creativity

Daily Drawing #206, Put Your Hands Together

| Whitt’s End Art

The title of today’s drawing is, “A Little Prayer Goes A Long Way.” Philippians 4:6 ESV  has this to say about prayer, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” One of the most important aspects of Christian life is praying. We are called on in another Bible verse to, “Pray continuously.” This does not mean you walk around with your hands folded in prayer as you walk down the street. It does however mean you must be in a constant mindset where you honor and thank God for what He is doing in your life.

Daily Drawing #204, Where Have All the Churches Gone?

| Whitt’s End Art

Back many,many years ago I first accepted the call of Jesus and asked Him into my heart. Soon after I started attending a church where many people listened to what was at the time labeled Contemporary Christian Music or CCM. One of my favorite artists of the genre was Steve Taylor. His music was to say different than anything I had ever heard before. I look back from many years later and think of one song of his which I really liked entitled, “This Disco Used to be a Cute Cathedral.” The song to me was about the decline in attendance at many churches which seems to be on the rise. Years ago attending your local church was something you did without question. Back then the church in turn to care of the needs of the people.

In our modern society over 80% of Americans claim to be Christians but only 20% attend church. That leaves 60% of the people who claim to be Christians not filling the seats in local churches. This means as Steve Taylor sings many churches empty and being converted to other uses.

This is sad my friends because a church is not just a place where we worship, it is a place called to be in service to God in the local community. So we need to get our you know whats back into the seats to worship but also out of the seats and into the streets in service to serve God by helping those in need.

 

Daily Drawing #203, Enjoy A Quiet Picnic with Your Friends

| Whitt’s End Art

Today’s drawing entitled, “Goin’ On A Picnic,” is offered as a piece of advice. Life is hard, we work, work, work and then work some more without ever really taking some time for ourselves. The problem is God designed us as being who need to rest once in a while. the easiest and cheapest way I know to do this is to gather family and friends together and go to a local or state park and have a picnic. Picnics are fun. There is a lot of food, fellowship and of course relaxation. So if you’re reading this right now, take the advice and plan pot luck picnic with fun and games. Oh, if you don’t know what pot luck means, it is where everyone brings some food or drink to share.

Daily Drawing #202, Takin’ A Stroll in the City

| Whitt’s End Art

I used to live on the outskirts of Philadelphia. One of the things I loved about where I used to live was my being able to make daily or weekly excursions into the city especially the downtown historic district. I have a history buff so I enjoyed walking into our countries. I walked the streets many times reveling in the fact that our forefathers once walked these same streets. Another thing I liked was all strolling in and out of all the little shops especially record stores like 3rd Street Jazz. I snagged a lot of good deals there.

Now driving and walking around Philly I get a little saddened because it has changed so much since my youth. The charm I used to feel is a little weakened but still there. One of the things I like to do now when I venture into my home city or Philly is pray as I walk or drive around. Each city or home town is filled with people who all need the Lord. So my advice today is do the same, pray for your hometowns or cities. Pray for the people, the government or whatever God lays on your heart, but pray.

Daily Drawing #201, Folk Art is Very Cat-chy

| Whitt’s End Art

Today’s drawing was done with one thing in mind, “Folk Art.” I live in the Lancaster, PA area which as an artist makes me very interested in the genre known as folk art. I used to think folk art was restricted to those interesting landscapes done without any thought to perspective. Recently however I have found folk art has many forms and subject matter. The title of today’s drawing is “Folk Art Cats #1.” It was done in colored pencils instead of acrylic paints. By the title you can gather there will be more folk art cat pictures coming. Cats have become one of my favorite subject matters.

Daily Drawing #199, Summer, A Time to Enjoy?

| Whitt’s End Art

I must admit again I am not a big fan of the summertime. I used to like summer but only because it meant we got out of school for 3 months. Today, I still get off for the summer because I work for a school district, but now I spend my days off working around the house, mowing grass, painting and a whole lot more. Not the way I would like to enjoy my summers. I would much rather spend some time outside, lounging around on a patio or deck, drinking a cold sweet tea, while conversing with my friends. The title of today’s offering is entitled, “Little Red and Her Cat in the Sunshine.” Little red and her cat are enjoying being outside on a nice summer day. My hope is you’re doing the same. Happy summer to all and to all have a good bright (and sunny summer of fun).

 

 

Daily Drawing #198, Celebrate Your Freedom to Art

| Whitt’s End Art

There are many times as artists where we pigeon hole ourselves into one style or one medium of art. It is what we know so we naturally stick with what we know. As I have progressed through this art challenge I have tried to make sure to delve into new mediums, new styles of art. I have learned to enjoy my freedom to art. Today’s piece, while not as colorful as a Dr Seuss picture is my first attempt at a fantasy landscape. The piece is entitled, “Dilbo in the Wilderness.” I hope to do more drawing in this style in the future. Until tomorrow feel free to art.

Daily Drawing #197, Are You Prepared?

| Whitt’s End Art

Over the course of my lifetime I have had various occupations. I have worked as retail managers, in factories and currently in a local school district. As I look back at my various jobs I think the worst place I ever was employed worked was at a fast food restaurant. I only worked there for one year but I learned a lot about dealing with irate customers as well as employees who don’t take there job seriously. You haven’t lived until you try to calm down an irate customer because of an unwanted piece of cheese or a couple of misplaced pickles on a sandwich you didn’t have anything to do with creating.

Still I look back at these times and realize how much they prepared me for later positions I have had in life. In all of life we need to look at our current employment, or training (as in sports) and think about about how much we are being prepared for what comes next in life. So take the time to prepare yourself by working hard to learn and grow. It will pay off later in life.

Daily Drawing #196, Count It All As Joy

| Whitt’s End Art

If your life is like mine there are periods of time when life feels anything but joyful. Still God calls us in James 1:2 to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” This means no matter what happens in life we are to call it joyful. Really? God says, yes. If you have an illness don’t dwell on it but look to God to give you comfort and peace throughout the trial. My joy and your joy comes from knowing God is always there for us and as 2 Corinthians 1:4 insures us God is the one, “who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Our joy in life comes from helping others who are going get through the same storms we are weathering. It is hard to look for joy in times of trouble or sorrow but it can be found when your heart is in the right place.