand the word "bread" in the context of the Scripture. The piece above was created with the understanding that the word "bread" means more than a food staple.

Bread in the Middle Eastern culture at the time of Christ embodies more than a food staple. Christ's parables must be seen in context of the culture Christ lived in. While the image (above) is contemporary so our culture can visually relate to the symbolism, the meaning extends back to the time of Christ. The content can not be fully understood unless one is enlightened as to the importance of the term "bread". According to author Kenneth Bailey, Middle Eastern villagers eat their meals by breaking off small pieces of bread and dipping them into the common dish. The very word bread has strong emotional overtones that is missing in English. "A man does not work to make a living but to eat bread." Middle Eastern speech is full of idiomatic references to bread. Life itself is called "the eating of bread." In the Lord's Prayer we ask for bread, not food. So the title of this work embodies much more than just filling one's stomach.

Symbolism of the chair is liken to the "seat of government and culture" corrupt, weak, broken. The boxes are empty. The figure is in tension with the chair. Not even on the same spatial plane or of similar size. The chair has a small string tying some of the rungs together, the paint is peeling..... and the overwhelming pile of stones. All contribute to the content of the piece.

There may be a sequel(s) to this piece in the back of my mind. To continue what Christ is saying in Matthew........verse 10. "Or if he asks for a fish, will [he] give him a snake ?

The work is about 4 foot by 6 foot and is graphite ( pencil) drawing on lennox 100.

Often I am asked how much time did it take you to do this or that..... with regards to this piece I quit counting hours after I passed 300.

New piece titled "I am that I am"

Well, my newness to this process of blogging has been exposed once again, as this image was referred to in the blog just below this entry on the site.

This piece is addressing Moses's encounter with God and the burning bush. A simple piece, without much complexity in either form or content. Moses encountered God "on the far side of the desert" ...... often we encounter God when we are on the far side of the desert metaphorically speaking. Other translations indicate "far into the wilderness" A location where He can get our attention in this busy, noisy and hurried world (culture) we live in.

I have been in those desert locations...... always from my wanderings around doing what I am supposed to be doing ..... perhaps God placing me in a position where I will hear Him.

In any event, the work speaks of the encounter Moses had. It is the beginning of the story of the Exodus. Image filled experiences. One such image I am researching and working on but have yet to develop an image to post as yet........ is " the cloud that followed the tabernacle" I have some ideas and soon will be putting them into a fledgling image. Another is, " worshiping the calf "....... but I get ahead and do not want to list all I am "stewing" on just yet. That will give me the flexibility to not be obligated in the pursuit of imagery

Progressive of current piece

This piece on prayer certainly is taking much longer than expected, perhaps because, I am developing details of the piece as it matures. The above image incorporates gold-leaf that has been scoured. Gold-leaf in my pieces are symbolic of God or the Holy Spirit.

One can see the gold-leaf application along the bottom and up the right side of the piece, creating a new window, a sort of outside looking in on the central activity of the abstracted shapes representing prayers rising to the Creator..... The gold-leaf cradles the viewer and the prayers, almost like a father putting his arm around his child, and yet the transparency symbolizes God allowing us to be human and not puppets, a gentle arm but not overt direction...... ahhhh that is how God works.

After spending some time studying this piece I am convinced that much more needs to be addressed. Perhaps to the point of constructing a new panel and starting all over again. Or, perhaps of additional panels in the form of a diptych or triptych. In any event I have been looking and researching images and have some ideas that I am working out in Photoshop before I commit to the many hours of introducing change in the piece.

In the mean time let me share with you an additional work that is in progress: see above.

Welcome to my newly initiated blog

Starting a blog can be a daunting challenge. However, I foresee this blog as a way of keeping my curious friends, clients and collectors aware and up to date on the progress of various pieces of art I am working on..... some of my thoughts about the posted pieces and scriptural references about each piece.

My work usually is a result of scripture studied, a book read, or a result of prayer seeking discernment, sometimes all three.



This piece is a work in progress. The 24" x 48" gouache on wood panel is tentatively titled, "Corporate Prayer" .

I am now at a point in the creation of this piece that I need to stop and "stew" ( as I tell my students) about the content, the next step in the process, and assess if the work is going off in a new direction. Sometimes a piece will take on a life of its' own. I encourage my students to allow the work to "lead you" ...... sometimes in directions they may never have thougth about.

The next technical step on this particular piece is quite simple. I will need to seal the work with Krylon acrylic seal. This will protect the water soluble gouache color and allow me to follow up with a Polyacrylic seal of at least two layers followed by a light wet sanding. This preparation will then allow me to apply more pigment ( most likely a transparent watercolor ) over the current image.

More about the content of this work will follow in later blogs.