continuation

here are a few more works from the series of concept characters for the story…

              

 

time vs focus

ok…so its been awhile since I`ve last posted anything.

I can`t believe how work has taken such a toll on me lately that I become a zombie by the end of the day and there is no room for much of anything else. I honestly don`t want to use my “day job” as an excuse for not doing what I love to do: ART…but, the more I thought about it the more I realized that it is a large factor. 

For those of you that don`t know…I work for a large corporation doing lost of programming & computer-type stuff for 9 or 10 hours a day.  So I`m pretty much staring at a computer for the most part. During my almost insignificant breaks, I would sketch. It wasn`t of anything in particular, but it was a sketch nonetheless.

At times, when the sketching was over, I would throw the sketch out because I just wasn`t happy with the end result. On the flipside though, there really isn`t much of a resolve when you are sketching, because…you aren`t sketching!  But, it goes deeper than that because I suffer from perfectionism and I`m never happy with anything anyway (I think I had a blog somewhere in here on that subject).

In anycase, it may not have so much to do with time constraints, as it has with FOCUS. Its easy for someone to just say “well MAKE time!”, but then cramming into a window of time would probably take away the focus.  As an artist, focus is an important factor in producing quality works. Not to say, “quality works” that everyone in the world loves…but works that the artist is happy with.

I think that was my rant for awhile.  These are real-life things that, I`m sure, most artists contend with on a daily basis.  I know I do! 

What keeps the focus when there is precious little time?  

finally…

my initial intent for this blog was not only to write about art, faith, life, & blah blah blah…but also to actually SHOW some artwork (or at least the stages of some project). 

It had actually been awhile since I`ve worked on a series of drawings that I even felt comfortable showing to the public eye. But, here are a few character sketches from a story that a good friend of mine has been working on (click on the thumbnails for larger):

                   

Just started working with the Wacom tablet for coloring mostly, but I`m pretty happy with the results so far.  In anycase, let me know what you think…

 

a NEW creation

This past weekend was a time of true reflection for me.  It was a time of fun, fellowship, prayer, and meditation with the Sons of God who had endured the trials and tribulations of life and were determined to rise above through the love & strength of Jesus Christ.

I had experienced my first men`s bible retreat @ Via De Cristo over the past friday, saturday & sunday, and it was an experience that was literally life changing. Not just a  change in lifestyle, but an inward change…a change of heart. The 3-days were filled with laughing, crying, sharing, good food, and abundant blessings.

It was a time to remove ourselves from the influences & distractions of the world, to leave our pride and selfishness at the foot of the cross and have total commitment and focus on our Lord & Savior.  Each of the men that attended had come from various backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, but we all gathered for one reason: to allow our HEART to be opened to God`s Word and allow Him to break us down and build us back up.

i’m here again
a thousand miles away from you
a broken mess, just scattered pieces of who i am
i tried so hard
thought i could do this on my own
i’ve lost so much along the way
then i’ll see your face
i know i’m finally yours
i find everything i thought i lost before
you call my name
i come to you in pieces
so you can make me whole

(lyrics by RED - “Pieces”)

The above lyrics pretty much summed up the experience, because we all arrived on that weekend with worldly “baggage”, but we left there with a Spiritual renewal and a real grasp on the Grace of God.

for those about to rock…

hate it when this happens…

A girl phoned me the other day and said: “come on over, there`s nobody home”. 

 I went over. Nobody was home.

Funny one-liners from Rodney Dangerfield

He Is Risen

God, as usual, came through in a big way this past Easter Sunday.  We were told that it was going to be terrible weather all weekend and most people were apprehensive since two of the four Easter services were going to be held at the local stadium.

It did rain that morning for the first stadium “sunrise” service, but that didn`t stop anyone from enjoying the Glory that God had to offer. As the day went on, the sun came out and each service became filled to the teeth! It was an awesome day to see so many bringing their family and friends to enjoy worship music & a message of salvation from Pastor Bob!

My wife & I volunteered as ushers/greeters at the last service (which was held in the sanctuary), but I would have to say that was probably the MOST crowded out of the four services!

It got a little nuts since several groups of people came early and filled up the sanctuary in about 30 minutes! So then we had to start leading folks to the other venues that are available and those rapidly filled! 

In the end, God came through for His house and we were able to accommodate the endless flow of people coming to hear God`s Word!

As a footnote, however, I had to say that God really knew that if our church continued to pull resources and build more facilities that the masses would come! And this past Easter Sunday was an awesome example of His Promise! 

the two wolves

One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all”

One is Evil: It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, & ego

The other is Good: It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, & faith.

The young grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed!”

to thank He who matters

It would seem sometimes that we just don`t thank God enough for what He has done in our lives, and believe it or not, God intervenes in our lives on a daily basis! 

A God who is omnipresent certainly has no problem being in more than one place and just because there may be turmoil on one part of the world doesn`t mean that he isn`t taking part in the issues that plague us from day to day.

Even as much as I would get caught up in my own artist endeavours, (or caught up in writing blogs for that matter) there always has to be room in my heart to continuously receive the spirit of God because without it I would not be able to stand on my own.

So give thanks to He who matters in your life and receive the love of Jesus in your heart, because as scripture puts it:

We love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)

RED

You ever come across one of those bands that you`ve heard on the radio or over streaming audio on the internet and wasn`t sure who it was and really didn`t pay much attention to that fact?  I suppose in this case (at least for me) it was the Christian rock band RED. After listening to a few of their tracks from their debut album End of Silence, I thought I was going to fall out of my chair.  Not only was the music right up my alley, but the there was some real thought put into the lyrics!

They definitely have an Evanescence/Linkin Park vibe going on but I do enjoy the vocals of lead singer Michael Barnes on such songs as “Already Over” and “Breathe Into Me”, where it seems as though he is speaking directly to God.  The band itself is hoping that their music will have a positive impact on people and their reminder is “no matter where you`ve been, the endgame of salvation is still the same”.