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.