About the Series: Scenes of Creation

Every now and again, I love to change things up a little and shift from painting portrait and figurative works to landscape and nature scenes.

It is definitely a different kind of painting - the subject matter, the approach, the colors, and even the brushes and the way that I hold them while painting.  But I always want the mission to stay the same:  to honor my Creator God.  How does an artist do that with landscape painting?

The answer seems obvious.  For many of us, it's about painting beautiful scenes of majestic mountains, sparkling rivers and lakes, fluffy clouds, perfectly placed rainbows, and a romantic sense of golden light beaming from the sun through the trees.

But what if it's not about that at all?

In typical fashion, I always like to think deeply about things, especially when it comes to matters of fine art.  Ideas and inspiration come from all sorts of things, and I believe the right ideas for my work come from the whisper of God Himself.  Enter my series, Scenes of Creation.  

Still Standing
oil on canvas
10x8 inches

As truly eye-catching as a beautiful and scenic mountain painting is, this series is something a little different.  Everywhere you look in the Bible, you will read stories of God using the unlikely ones to fulfill His work and will in the world.  Many of them, like Isaiah, will even look to God and say it themselves:  "I am not worthy."

I especially, like many of us I'm sure, can relate.  If I was to paint my self-portrait in the form of a landscape, the last thing I would paint is a perfectly beautiful scene with mountains and clear blue bodies of water, with large powerful trees and colorful skies.  My self-portrait would probably have an overcast sky, perhaps a few gray and leafless trees, lots of weeds growing in the brownish yellow grass, and maybe a mud puddle or two.

My self-landscape would be messy.  It would be ugly.  And yet, the fundamental truth of the scene would be this:  God still made it.  It is still part of His glorious creation every bit as much as the most majestic mountain in the world.  There is no creation of His that He has forgotten or abandoned, and no part of it that is useless to Him.  Our story can be seen even in a simple nature painting.  We are His, and He can and will use us for whatever He wants, no matter how messy and mundane we think we are.

Nourished
oil on canvas
11x20 inches

The Source
oil on canvas
14x16 inches

All is Calm
oil on canvas
9x12 inches

Let it Melt
oil on canvas
16x11 inches