Here’s the short (2 minute time lapse) version of my latest oil painting of Jesus called “Jesus in the Garden”. If you missed the full length video, or want to see it again, the Easter show is posted here.
The lighting effects you see- where it looks like cross shapes of light or other washes of light- were not put in there by me. They aren’t added special effects, but real light passing over the canvas while I was painting. It was slow and not noticeable while I was working (except for having to squint at the canvas from time to time if the sun hit the oil paint, or having to squint because the room was getting darker when natural light was either behind a cloud or because the sun was setting soon). But, when the video is sped up, the light seems to pass quickly over the painting and sometimes makes shapes. I hope the light was meaningful to you while watching it. When unexpected acts of nature insert themselves into my painting videos, I consider it God’s contribution to the art.
May God’s face shine upon you this day and always. Blessings to you and to all you hold dear.
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Blessings to you on this day! Today I’m sharing things that are stripped bare and honest. No formal gowns. Nothing fancy. Just authentic sharing from the heart. First, a clip (in the video below) that I’ve shared here before of a regular day at home when my daughter agreed to sing the hymn “In Christ Alone” with me spontaneously, no music, reading the lyrics I pulled up on the screen in case we’d forget the words. I can’t remember why I wanted to film this song for my blog that day, but sometimes it’s nice when all the music is stripped away. There’s no stage, there’s no audience. It’s just the words and human voices. Lyrics at top of the screen so you can sing along.
Next, one of my early paintings. There is no video for this one, and it’s a bit strange, so I have seldom shared it. But, since I’m sharing raw and authentic things, honest things, I’ll share this one today and talk to you about what it means. Here is the version I added text to, to help explain it.
This is how it felt when I was Mom’s caregiver and she asked me to scrub her feet for her. I thought I would talk about this at length but I realize I’d rather not put too many private details about the family on this public space, so I’ll have to try to communicate without the full story. Imagine if pushed to your limits on what you think you can do, feeling humbled to a breaking point, feeling alone in that point of despair. Does anyone see you? Does anyone know what you do for others, when you feel you can’t go on another minute? I felt in that second (washing her feet) that Jesus was there. No, I didn’t see Him, but it was a certain and strong impression, as if I’d see Him if I turned around (and it felt like I was not allowed to do so). I tried to paint what I saw in my mind, what I felt I’d see if I turned around. Sad eyes, full of empathy, and it felt like a message “For the least of these you do for Me”. It wasn’t a voice, it wasn’t an image, but the message and face was kind of like when we see and hear things in a dream as we’re about to wake up- when we know we are dreaming but the dream is finishing as we’re coming into a wakened state, so the conscious/unconscious merge. As if we can see things that are behind us, even though our dream self is not looking behind, we just know what is there. That’s the best way I can think of to explain it. Of course, one could argue that I was so emotionally stressed that I imagined this, or that I induced a dream-like state. That’s certainly one way to look at it. But in my heart, I know what I experienced, and I believe that I was given encouragement that we are never alone, and He sees what we do for others when we feel broken and weary. We matter, and we are loved. Just after I felt that impression, Mom looked at me in a very unusual way, as if she’d just seen Jesus too- but a stern scolding Jesus, not the empathetic one I saw. She immediately said, “You don’t have to do that, Natalie” and she never asked me to scrub her feet again.
Last, I’d like to share one of the first paintings I have video of. It’s called “Dove in a Forest”. The dove is an important symbol of Christianity and Easter, and it brings peace to us in ways that are personal to each of us. I selected this one because I painted it from imagination. I didn’t have a big website presence then, or thousands of social media followers. It was before I was targeted by hate groups, before anyone knew who I was. It was when I simply painted what I felt in my heart to share. Sometimes what we share when we are being most ourselves, alone, and trying to connect our solitary thoughts with the greater family of humans is our best work. Is it my most detailed, experienced and artistically best work? No. But I believe that that’s not what God asks of us.
Redemption isn’t about perfection or pleasing mankind. The beauty of Easter is freedom through mercy and grace. We cannot earn that kind of supernatural love. It is a gift. And that gift brings us peace.
God bless you and your family on this Easter Sunday and always.
Note: I will be starting the next round of projects for the 2023 collection called “Joyful Living”. Some of those will be short and light, others will be detailed and will take longer to complete. I hope you will enjoy this year’s series. Please subscribe if you want to be notified when there’s something new here (if you haven’t already).
Sharing a few clips of favorite Easter shows and events from the past few years – the above was from Easter show 2021, singing beloved hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” with my two daughters. Scroll down for highlights and short clips of previous painting and singing specials.
2 minute time-lapse in the above video (moves very fast, then slows down at the end so you can see the painting) of “Easter Sunday with Grandma”, a special memory of attending church with my Irish grandma. It was important for me to dress up fancy, like Grandma. This painting was photographed and then separated into two different paintings, one of them focused solely on the robin and the nest.
The next videos are from Easter church choir in 2019. The first song (above) is “Messiah Comes” and the one below is “Precious Lamb”. You can see that my daughters and I are the entire soprano section in that little choir. The woman on the end is the pastor’s wife, she’d sing soprano with us sometimes (like in the above video) or help out the others (like in the bottom video). The big man on the end is the pastor, who retired shortly before our move. He worked in disaster relief and at the local hospital, very good man, and his wife as well. I’m better for having known such kind and loving people.
