"Jesus, The Woman Bent Over, and the Leader of the Synagogue as Munch's 'The Screamer'"

Finished just this afternoon, "Jesus, The Woman Bent Over, and the Leader of the Synagogue as Munch's 'The Screamer'" is number 11 of "The Woman with Jesus" series.  It comes from Luke 13:10-17, with its style taken from Edward Munch's "The Screamer."  It was great fun recreating the screaming figure's pose and expression.  The woman's figure works to imply someone battling the crippling battle of arthritis and osteoporosis.  It was also great fun creating the realistic effects that we all face as we age.  I bet she wished she could have taken one-a-day Boniva!

Done Diptych!

I have completed my first diptych and gained back half of our living room and two card tables for Christmas Eve!  It is a pointalism of the Widow's Mite, measuring 20"x 60," numbers 9 and 10 of "The Women with Jesus" series.  And yes, Lisa Wolfe, I WILL one day move to women of the Hebrew bible! 

Women with Jesus Prints For Sale

14" matted prints and 10" nonmatted prints of the Women with Jesus are currently for sale.  The 14" (19" after matting) are $75 and the 10" are $20, plus S&H.  Contact me if interested!  The Christmas cards continue to be on sale, as well, and have been selling fast!

Women with Jesus Goes 3-D

The "Women with Jesus" series of oil pastels on black matte board has gone 3-D this fall.  In September, I translated the drawing "The Woman that Touched Jesus' Cloak" into a 17" wide geometric sculpture made of 4 different types of exotic woods.  Just this week I translated my newest drawing, "Warhol Madonna and nChild," seen on the Christmas cards currently ready for purchase, into another geometric sculpture made of the same exotic wood.  This fall, "Warhol Madonna and Child" and "Elizabeth's Praise" made their way into the original series of oil pastels.  In addition, I am currently completing "The Widow's Mite," the ninth and tenth pieces in the "Women with Jesus."    

What if Jesus was actually Drawing in the Sand?

What if Jesus was actually drawing in the sand, not writing, when the woman was accused of adultery?  What if Jesus was expressing his compassion on the woman through artistic expression?  What if he was preparing his teaching for the men who brought her with a quick drawing?  What if he were delivering the Word through artistic expression?  Through his parables, he drew for the people visual images of God's realm.  What if those visual images weren't solely metaphorical?  Wouldn't we be amazed if archeologists would one day unsurface a papyrus or sheepskin sketch journal that Jesus may have kept?   

And the Race is On! (Memorial Day)

Please be lifting up those prayers (I will also take good kharma and happy thoughts.) for me tomorrow, Memorial Day, at 10:30am.  At our Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church held at St. Luke's UMC, OKC, I have been commissioned to paint a 4' x 6" of my interpretation of our theme, "A Bridge to the Future."  I have just the time in worship to begin and complete it!  I have spent weeks working on the conception by sketching out the composition and looking at other art for ideas.  And I have spent all weekend buying BIG supplies for this large and speedy project and painting three 16"x 20" "proofs," yet I still feel unprepared.  Time to put it to bed and forget about it for the night so I can look at it with fresh and spontaneous eyes!  As I have discovered this year, my art is my sermon.  So, "May the words of my HANDS (and paintbrushes) and the meditation of all of our hearts be yours, O God, for you are our rock, our strength, and our redeemer!"

Congrats to Matt Josef

Congrats to Matt Josef who just hosted an open house at his new studio apartment in the Plaza District this last Friday.  Good luck in your new digs!

Photo Realism Independent Study

My drawing professor at OCU says he normally doesn't recommend Photo Realism, but he has suggested that for my Independent Study with him this summer that I concentrate on the experiements I began with photo realism last summer.  Lots of graphing in my future for this summer!  I began class this week and I have graphed a shot of Lydia I took this last winter and a photo of a lionfish to complete my "Out of the waters I will bring forth swarms of living creatures" Gen. 1 series.

The Women With Jesus Opens at the St. Luke's McPhail Gallery this Sunday, May 1

Is your favorite the scandalous Woman at the Well who was so ridiculed that she had to walk for water in the middle of the day, or the woman who believed so deeply in Jesus' touch that after 12 years of hemorraging she did everything she had to do to just touch Jesus' cloak? 

My first series, "The Women with Jesus," along with several other pieces will be on exhibition at the McPhail Gallery inside St. Luke's UMC, OKC, beginning this Sunday, May 1.  The exhibition runs through June 2.  I am thrilled for this opportunity as it is my first running solo exhibition.  I hope that this exhibition is fun and inspiring for its viewers.

