Hypocrites

 

Hypocrite: Advocating behaviors that one does not practice

There was a teaching by a catholic priest during catechism class that struck home with life and what we search for in life. I heard the same thing in a recent christian radio show. The priest said that if he stood in the pulpit and told everyone that was a hypocrite to leave the church, there would be no-one in church because even he would have to leave. I often wondered how many "religious" people actually understand what that means. I know I have said it before but it means "all that you are I am." That puts me in the same place every other person is. There is no-one that can claim perfection in the world. Not one innocent person on earth. No excuse that makes anyone righteous. Not even the Saints. Our place on earth is a result of what the original sin caused.  Even the earth was put under the original sin. Only by the grace of God and the sin offering of Jesus Christ have we been blessed with the grace of forgiveness for our sins. Fortunately all it takes is a voicing of the belief that Jesus did this for us and that Jesus is Lord. Can't do anything to earn it. It's not for sale. Don't even think it. That priest and the pastor were correct. We are all sinners and no-one is exempt. 

Today, as promised , I am sharing the large version of last week's image, an 8.5" X  11" print. It is a bit different because there is more detail to pay attention to. It may not look it but this took several days of coloring. Some of the shadowing in the lace was lightly touched up to make it stand out better but not too much.

The Copic colors are: BG11, Y21, V22, Coo, E00, E000, R85.

The color pallette is small on this image but the detail is small and delicate. Very hard on these old eyes. 

That is it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe and healthy. Remember to "always Love The Details."

Coping

 
This past week has been hard on both Jill and I. We have faced many lost friends in the past, some of them close. This time it was close to home, literally. We became close to the couple next door. Her husband passing so suddenly was a shock to her mental and physical being. She comes to us when she needs to talk and let loose. There is a lot going on and none of it is fun. Jill and I want her to have someone to vent with that will not judge either of them. I often wish there were someone close to be able to do that with. She is a sweet, beautiful  person. Jill and I think she is strong and will get through this in time. It will take time. That is enough on the subject for now.  

My message is simple. The 23rd Psalm. Many of you know it but if not read it. It is comforting and reassuring. It helps ground you in what is important. 

Today I am sharing another Floral Princess image. This image was a 4x6 that was a challenge because of its size. Much of the detail is too small to capture. This image was done with Artisoft water color pencils.

The colors are;  Purple, Emerald Green, Magenta, Grey, Light Peach, Peach and Yellow Ochre. I do not have many water color pencils so this was something different for me. It turned out decent. Next week I will share the follow-up that is an 8.5 x 11 inch done with Copics. Until then may the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Death

I am writing this post on Sunday the 30th of April. Once again a death of a friend has entered my life. This time it is my neighbor of two years. He was only in his thirties but we became close friends in those two years. He was a man searching for the Lord and a church to attend where he could help others and volunteer his services. He found that Church about a month ago. We often sat and talked about God, Jesus and what it meant to be Christian. He and his wife wanted to to have children with his wife but were unable to. He was eager to make a place for himself and his love for his wife was obvious. He had one problem. He was a recovering drug addict. It caused many roadblocks that he worked hard to overcome. I admired him and came to love him in his enthusiasm and sincerity. Three days ago he overdosed in a motel room. His wife says he had been depressed for several weeks for reasons unknown. His wife and sister came over to tell us the sad news. No-one knows why he overdosed but he left a wife who loves him and knew him from childhood and two dogs. There is a hole in our lives now with no answers as to why it happened. I talked to him the day before and he was looking forward to going to the replica of noah's ark and a Christian theater production we had told him about. There were no indications of what was coming. This is life in the Christian world at times. It is hard to even concentrate right now. I just wanted to let the faithful people who view this blog know why there is no image this week. I will post an image next week. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe until then. Remember to "Always Love The Details."

The Heart

Proverbs 27:19    19  Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another.  

New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition

1 Samuel 16:7   7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition

There are few sermons given on the condition of the heart. The state of affairs in the world today pretty much reflect the condition of the heart worldwide. "Religion" and Christian family are all but a bad word. The younger generations are abandoning the churches more and more. The condition of the heart does not seem to be something that fares well when family and church are not a part of the life we live. A Christ filled church and family life are the answer. 

This week I would like to share an image from a coloring book I purchased from Moontear. This image is AI (artificial intelligence) created. It is impressive how well these images were created. What I don't like is the number of images that have tattoos. Tattoos ruin the image. This one does not.   

The Copic colors used;

You will notice the "0" pen in the top row. I have decided to include it in the colors because it is used to erase bleed spots and to soften dark colors as well as empart light reflection such as the lips or depth as in the eyes.

That is it for this week. God bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Portraits

I have noticed in the past few months a large increase at times of the views. There have been questions about doing video lessons on how the images that I post are done. In the past I have posted updates on projects in stages to show what stage it is in. The images I am currently doing require frequent pauses to decide what color to use, shading problems, what details are visible and should be colored or not colored, what the details are supposed to be or represent and a host of other image details. The "Brainy Quote" above says it all  but also in the case of the images I color, of me. It is important to respect the image creator as well as the "sitter" and do the best you are capable of to honor both. These posts are dual in their purpose. To honor the artwork and its creator and to honor our God. After all we are blessed to be able to do the things we do. 