These are special memories of singing with all of my children before we moved from our temporary commuting area last May to our house in Savannah, where we plan to make our “forever” home. My oldest daughter still sings with me, but my son and youngest daughter are both knee-deep in school now and working toward their degrees, so neither of them joined choir in our new church. They do still perform with me in some of my painting shows. I appreciate and enjoy that very much.
I’ll share more memories with you tomorrow, but last for today is from the first Easter painting show I did for you here on this site. It is a panoramic, 3-panel oil painting representing Easter and the trinity. It was my first taped show and the start of what I expect will continue for many more years to come. You might notice that I used “The Old Rugged” cross instrumental track that the girls and I later used to sing to (in the video at the top of this blog). So we’ll end today’s blog post the same way we began. May you feel the power of Easter, redemption, forgiveness, mercy, grace, love and everything that it means to you personally. God bless you and your family.
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My Easter show is done early this year (the video above), plenty of time for you to please share it with your family and friends. The new oil painting is called “Jesus in the Garden”. The hymns my daughter and I are singing have the lyrics on the screen and you’re invited to sing with us. God bless you and yours as we approach the joyous Easter season ahead.
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This is the third oil painting in my new series for 2023 “50 Oil Paintings Inspired by Joyful Living”, for the section called MUSIC. The first painting was “Mountain Dulcimer“, the second was “Tap Shoes” and now this third one is “Ballet Shoes”. I’ll share videos of me playing the dulcimer, tap dancing, and teaching ballet in the near future on this blog.
The journey through joyful living will bring stories about life events, hobbies, and beliefs that make me happy, but are also universally joyful for humanity in general (such as music, even if you don’t share my specific areas of interest). Some chapters are light and basic, others heavy and spiritual. Some projects are fast/short, others are longer and more intense. There will be a mix of highly detailed, realistic and powerful art, as well as loose, easy, watercolor-like pieces (like these first three in the MUSIC section).
Most will be painted at home with only the camera as my audience, others will be for live shows. As in the past, the plans for this collection will change when inspired by something unexpected. A joyful life is flexible and open to new directions.
I hope you are enjoying the approach of spring. I’ve been busy landscaping and gardening, but still fitting painting in. I plan to pick up the pace and make faster progress on this year’s collection. I have to work fast if I want to make my lifetime goal of 1k finished oil paintings!
Here’s the second oil painting in my new 2023 collection “Inspired by Joyful Living”. For most of my life I’ve been a dancer (student, teacher, choreographer, and in recent years online classes/shows- although not very often as painting takes much of my time). My main genre is tap dancing. Those tap sounds you hear in the music are mine – I’ll share the video part of the clip in a future blog post.
Some people fear that dancing leads to socially dysfunctional behaviors, but in every culture, dance is an expression of pure joy that is often completely innocent of any wrongdoing, as you can easily see when watching how a baby responds to music. Even plants and animals respond positively to music. So, while we may agree or disagree about whether dance is appropriate or “which” types are appropriate, I hope that no one takes offense at the concept that physical energy in response to music may express joy.
Latest oil painting (birds in our holly tree), from the 2022 Christmas painting and variety show. If you missed it: Watch free now. Here we are, another year gone. Wishing you a joyful 2023, with hope and faith that blessings will come to you and your family. Happy New Year!
Here’s to another year of painting toward my 1k finished paintings lifetime goal. Are you with me?
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MERRY CHRISTMAS from our house to yours! This year’s painting and variety show was filmed in our new (to us) home instead of in a fake set. I hope you enjoy your time with us, and you are invited to sing along to favorite Christmas carols and beloved hymns. Please share with your family, friends, and social connections. God bless you, one and all!
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Last year’s Christmas show feels long ago and far away, at least for me it does. So much has changed, so much has happened, and I can barely keep up with who I am in this new life. I wondered how I will even do my shows in this new place- will I do them at all? YES, I will. And what if no one even cares about my shows? Should I even bother? YES. I won’t give up something special I’ve created from the heart for three Easters, one each 4th of July and St. Patrick’s Day, and two Christmases. That’s seven painting and variety shows, a pretty good run. But it was the beginning, not the end. I’m gaining more experience and becoming better at what I do, and as before, my family makes guest appearances. I hope you’ll tune in to Christmas Show 2022. Until then, here are my past shows if you’d like to see them again, or if you’ve never seen them before:
As we head into the last month of autumn, may you give yourself a few moments of peace to watch me paint these 10 fall scenes. Each video is about 2 minutes long (time lapse) to see each painting go from blank canvas to finished art. This first video (above) is called “Autumn Forest”. Scroll down to see the photo of this painting and more happy fall scene videos.
Oil painting “Pumpkin Carving” : my husband and son, when he was little
“Autumn Leaves” oil painting
“Autumn Angel” oil painting
Oil painting of my son jumping in leaves for “Grandpa Smiles” book
Oil painting “Pumpkins and Mums”
“Little Girl in Tree” oil painting for children’s book “Fred“
“Autumn Tree”, a short relaxing project
“Autumn Cabin” an imaginary scene in an illustrative style
And, finally, here’s my latest autumn oil painting “Thanksgiving Turkey and Pumpkins”. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday weekend ahead, even if your country doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Wherever you are, and even if the change of seasons doesn’t fall upon you the same as it does for me here in America, this is a good time of year to reflect on our lives, find gratitude for our family and friends, and seek the joy of thankfulness for all that we are blessed with- no matter how humble our circumstances may seem upon first glance. For, if we are alive today, we are blessed. Time is precious. May God bless you and keep you, this day and always.
