Though I Sleep My Heart is Awake

     I started this painting live while participationg at the FUSE event in Fremont.  I could not get past the blackness I started.  All I had to show for the time was just the moon and stars - the rest just black.  I attempted several ideas and ended up painting black over the top of them...then I let the canvas sit, in the dark, for 3 weeks.  I finally had an idea and vision for the finish and added the tree and heart.  A beautiful pinky/bluish hue glowing in the moonlight.  The Biblical verse and song chorus was in my head:" though I sleep, my heart is awake".  Even though the trees are bare, they bend and curl to protect the heart.  Even in  a barren season of my life, my heart is  ALIVE, AWAKE and ever listening to the Father.  It may be a dark time, but there is a small light of hope - always darkest just before the dawn.  Dreams may lie dormant, but the season will change... light will shine forth.

Drawn to Intimacy

This image popped into my mind so quickly and intensely that I had to drop what I was doing and paint immediately (It helps that I have been home for the last few days). I wasn't even listening to my favorite soaking, or worship music...as a matter of fact I think I was bent over the washing machine pulling out the clothes to put in the dryer - an endless task. I was what you would call "task-driven" at that particular moment, and God captivated my mind and heart with His call to immediate intimacy. He reminded me that I was made for intimacy...that we all are made for intimacy. The deep dark forest calls the viewer deeper into it and if we take the time to really look, He will show us His sign of Love in the very trees and flowers. I am drawn in...deeper. When I come, will you recognize me God? I hope I haven't been away too long.