creativity

Daily Drawing #227, Learning Not to Touch 

| Whitt’s End Art

Today I have a message which is sort of a complaint and a partly a question. Here it is, “Why do people persist in touching stuff which does not belong to them?” When I was a child my momma taught me to keep my hands off of other people’s property as well as stay out of a yard I was not invited into. In our modern world a lot of people think they are entitled to do whatever they want. If this means you have something they feel like they want to use they go ahead and try it out without permission.

There is an Old Chinese Proverb which states, “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” I for one don’t mind people borrowing or using my stuff, I feel what I have is a gift from God meant to be shared but please learn to ask. If you can’t ask then then please do not touch.Sorry for the rant it was just one of those days.

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Daily Drawing #226, Watching the World Go Bye

| Whitt’s End Art

When I was old enough to drive my friends and I would go to our local mall to play arcade games at the Space Port. During our game downtime we would get a soda and a dog at the Pampered Pup and sit down to watch the people stroll on by. I would be respite if I didn’t mention we made comments to each other about the way people were dressed or their hairstyles or any number of other things. I think watching the people was more fun than playing the video games. Even to this day, as an artist I love to go to a park, a mall and other public places just to  sit and just watch people walk around. There are a lot of interesting people out there to sketch. So grab a pencil, an art pad and get on out there. After all plein air sketching is all the rage these days.

Daily Drawing #225, Cool Late Summer Thoughts

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I am a big fan of polar bears. I don’t know why but I think because on a hot day they’re a reminder of coolness. Polar bears live in the Arctic, which at times can be one of the coldest most inhospitable places on earth. God created the North and South Poles as a balance for our planet. They are there not only to regulate the tilt of the world but also to provide a balance in the hydro-static ecosystem on the world. As the planet heats up the poles start to decrease which is what is happening right now. I am going to get into a discussion on global warming but of personal warming.

God gave us His Word, the Bible, in order to provide a balance to our lives. If we let our personal warming lessen our reliance on God’s Word we will start to loose some of our Christian witness. That is why it is important to get into the Bible everyday in order to stop our personal warming.

Daily Drawing #224, We’re Not All Cat People

| Whitt’s End Art

Growing up I had a good many cats. One of my favorites was a from the breed known as Manx. I don’t remember the cat’s name but it was one of my favorites. Still even with all those cats I had quite a few dogs. Two of my favorite dogs was one I called Hobo named after the dog in the show of the same name. I named the dog Hobo because he looked like the dog in the show.

The other dog was a Shetland Sheep Dog or miniature collie. I loved the dog. In fact we were inseparable up until the day the dog disappeared. I had no idea what happened to the dog until years later when my mother told me the dog followed me the bus stop and was run over by the bus. She didn’t have the heart to tell me. The whole point of this reflection is the fact we are all different. Some of us like both dogs and cats but their are others who like either dogs or cats. We are all different and need to learn to look past our differences and learn to live each other for who we are not who we want the other person to become.

Daily Drawing #222, The Dog Days of Summer

| Whitt’s End Art

What are the dog days of summer? The answer comes from Dictionary.Com, “the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11. a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence.” The reason for the lethargy and inactivity is the heat. When it is hot it is hard to be moving around. I was in Las Vegas this year and the temp out there when I went averaged out to 115 degrees. I know it is a dry heat but to me it was still hot. My wife and I managed to push through the heat and have a great time. In life there are going to be times when the heat is turned up. The key to getting through these times and not become inactive or lethargic is to pray and seek God’s strength to help you remain sure footed. The dog days will always come but they don’t have to last.

 

Daily Drawing #221, Looking Out Over the Landscape

| Whitt’s End Art

I sometimes pick up a pencil and just draw. This is one of those times. I started out with a simple landscape drawing and then added a face in the mountains. The piece is entitled “Looking Out Over the Landscape.” Like the lady in the mountain there are times in life we sometimes need to step back and survey the landscape instead of rushing ahead without all the details of what lies ahead. I have experience in this area, believe me. In my life there were so many times I failed down to look down from the mountain to see what was ahead so I stumbled along the way.

An example of this be buying the first car you see instead of taking the time to check to see what was out there. In the end you may have a good car but not the one which may have suited your needs better. God wants us to be patient in everything we do and most importantly to seek his wisdom in making important decisions.

Daily Drawing #220, Kicking Back With A Cup Of Joe

| Whitt’s End Art

I don’t know about you but I love my coffee. Kicking back in the morning with a good cup of coffee is one of my favorite things of the day. A cup of java seems to clear the fog from my mind and give me a little boost to get my body moving. I know it’s probably the caffeine but to me that is just an added bonus. Some I know don’t like the taste of coffee just like there are those who don’t like the taste of the Gospel. Still the Gospel of God like a cup of coffee takes the fog out of your life and gets your body moving in the right direction. 

Daily Drawing #218, A Chip Off The Old Block

| Whitt’s End Art

I love those commercials where one member of married couple is starting to exhibit traits of there parents. I don’t what the commercial is for but it got me to thinking. We are more like our parents then we think. Like my drawing entitled, “Mini Me,” we carry our parents genes so we are going to be like them in some ways. Don’t panic yet. It is not a bad thing to be like your parents as long as you don’t repeat the same mistakes they did and you listen to the all the wisdom they impart.

Like everyone else our parents made mistakes, many of which we have seen as we grew older. So when you see yourself starting to exhibit some of those undesirable traits stop yourself and switch gears. You are your parents child but you are also an individual who can make your own decisions. The time is now.

Daily Drawing #216, The Monster Under the Bed

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When I was a child I used to worry about the monster under my bed. Not that there was ever anything under there but in the minds eye the monster was there just waiting for me to dangle my feet over the edge of my bed. Yesterday’s message was about having one of those days. Today is kind of a follow up to that message. I n life we have many monsters under our beds they include health worries, financial concern, family matters and the list goes on and on. These monsters are just waiting for us to dangle our feet over the edge of the bed so they can gobble us up. The key to not letting the monsters under the bed get to you is the say as if you are having a bad day and once again it comes in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Here’s to slaying your monsters.