Illustration

Daily Drawing #182, Livin’ the Fantasy Life

| Whitt’s End Art

One thing I like about being an artist is when my pencil goes to paper what was one a fantasy in my mind suddenly takes shape. Truthfully it almost never comes out as I envision the piece. Another thing I like about art is the ability to create something out of this world in the true fantasy realm like today’s drawing. “Little Fairy in the Woods.” This is not a finished piece because I am just now working out the details of turning something I can see in my mind into a real image. I have cartooned before but creating a more detailed image is harder. Well I have a half a year to go.

While on on the subject of fantasy. I hear from many about the fantasy world of Heaven. When I hear people speak that way I am saddened. Heaven is not a fantasy. It is a reality and some day when I face to face with Jesus I will be both awe struck, a little fearful but filled with joy when I hear the words, “Welcome good and faithful servant.”  So look to fantasy and whim to create your art but remember Heaven is for real and hopefully someday I will meet up with other artist and we can have a wonderful time creating and worshiping together.

Daily Drawing #181, Feeling Like A Man In The Wilderness

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The drawing prompt for today was the word, “wilderness.” The prompt made my mind wander back to one of the songs by my favorite groups of my youth, Styx and one of my favorite songs, “Man in the Wilderness.”  The lyrics are:

‘Cause I can’t seem to find the light alone
Sometimes I feel like a man in the wilderness
I’m a lonely soldier off to war
Sent away to die, never quite knowing why
Sometimes it makes no sense at all

While the song appears to be about life on the road as a rock star. it also had meaning for me back then as well as now. I will not bore you with the details of how the song related to me back in the day . Today however, there are times as a follower of Jesus where I feel like I am wandering in a wilderness. A man all alone. I have the light in my heart but it doesn’t seem to pervade the darkness. Still I persevere, knowing God is near, and will never leave me to be truly alone.

Daily Drawing #179, Ridin’ the Little Red Wagon

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One of my prize possessions from my childhood was my little red wagon. I would use that wagon for many things from hauling rocks to riding down hills. I got a lot of use out of that wagon and in the end when the wagon lost its wheels I used the wagon as a sled. There are days when I miss that old red wagon. Even to this day when I see an old red wagon in an antique store it brings back fond memories.

Red is the symbol of life. it is the color of the blood which flows through our veins. The blood which keeps us alive. Like the little red wagon blood is a prize possession given to us by God. The precious possession which Jesus shed on the cross for humanity. Even to this day when I think about what Jesus did for me it leaves me in a state if awe. It should be the same for anyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus.

Daily Drawing #177, A Mountain Into A Molehill

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This drawing is kind of a piggy back from my drawing from yesterday. It is entitled, “Making A Molehill Out of Mountains.” It seems to me we live in a country where the smallest thing goes from being a little molehill into big mountain. Now I’m not talking about a true offense because they should never be dealt with appropriately. I am talking about when somebody offends you because they don’t like what you’re wearing or when something they’ve said something you’ve taken the wrong way.

These moments can become mountainous in our ears. In a huff we turn and walk away vowing to never to talk to the person again. More arguments start over small misunderstandings that blossom into big issues more than anything else. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:14 ESV,  “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.” In other words make sure all molehills stay that way. Don’t let them become mountains.

Daily Drawing #175, Peace, Peace, Perfect Peace

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The title of my drawing today is, “Give Me A Little Peace.” When I was kid I knew a lot of people who were hippies. There favorite greeting was to say was, “Peace Man.” Wouldn’t it be great if we all knew real peace especially in the world we live in now. One of my favorite books of the Bible is James and one of my favorite verses is James 3:18 ESV, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” I am not quarrelsome person I love to be at peace because to me to get peace from others you need to be a bearer of peace and love to others. Oh what our world be if our social media was filled with peaceful messages instead of full of barbs and hate.

Daily Drawing #174, Examine Your Nature

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The title my drawing, “Examine Your Nature,” has a dual meaning. The first part is my call for everyone reading this is to take the time to get out and take a walk. God created a beautiful world around us that we need to take the time to see. I love nature (today’s prompt) well except when I have to mow and weed nature. Still landscapes and flowers are two of my favorite things to sketch and paint. After all as Dante Alghieri states, “Nature is the art of God.”

The second meaning is about examining your own nature. The Bible tells us in that we need to always examine ourselves because, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32.  It is only when we step aside and look at what is truly inside, our internal nature can we see the areas that we need to ask God to help us clean up and make right.

Daily Drawing #173, Twilight Comes But Once A Painting

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Twilight the word and not the movie was the prompt for today. The title of the picture is, “Little Girl Watching The Moon.” The painting was created using a light wash of watercolor on a canvas. The little girl and the cat are outlined in pen. I love art because sometimes when you’re just playing around art comes out of it. I am not going to talk about the twilight of an evening per-say but the twilight of creating art. A painting of me comes in stages.

The dawn of the painting is the stage where you lay out your painting. Then as the painting progresses you move to the noon time stage. This is where you have some color washes in and the painting starts to take shape. As you move past the dinner hour you get to the twilight of the painting. This is where you step back and decide for yourself if the painting is done. It is in this twilight stage where I have many times stopped and declared a painting or drawing to my liking. This simple painting is one of those twilight times. I hope you like it.

Daily Drawing #172, Warning! Letters Can Lead to Words

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I have discovered in my lifetime that letters when put together can lead to words. Shocking right? It was to me tomorrow the way the letters are assembled is entirely up to you but be warned letters formed into the wrong words can be harmful. The Bible warns us in Proverbs 12:18, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” So the next time you’re forming your letters into words, choose wisely.

Daily Drawing #171, Portrait in Pencil

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Today’s offering is, “Portrait in Pencil,” of course based on the prompt word, portrait. I sometimes go to the website Something to Draw in order to get ideas for paintings or drawings. The drawing was based a picture which came up for the search word faces. It is just a rough drawing and I don’t know if I will do anything else with the picture. It could end up in my, Drawings I Practiced, file. Pete Rose was quoted as saying, “My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more.” Honing our craft is only part of the equation, the other part can be found in 1Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” In closing remember, “Practice makes perfect service for God.”