I am considering doing something similar to show the steps to my creations. We shall see.

This is the final image from Moontear for now. I have a few more to do (over 50 ) but I want to take a break from them for now. Just for the record, this image was an AI created image as are most Moontear images.

The Copic colors used are:

This image is not as good as some of the images from Moontear. It was fun to do though. That is it for this week. May the good Lord Bless and Keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Salvation

 
It is hoped you have all had a pleasant and happy Easter. My message today will be short and to the point. We celebrated the gift of complete forgiveness of sins this 2000 years ago. It is a gift from the Lord to all of mankind. The curtain of the holy of holies was wrent from top to bottom to let us know even though we are sinners we have direct access to YAHWEH our God. No more sacrifices are needed to be forgiven, only believe that Christ is risen and He is the son of God. Repent and turn from our sinning and our sins will be remembered no more. The law enslaved us. Jusus' sacrifice on the cross frees us. He took our sins upon Himself and paid for our sins even though He was not a sinner. The PERFECT love of God is upon those who who turn and receive the salvation that this brings.

The image I am sharing is one that was in the pile to do for some time. Don't know the artist or where it was downloaded from. It was very easy to do.

The Copic colors used: E42-E59-C4

That is it for this week. Hope you had a great Easter. May the good Lord Bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Matthew 26:14-27:66

No message today. Instead read Matthew 26:14-27:66. No image today. Empty yourself and prepare for Easter. It is the holiest time of the year and the time of preparation for the sacrifice of our Lord for our sins. Even after 2000 years He is still relevant. Love the Details and Thank the Lord for your days on this earth. A message and image will be posted next week.

The Living Among The Dead

 

(Luke 24:1-5) Does the title of this post surprise you? When Mary Magdala, Mary, mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint him with oil and spices. They found the tomb empty. Two angels were there and asked why they were looking for the living among the dead. In some ways I can relate to this. The loss of loved ones is a shock to the system (mind). At times we absentmindedly expect to see that person, pet or friend to be there when we visit a place or come home from work only to realize they are not there. That is when the reality sets in. They are gone. Their spirits have moved on to the after life. They are born anew as spirits in heaven. I don't know if other than humans move on in that way but we certainly do. As we get older we experience losses of friends, relatives and pets. The Lord promised us he was going ahead to prepare a place for us in His father's house. Those that have gone before us are already there. They are the living and have moved from the grave to heaven. They are no longer among the dead. It is alright to mourn their passing from this life to the next but we must realize they have given up this body so that they can have a new body. The mourning should be for those of us that must wait our turn to join them. Be joyful not sorrowful.

This week is yet another print from MoonTear. This is of an angel. 

The copics used are:

That is it for this week. The weather has changed and is becoming warmer. I am putting in a garden. That is why I missed last week. May the good Lord Bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

I Am His

 

A great quote by one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Marilyn vos Savant had a tested IQ of 228 and is listed in the Guiness Book of World records. What has this got to do with the Brainy Quote? It has nothing to do with IQ or what others classify you as. It has everything to do with being who you are. Being who you are has everything to do with what you were meant to be. What was I meant to be? Everything in my posts points to the fact that we are the product of God's love. We are His creation. We were created through God's love that we might love God and be a reflection of that love. Old testament  scripture opens with the creation story and the fall from grace. There was never a fear of God until the choice was made to disobey God and eat the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. By doing so, fear, greed and all of the things that distort and nullify love entered into mankind. None of those things are natural states of God's creation. (1 John 3:10; 4:7-16; 4:20; 5:2-3 to name a few verses) Fear is not of God. Fear and love do not easily coexist. Fear of God would be better phrased as respect of God. Love and respect the Lord thy God and all things that are good for us will be  provided. We were meant to be images of God and His perfect love on this earth. That is the reason I am His. To learn and become what I was meant to be.  

Today I am sharing and image that was provided in a handout from PECO some time ago. I am a raptor fan from early childhood. this is an Mandala owl.

 This was a fun break from the images I have been doing.

The copic colors used are:

The next image is from that same sheet.

The copic colors are:

That is it for this week. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."

Melchizedek

 

There are some subjects that are difficult to write about. This is one of them. Melchizedek has a prominent place in the bible as one without a beginning or end (birth or death). Except for the scriptures there are no records of his existence. Archaeology, to this point, has no evidence of his existence. This does not prove or disprove him of having existed. Like so many other things that are mysteries in the scriptures it is beyond the ability of our minds to explain. There is much in this world that fits into the unexplained realm. My point is that just because science can't yet explain why something it does not mean it can't exist. I have already written about spirits, in particular the Holy spirit. Melchizedek may or may not have existed but his kingdom, Salem did exist and it became Jerusalem, which King david conquered. The important thing is that  Melchizedek, as the righteous King and priest of El Shaddai, with no birth or death is another way of reminding us that Christ existed in the beginning, became man to redeem all of us by dying on the cross, then rose from the dead to judge the living and the dead. There is a new fire beginning, a new revival. The Holy Spirit is touching lives again. 

Today I am sharing another of the images from MoonTear. After this image I may give it a break and do some other images.   

The copic colors are:

This image is appropriate for the Easter season and this post. That is it for this week. May the good Lord Bless and Keep you safe. Remember to always "Love The Details."