The Artist's Assistant

Here's the faithful, furry friend who sits nearby as I paint, happy that I've sat down long enough that he doesn't have to continue following me all over the house to see what I'm up to (and follow me he does). His main job is to get me to move away from my typical close viewing of the paintings by wanting to go outside, wanting a pat or wanting something to eat. If you're an artist, you know how important stepping away can be. Even if you're not an artist, you may have other areas of your life or work that need "stepping back" reminders. I have a good friend in my art class that will walk by my easel and remove my current painting to take it across the room. I love it that she does that.

Of course, he's not the only assistant. It seems that anyone who walks through the room (I paint right in the middle of it all) has an opinion to offer and I welcome them because after a day of painting, I sometimes lose the ability to look at a painting with "fresh eyes."

Psalm 139

Note: If you are receiving updates on my blog via email, you can either read the email verson (not as pretty) or you can click on "Fine Art By MJ" in the actual email and it will link you to the PRETTY version online. You can also then click on the picture and see a much larger version (which you will probably need to do to see this entry clearly since it is so detailed).


It has been awhile since my last entry, mainly because I haven't had any new paintings to add (big project still in the works). I have had "artistic-related" things going on in my life that I've wanted to share, but for some reason got it stuck in my mind that my blog should be for new paintings. It dawned on me that my blog can be anything I want it to be! Duh! It may diverge from standard art blogs, but I figure most of you out there who are subscribing to my blog won't mind. My hope is to add a little art to your busy day every now and then in whatever form or inspiration it is delivered.


Now....Psalm 139. I do a daily Bible study with family members. Yesterday's reading inspired me to do a little sketching. We read ONE chapter a day and send a little comment via e-mail to each other. Sometimes we just send out the verse that inspires us the most, other times we add personal feelings or research we've done. We will be a hundred years old by the time we finish (!) but let me tell you what a wonderful thing this has been for all of us involved. We decided on one chapter a day because we figured it was more manageable and we couldn't make excuses about it being too much. It's actually quite beneficial because I read it slower and can spend more time researching the historical aspects and commentaries related to the scripture.


I was really looking forward to Psalm 139 coming up in our readings because it has always been a personal favorite. I can still remember so clearly reading it for the FIRST time as a 7th grader and being totally enthralled with it. In fact, I pulled down that very same Bible yesterday off the shelf, opened it to Psalm 139 and I had underlined EVERY SINGLE line! At the end I wrote, "This makes me so happy." It is most definitely a love letter. At that moment, reading it as a 13yr old, I knew it had SEALED MY FAITH.