February 28, 2014 Prayer

Prayer is admitting we are powerless before a power greater than ourselves.

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

Mahatma Gandhi

I wish there were words for everything going through my mind right now. It was said to me that a picture caused peace in someones heart. That statement touched me to my very core. That is something oft felt in many ways. A sense of peace comes in many ways but the most profound is that peace that comes before Jesus. Just being in His presence, no spoken words, no prayer needed, just silence in His presence. I do not need to be jumping up and down to know He is there. Stillness of heart, mind and spirit are a gift that not everyone has come to know. If a picture can bring someone to that place then a gift has been give that is from no human's hand. Zephaniah 1:7 " Silence before Lord Yahweh, for the Day of Yahweh is near! Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests."

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (Zep 1:7). New York: Doubleday.

Such is the works of an artist gifted of Jesus to evoke those reactions. Troubled though he was he was a giant that the art world rejected but the people revered. Thomas Kinkade still does that to me and others. We are in awe of his paintings. We often try to duplicate his work but always fall short. It is time to pay small tribute to Kinkade. 

I am not a very good artist but it is hoped this is an acceptable offering. It is good to remember this image is twice the size of the one I worked on. It is from the Cornish Heritage Farms.
This was a labor of love and a daunting task. I am not totally happy with it but it was the best I could do. For those of you that are actually reading this, here are the Copic colors used. I hope your screen can hold all of them. The one thing that is not on the list is the blender pen and Thank God for it. It was blender and eraser.

There is 63 of them if you care to count. It took 6 days off and on. At least 5 hours a day. The image was rife with small detail and required many breaks to rest the eyes. Please comment. Don't hop on look and hop off. Thanks.

A BIG thank you to those of you that took the time with the previous posts to comment and encourage me. It is hard to do one of these images and you were kind and generous with your thoughts and comments. Thank you also to those of you who commented on the finished image. Thank you one and all. May the good Lord bless you. For at least one day I am going to take a rest. Then once again I will LOVE THE DETAILS.

February 26, 2014 Look Beyond

Search for beauty in some things and you find will beauty everywhere.


Brainy Quote

There is a brain, eye and heart disconnect in this world. If you judge someone negatively yet have never met them how do you know who they really are? Have you gone to a blog site and not stopped to take a really good look at the image or even better yet read the provided information about the project? Too busy? Why? Stop! Read! Look at the resulting work and you will see the heart and soul of someone. They are trying to become something more than they are today for tomorrow. They are giving of themselves so we can see the beauty hidden inside. I for one want to see that beauty and tell them I see it. If you don't visit enough sites in a day to fill the National Registry but take the time to read and tell a few that you see their beauty, that will soon fill the National Registry. Ephesians 4:2 "With all humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love."

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (Eph 4:2). New York: Doubleday.

In the last post the Thomas Kinkade image had been more or less started. With some 30 Copic colors being used it was just the beginning. After doing 5 or 6 of these images it was expected that the number of colors would only grow. First lets give the updated image as it is at the time it was scanned it in. Ready?

There are a few colors that are not showing up well yet. Remember this image is more than double what I have to work with. At this size some of the problems are visible but they will be corrected as much as possible before the finished image is posted. To the date of this post there are just short of 50 Copic colors used. The number of Copic colors in what you are not seeing is over 60. Yeah That is correct, 60. Stay tuned for the, hopefully, final posting of this image. At that time the Copic colors used will also be posted. Have fun with that one. Cherokee says, "Irish must have eaten loco weed. Cherokee get headache looking at small picture. Ancestors use whole rock wall for pictures. Irish need medicine man before done. Get Lumatrick hat for Irish to wear. Fits him."

I would like to thank Maxine from kiwimeskreations for nominating me for an award. I would also like to thank Grace at th-ink-ingofyou for her gracious box of blog candy. You can see her card and what the box contained at my DW's blog here.

Next time I will hopefully be done with the image, maybe Thursday or Friday. I am ready.  Until then remember LOVE THE DETAILS.

February 25, 2014 Faithful

It is not whether you are famous today but whether you are remembered in time.


Brainy Quotes

It isn't hard to tie these together. How many people became famous in their day but are forgotten in this time? The only way you would know about them now would be to find an article or something written down that tells you about them. How many would you remember even after finding out? Few to none. Why? Most have only sought the fame and not the remembrance. To endear ones self requires faithfulness not only to ones self but to all they say are dear to them. They that are remembered are those that are faithfully selfless. I would rather be remembered for that which I was unaware I did but was cherished by someone I did not know.  Heb 11:1 " Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen."

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (Heb 11:1). New York: Doubleday.

Many of you have remarked on the hat in the last post. The hat was purchased in Napa valley at the Luna (thus the lunatic play on words) Vineyards when we visited several years ago. The link to the site is to the contact area. I checked the main home site but the souvenirs are not listed. If you are interested you can contact them to find out. I have had a lot of fun with this hat. It DOES get you noticed.

I think it might be fun to do a little experiment. I am currently working on a stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. Most of you remember them as the people who sold the Thomas Kinkade stamps. I am currently working on the Clocktower Cottage image. To date I have been working on it for three days on and off and have used 35 different Copic colors on it. It is not half finished yet. Any who, I would like to share it as it is now and maybe twice more as it gets finished. Please do not copy this image from the blog. Thanks.

