Mustard Seed (Matthew 13: 31-32)
Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32), Acrylic on Canvas
The day after we completed the stop motion mustard seed video I was contacted again by the guys at the Trash Mountain Project and asked if I'd like to participate personally in their benefit at Fellowship Bible Church. They wanted to add a "live art" element to the evening and were interested in having me complete a painting during the course of the evening. I loved the idea and was thrilled to be able to contribute again to such a fantastic organization. I decided a tree would be an ideal image to paint as it represents the culminating point of the Mustard Seed Parable, which was also the theme of the benefit. The tree I painted is loosely based on a human figure in a praise posture with arms raised towards the sky. The big chunky roots symbolic of a strong faith, being well rooted in the word and promises of Yeshua. There is also a three-in-one element to the tree, three roots lead into the trunk which in turn, leads into three main branches. This suggests the same three-in-one nature of our triune God: Father, Son, Spirit. In many of my paintings the luminous moon is always an allusion to the presence of God, and here the tree is bathed in His light as it stands steadfast in praise.
This was another new experience for me, painting a canvas in a public venue with a time challenge added in for good measure. I continue to be amazed that I actually got as far as I did in the two and a half hours that I was there painting. The Holy Spirit was undoubtedly guiding my hand that night as this is perhaps the first painting I've done where there were no real problems along the way. I believe any artist can attest to the fact that struggles and mistakes are very much a part of the artistic process, but on this particular night it was smooth sailing through the entire canvas which made it a real delight to create. I did take the canvas home to "tinker" on it some more and get it in a frame. It will be donated to the Trash Mountain Project where they have plans to use it as an incentive to help get a generator for a school they are building in Honduras.
My favorite story of the evening, however, was when I was nearly done and an elderly gentleman approached me and said, "Hey artist, your tree is too perfect, it needs a knot or something. It's too smooth." I laughed and thanked him for his idea, and as I continued to work his suggestion bounced around in my head, particularly the word "perfect". If my tree is essentially a person, the word perfect simply didn't resonate with that analogy. We are anything but perfect, and that's why we so desperately need Yeshua. It was then that I added the knot, a single prominent hole right about where the heart would be if this tree were, in fact, a person. That seemed to resolve the tree-person analogy and elaborate even more on the nature of how we are to present ourselves before God: praising Him for what He's done in spite of our own imperfections. I didn't catch his name, but I did get to go back and thank the man for his suggestion. It made my night!
Some friends of mine saw this painting and commented that it reminded them of a poem by Joyce Kilmer. You can read his poem here.
Visit the Special Projects page to see other projects I've done for not only Trash Mountain Project, but other local churches and organizations.
This was another new experience for me, painting a canvas in a public venue with a time challenge added in for good measure. I continue to be amazed that I actually got as far as I did in the two and a half hours that I was there painting. The Holy Spirit was undoubtedly guiding my hand that night as this is perhaps the first painting I've done where there were no real problems along the way. I believe any artist can attest to the fact that struggles and mistakes are very much a part of the artistic process, but on this particular night it was smooth sailing through the entire canvas which made it a real delight to create. I did take the canvas home to "tinker" on it some more and get it in a frame. It will be donated to the Trash Mountain Project where they have plans to use it as an incentive to help get a generator for a school they are building in Honduras.
My favorite story of the evening, however, was when I was nearly done and an elderly gentleman approached me and said, "Hey artist, your tree is too perfect, it needs a knot or something. It's too smooth." I laughed and thanked him for his idea, and as I continued to work his suggestion bounced around in my head, particularly the word "perfect". If my tree is essentially a person, the word perfect simply didn't resonate with that analogy. We are anything but perfect, and that's why we so desperately need Yeshua. It was then that I added the knot, a single prominent hole right about where the heart would be if this tree were, in fact, a person. That seemed to resolve the tree-person analogy and elaborate even more on the nature of how we are to present ourselves before God: praising Him for what He's done in spite of our own imperfections. I didn't catch his name, but I did get to go back and thank the man for his suggestion. It made my night!
Some friends of mine saw this painting and commented that it reminded them of a poem by Joyce Kilmer. You can read his poem here.
Visit the Special Projects page to see other projects I've done for not only Trash Mountain Project, but other local churches and organizations.