The Bridge on Which We Run

The theme for this year's Annual Conference of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church is "A Bridge to the Future."  It's symbol is, of course, a bridge that we are to build to connect where we have been to where we are called to go as God's people.  Each year at conference, we open with a Memorial Service in which we give thanks for the pastors and pastors' spouses of our conference who have died this last year.  This year, the worship planning committee has asked me to paint during the service a composition that reflects our theme.  The goal- I am to complete is before the closing benediction!  The text for remembering the departs saints comes from Hebrews 11, "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us."  So, can I do it?  Can I make this race in an hour?  The answer, "Yes, I can!  I will be surrounded by all those who have who have gone before me and set such faithful examples.  I will be surrounded by all those who support my path of ministry and this new road on which God is taking me.  How can I stumble?"  The service will be Memorial Day, 10:30am, St Luke's UMC, OKC.  I invite each of my two blogspot followers (Ha!), and anyone else who is interested, to come and celebrate the lives of the faithful and the bridge they have built on which we are given to run the race we have been given. 

Pointalism, Crumblism, or Barkalism?

I am working on the 5th drawing within my "The Women With Jesus" series.  In each work I am trying a new technique.  During this most recent work, "The Woman who Touched Jesus' Cloak," I have been inspired to try pointalism.  However, with a medium as firm as oil pastels, I have discovered it to be more like "crumblism," as the pastels seem to crumble all over the illustration board.  However, our sweet Chihuahua, Pepi, has renamed the technique once again.  She doesn't appreciate all the taps that this process makes on the board.   Her response to all this tapping has caused me to think this piece has been more "barkalism" than anything else.  Yet despite the crumbs and the barking, the process is creating an effect that I believe is worth all the chaos.  I'll post an image of "The Woman" soon.

God's Color Palette

As Lydia and I were driving west from church tonight, I felt so at peace and calmed by the BEAUTIFUL sunset over the revitalizing Oklahoma City midtown skyline.  I am in awe when I consider everything that God has sculpted with just a breath and a Word.  Just think that everything we create comes from the materials and colors that God first made for us to use.  Who of us could have ever imagined the color palette that is already in creation?  Ever thankful for the opportunity to use what has been given to us to make something new! 

Trying A Different Audience

I am targeting a different audience for my next piece of artwork.  I am drawing a cartoon scene to invite 4 and 7 year olds to our kids' combined birthday parties.  Since the party is soon, I better get started!

Conte Crayons

I am working on my first portrait, a drawing of my soon to be 7 year old, Samuel Z.  I had initially planned for this portrait to be a black and white and wanted to use graphite since I hate the dryness that charcoal brings to the hands.  Yet my drawing professor had already said in an earlier critique that graphite is very predictable.  So wanting use this intermediate drawing class to try a number of mediums and techniques, I decided I would try the unopened, undiscovered box of Conte crayons, to Prof. Burt Harbison's suggestion.  Great effect.  Moves fast on the paper.  But if I don't like the dryness of charcoal on my hands and up my nose, why did I ever hope Conte crayon would be better???  Here's to a hopefully great portrait of Sam, dry hands, and lots of sneezes!

My Artwork is my Sermon

Last Tuesday, local artist Romy Owens was a guest speaker in our Business of Art class.  She stated that artists share who they are, where they are, and what they are thinking and feeling in their artwork.  As she said this, I realized that my artwork is my sermon.  My artwork is a visual of what is God is speaking to me through the Biblical narrative.  It is what has been brought to me and what I have come to understand about who God is and how Christ loves us and works to liberate us.  In what ways do you express your sermon?

Elephant Abstracts

While visiting the zoo today to see the elephants' new demonstration, we saw Chandra paint with acrylic on canvas.  Spraying and broad strokes were her techniques.  I began to wonder what Jackson Pollock, the drip painter, would have created if he would've had a trunk...

A variety of the zoo animals paint and their work is on exhibition every year at Paseo with sales benefiting the zoo.  What a great fundraiser! 

Great work to see at the April 2nd Friday Art Walk in Norman

I spent the evening with my family walking the circuit in Norman.  I recommend checking out the OU MFA Candidate Exhibitions at MAINSITE Contemporary Art.  All three were such powerful introspections in a variety of mediums.  Gallery123 is celebrating its first birthday.  There I generated a lot of ideas for the commission I am painting during the Remembrance of the Saints at the Memorial Worship Service at the OK United Methodist Annual Conference.  I'm closing up shop now to draw out some plans while they are fresh on my mind!

Skinner-Noble, "The Women with Jesus: Mary Magdalene"

20"x30", oil pastel on illustration board

2011

Skinner-Noble, "The Women with Jesus: The Weeping Five"

20"x30", oil pastel on illustration board

2011