THE BLOG
Artist on a Mission – Anticipation
So here is the pencil sketch sitting on the watercolor paper. It’s waiting for the first splash of color. It’s just sitting there waiting for what is to come next. What will the end product be? It takes some courage to put that first bit of paint on the paper. It takes some courage to dive into a new year of school, start a new job, try to change an old habit.
There is anticipation in the air here on campus. People are gearing up in their heads for new adventures, new classes, new homework. It takes courage and hard work but that’s where the growth comes from. You have to go ahead and put the paint on the paper or it will never be a painting.
“Fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”
Thomas S. Monson Ensign May 2009
Artist on a Mission – Gratitude
Thank thee for the lady I met this morning who was running in place very very fast but paused to share the sunrise over the ocean with me. Thank thee for the way the morning sun illuminates the high ocean clouds and the light won’t be hid from peaking, streaming, bursting from behind the cover.
Thank thee for a back pack to carry my books and sketchbook and that tiny pill box full of paints that I can pull out in a pinch and paint any where.
Thank thee for the students who stop by to chat and tell me stories of coming back to their Hale and having their roommate offer to share their chicken soup with them.
The soup sharer asks them, “Is it is good soup?”
‘Yes it is good soup.”
The soup sharer says, “Do you like it?”
”Yes I like it.”
They eat the soup. Then the soup eater gets up and looks in the fridge and their chicken that has been stored in the fridge is gone, gone to make chicken soup.
Thank thee for the 82-year-old single sister missionary who tells me about someone who is just a young man that has just passed away in her home ward. I ask her how old was he? She tells me he was 65. Then she tells me she hiked half way up Chinaman’s Hat. Thank thee that she made it back down safely.
Thank thee for the custodians that pass by the table every day and say, “Good afternoon, Sister. How are you today?” Thank thee Lord for all these blessings.
Oh, and thank thee Lord for the amazing dancing over here.
“…..take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.”
-Alma 34:38
Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
Artist on a Mission – Capturing the Moment
Its easy to find things to paint, they are all around us. Most of the time I have many more ideas than time. Sometimes a painting will appear right before you. You raise the camera and-click-you’ve captured the moment. But a painting can capture more than a photo can.
I saw this senior missionary ready for a hike with the light hitting just right on his lifeguard hat. I took the picture. The beauty of shadows can get lost in photographs and rediscovered in watercolor. There was a nice glow on the face caused by the reflected light from the pavement. The painting isn’t a copy of the photograph but a new creation.
Sometimes a sketch will capture more than the camera can. But you have to be quick with your pen. There can be no hesitation. This lady was captured in a waiting room. You can capture a fine sketch with just a few lines. Sometimes it’s like magic coming from the end of the pen.
Ecclesiates 3:11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time.
Artist on a Mission – Anchor to My Soul
At home I have one person who cuts my hair. She knows how to cut my hair without me saying anything. “You just need it cleaned up a bit?”
“Yes.” I say.
I come out of her shop and my hair is the same every time.
When I stepped off the plane here, my straight thin desert hair met the humidity of Hawaii and curled like the end of the ocean waves. When I wash my hair, I blow it dry and it is desert straight. Then I walk out the door. POOOF! Hair hits muggy and I get instant curl. It was time to get a haircut. I walked into a random shop and said, “Take off about one inch, please. I don’t want it too short.” A short, dark haired kapuna pulled out her scissors. It was a great haircut but much shorter than when I went in. She said, “Look. You can fluff it with your fingers.” I’ve lost myself in the work and my hair may never be the same.
The above watercolor of Joseph F. Smith is portraying him as a young 15-year-old missionary standing on the Honolulu dock. He left the dry desert air of Utah for the humid air of Hawaii. This watercolor was painted after a visit to Hanauma Bay and was influenced greatly by the color of the ocean there. There is a benefit to visiting a place when you want to do a painting. Although I can’t visit the Honolulu port in 1852, I can see the amazing color of the ocean today and include it in my painting.
So we have many opportunities here on this mission and they are not all involved in education at the college. Ezra Taft Benson was the 13th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a beloved prophet. He loved the Book of Mormon. His emphasis was on the blessings that reading the Book Of Mormon brings into our lives. It testifies of hope, and faith in Jesus Christ and how that hope becomes an anchor to our soul. We were able to hold President Benson’s Book of Mormon that he studied and read from and that anchored his soul. The sailing ship in the top picture had an anchor that kept it safely secured. Faith in our life keeps us securely attached to the goodness and example of Christ.
Ether 12:4
Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
Artist on a Mission – Hawaiian Treasures
So we are a collector family which makes it quite nice if you want to paint a still life. Oooooooooh look, a round rock. Ooooooh look a little metal cream and sugar set. Oooooh look an old photograph. Oooooooh look a dead crab. If you are picking up a dead crab from off the beach, then you have a deadline. You have to paint quickly so as to not stink up your whole apartment. But it is great fun to try and capture the beauty in simple objects.
But here on Hawaii there is a beauty that can’t be picked up, put in your pocket and brought home. At the great suggestion of my brother-in-law, we went out one morning to capture the sunrise coming out of the ocean and the sunset going into the ocean on the same day.
Sometimes the view was not in front of you but behind you where the effects of the sun were being seen long before it peeked out of the ocean.
Sometimes the view was in front of you.
So like bookends we ended the day sitting at Sunset Beach. James Gurney had a great blog post on July 30th, 2019 about whether there was a difference in colors when looking at sunrise and sunset. Visually it was the same beautiful colors. Emotionally there was a difference. One, you had the whole day in front of you with the adventure and promise it would bring. At sunset it was a quiet feeling, a feeling of ending, the close of day, a contemplation on what the day had brought.
So if you zoom in on the painting above you can see a treasure I found on the crab. A natural God-made smiley face that I might never have seen if I hadn’t picked it up gingerly by one claw and carried it all the way back home. Does anyone know the name of this crab?
Genesis 3: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
If you want to check out James Gurney’s blog post on sunset and sunrise, the link is below. If I were more tech savvy it would have linked to the exact post but scroll down and you’ll find it.
James Gurney’s Blog Gurney Journey on Sunrise and Sunset
Artist on a Mission – Captivated
Years ago the Temple was being built up on the hill on Bountiful Boulevard. I was training for a marathon and doing long runs with my friend. One evening we ran along Bountiful boulevard. The sun set and the evening turned dark. Suddenly off in the distance the lights came on at the Bountiful Temple for the very first time. There up ahead of us getting closer and closer was the light. We could hear the beat of our feet on the road but couldn’t see much in the dim light around us but up ahead of us we could see the temple.
As we ran up to the temple, people had come from all over to be there. They were driving by in cars and milling around the sidewalk. People had been drawn to the light and had come to see and be near it.
As an artist I’m drawn to paint certain things. I’m captivated by the pattern of shadows or colors or just a feeling of a place. Ideas pop into my head and I have to get them down on paper. The other night at the Temple grounds in Laie was such a night. There was a concert at the visitor center and after, people went outside on the grounds and just hung around. The sun was setting and shining on clouds that could have been painted by N. C. Wyeth. It was a night to just be still and look at the beauty around us. So I had to try and capture the feeling of that evening.
It is also freeing to start a sketch right on the watercolor painting. There is a freshness that comes from seeing the idea in your mind and then just going for it on the paper. You do have to have some good experience in sketching. You don’t want to erase too much on your watercolor paper because you will lose your surface. I took a workshop from Charles Reid. He said you don’t want to paint until you know what your next paint strokes will be. So before I ever put paint on the above painting, I’ll figure out what I need to do and in what order.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.