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I recently did an interview for a radio show, Christian Curious, when the host asked me how switching careers from non-profit work to art work changed me. I was a little nervous to share, mostly because it reveals where I had gotten friendship wrong. Ministry work encouraged me to believe that I had a lot of ways I could minister to other people. I believed I had gifts to offer, so I taught and led with my gifts. When I
Most scenes I paint are the best angle with the best light in the most ideal composition. You can see how art and artificial have the same root, art is constructed, created for the goal of the artist. Art isn’t false as much as it is constructed. In a similar way, a friendship requires construction, creating something worth celebrating. Just like painting a garden, painting a friendship requires you figure out what is worth celebration. Not every angle is glorious.
A room without art is no better than a cell. Worse, actually, because even prisoners, like Betsy Ten Boom in The Hiding Place decorated her Nazi prison cell with scarves from her suitcase. We press ourselves into the things around us. And everything on our walls tells us and our friends something about us. No decor is simply decoration. I am not a painter because I’m really into aesthetics. I’m a painter because I care about soul care. We all
One of my favorite Day of Rest activities is reading poetry. One day to read a line, take a sip of tea and then look out the window for five minutes. Ahh, yes, this is the life. Once a week my family and I practiced this resting, each in our own way. So, I was reading William Wordsworth last Sabbath and this line caught my breath. I read it again and nodded. This explained my passion for painting flowers. Now,
I remember the first time I purchased an original painting. If you’ve been to an art museum, you know the difference. The paint and paper, the colors themselves glow in a way a print cannot. Even the pictures I take of my art, even professional photographs do not capture the way the paintings burn with color and texture. Every one of my customers knows exactly what I mean. I regularly hear “Your painting is so much more beautiful in person!” You
My youngest son, O., had a blue smear across his face and so many blue dots on his forearms that Dale called him an Aqua Tiger at lunch this week. O. painted a minecraft diamond helmet that morning, designed from a Quaker Oats box. He was so proud to show it off to his small, but engaged audience of Dale, his big brother, F. and me. F. suggested several improvements, as big brothers do. But there will come a time
I’ve read Robert Frost’s poems and found my favorites, but moving to New Hampshire, I began reading him in earnest. A favorite line from his long poem “New Hampshire” for you, She’s one of the two best states in the Union. Vermont’s the other. And the two have been Yokefellows in the sap yoke from of old in many Marches. And they lie like wedges. Thick end to thin end and thin end to thick end, And are a figure
As I shared last time, I’ve decided to stop writing about friendship to make more room to paint. You can still visit my friendship series right here. Having more time to paint has been both interesting and rewarding! Last week I got out to paint the sunshine twice. Here I set up by the Congregational Church in Milford, NH. I love the way the light beat down on the church’s roof and illuminated the steeple. And I revisited some
I have been criss-crossing the state of New Hampshire to hang my paintings in new shops and galleries. This is a good problem, but the downside is that I have little time to write. This means that this month will be my last formal installment of friendship posts. Come June, I will still write updates, but I’m going to focus on my art in these newsletters. Enjoy a list of all the friendship posts for 2022 below. ~~~ It’s time