So far this image has proved to be very difficult because of its size and the detail involved. To get the effects needed several passes  of certain colors was needed. The foreground tree alone has 6 colors that I can remember and several passes of those colors to get proper effects. This is all in a frame area of 4 and 3/8" by 2 and 15/16ths inches. Because of the marker pens slight bleed over even on the best of papers I am forced to treat the coloring as a cross between water color and oil painting. In short carefully and with difficulty. The next post or two will hopefully look better than this but this is how it works. I am sure that by the time this is finished I will need half a page just to list the Copic colors. Stay tuned.
 I really have no other post for now but I really wanted to show you what I was up to. Remember to always LOVE THE DETAILS.

  

February 23, 2014 Sharing

Every life, no matter how brief, changes every other life on earth forever.

Every life has a consequence of being in this world. Everyone has gifts that are a part of who they are. You can do one of two things with your gifts, share them, or keep them to and for yourself. Sharing them is planting seeds of inspiration that will produce a yield and multiply. To not share will profit no one and in fact the gift will fade and wither away to nothing, cheating you and those whom it would inspire. It is an empty dream no one will ever know. Every life is important. Every life affects every other life in this world to the end of time. There are no exceptions. 1 Peter 2:10 "Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these varied graces of God, put it at the service of others."

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (1 Pe 4:10). New York: Doubleday.

I would like to share a little something that some of you already know. Cherokee has been here but behaving himself lately. Any comments Cherokee? " Irish do good. Agree what hat say. Cherokee be quiet now." That's a relief! " Just show hat. People understand why Cherokee not say more." OK, since you left the monkey..... never mind. here is the "HAT."

What are you snickering at? "Cherokee ask what hat mean and it mean LOCO. It fit you good."  All right that's enough of that. Now that we have had our laugh, Ha Ha Ha, I am going to try an experiment. This post is a slightly different format than the previous ones. I am going to post two images only. 

The first image is one I just finished from Digital Tuesday of an ad for Multiflora Roses.

Copic Colors: RV00, RV42, R05, R14, E08, E40, E97, G82, G85, Yg93, YG99

Pink is DW's favorite color so that is what I colored them. It is surprising how well the old illustrations color if you are mindful of the colors you use.

The next image is a House Mouse image. This was not made into a card as of yet. From time to time I will present you with an image that no card has been made of it. 

No copic colors available for this one but I like this one so much that it made the cut anyway. 

I am currently working on one of my favorite artist images. When it is done I will be sharing it with you. I thank you and my alter ego Cherokee thanks you for stopping by. May you find many blessings and remember LOVE THE DETAILS.

Before I forget, if you have had a problem with my blog showing it updated and it still does not show an update if you are following me, please let me know. Thanks.

February 19, 2014 Vision

February 19, 2014   Vision

Quote for Today:  The eyes of the soul of the multitudes are unable to endure the vision of the divine.

Plato

This is not what it seems. Vision is not limited to what you can see with your eyes or to what the future might bring but what the heart sees and the eyes do not.  What is he talking about you ask? I shared about whispers and listening for the voice of God in the softest of sounds. If you heard and understood that you also will understand that the heart and soul will also show you things the eye can’t begin to see. Acts II 9 v 10-12 ‘ There was a disciple in Damascus called Ananias, and he had a vision in which the Lord said to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord' the Lord said, ‘Get up and go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, and has seen a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’ Without this “vision” Paul might never have become St. Paul. The vision of Ananias, both hearing that whispered voice and being open to the vision was a blessing to all of us.

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (Ac 9:11–12). New York: Doubleday.

Today will be somewhat of a look back to some older coloring attempts. Not all of the Copics for the coloring were recorded but those that were will be included. I will try to start with the oldest and come forward.

I have no colors available for this image. I only took a photograph of it when it was completed. It was so dark I had to clean it up in Photo Impact Pro to Make it presentable. This is an image from SweetnSassy. The card is really special.

My DW did a beautiful job with this card. It is special.

The next image is actually my first attempt at using the Copic spray gun. There is  a knack to using these things. It drove me nuts until I figured it out. It is not sensitive enough to do any fine line work but for effect it is adequate.This Image is from Our Daily Bread.

 

This is the first trial image and I was not happy with it so I tried another image with a more dramatic sky and this one I liked.

I know, I know, why didn’t you color all of it. I did but didn’t scan the finished product. Sheesh! Picky! It did get finished identical to the first one. The butterflies are just slightly softer. Any hoo, here is the card.

Love the sentiment Jill picked for this card. It fits perfectly.

My final image for today is also one of my favorites. It was a lot of coloring and paying attention to detail. Sound familiar?

 This image is from Impression Obsession not Our Daily Bread. Sorry for the mistake.

Would this scene make you feel just a little bit better? It would make me feel better for sure. That does it for this time around. This would have been posted earlier but Bugger/Blogger was not cooperating today. What a surprise. Guess I shouldn’t complain since it is free. Hope you enjoyed yourself and hopefully found at least some inspiration. I just LOVE THE DETAILS.

P.S. - I have been told that my posts are not updating on other peoples sites. Can anyone offer a suggestion that may help if it is due to something on my end?