Timothy J. Pruitt's Blog, page 106
May 4, 2022
Eleven Minutes
Isaiah 11:11-12 (KJV)
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, …
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Eleven minutes after David Ben-Gurion declared independence, President Harry Truman recognized the nation of Israel. As a student of history, and a Christian, this was a fascinating moment. The people of Abraham had once again taken root downward in the land Jacob raised Joseph in.
Today they have grown upward and outward. The country is considered the eleventh most powerful in the world. As a follower of technology I can tell you it’s one of the most innovative in the world. The amazing story of Israel is one that touches every aspect of humanity in some form.
Hebrews 11:11-12 (KJV)
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
It reminds us all that God’s promises are not only true, but long lasting. What He spoke to Abraham, He fulfilled in the days of Joshua, Zerubbabel, and Harry Truman. Say what you will, but only God could have placed the same family on the same land three times throughout history.
When someone tried to give Truman credit for what happened, as a student of The Bible he simply said “I am Cyrus”, meaning he was only fulfilling what God had ordained for him to do. This feels me with hope, because His promises are yes and amen. If He said it that settles it. When you hold to the promises of God, you have historical evidence that He keeps them.
If you are going through a time of challenge, I would encourage you to hold onto His Word. From Abraham to Christ, He keeps His promises. It doesn’t matter how long, or even how impossible it may seem. Israel used a perfect reference in their Declaration Of Independence, one that fills every Jew and Christian’s heart with peace, The Rock Of Israel.
It points to where all of our stability comes, to Whom we look in a time of crisis, and The One higher than every problem. He was big enough to deliver Israel from Egypt, cause Cyrus to send them back to Jerusalem, and to use a man who wasn’t even supposed to be President to help His people. God is also big enough to free each of us from whatever we face, for He is The Rock Of Israel. May we all rejoice with Israel on this day, for it is a day of promise!
May 3, 2022
May 2, 2022
May 1, 2022
April 30, 2022
April 29, 2022
Art Unboxed – Going Through Your Sketchbook
In today’s art unboxed, could we talk about going through your sketchbook?
It incorporates two skills that are very important to an artist. Ask a hundred artists, and these two things will keep coming up.
One isn’t surprising, that is to practice your drawing. Even if not a great draftsman, any improvement in drawing will help your painting. This is true from tracing onto your canvas using a projector, to sketching a portrait in pencil.
The other thing artists will tell you, and there’s an argument as to which is more important, is to learn to see. If you’re an artist you understand this immediately, if you’re just starting out it sounds odd. If you’re not an artist it might sound just plain weird, until you realize what they mean.
One point is to find something interesting where ever you look. A trash can is just a trash can, unless you try to paint it. An artist will highlight the light on the metal, or the shine of the plastic etc.
Another point is seeing with composition in mind. The two are slightly different. One is about finding something interesting to look at, the other is about finding interest in whatever you are looking at. If all that’s in front of you is a barn don’t just draw a barn, make it a unique sketch or painting of a barn.
Both skills benefit from something you do after you begin drawing or painting, and that’s going through your own sketchbook. Reviewing what you’ve drawn, painted, etc in the past can provide mass quantities of information. It will give you an idea, not only of where you’ve been, and how far you’ve come, but new ideas as well.
You aren’t just looking at what you’ve done already. In one sense you are looking at what you have not done. If you’ve never painted a sunrise, or if you’ve only painted snow as it’s falling, and not as it’s melting, you suddenly have two new ideas.
It can also remind you, not of a picture you’ve done, but of a technique that worked. That’s part of what inspired this article. I saw a painting I had painted that was on a black canvas. It was the only landscape like this I had ever tried. Now I’m working on a portrait on a black canvas to experiment with lighting.
I would not have tried if I hadn’t went through my old sketchbook. Eric Rhoads, an artist I follow and have great respect for, said he goes through his old paintings every year, and it’s a good practice. I’ve also found that digitizing my old paintings and drawings is a good way of archiving, organizing, and searching for an image.
It’s quicker to use the search function to find a barn painting for example, than to physically go through the old sketchbooks. This is also great from a marketing perspective. If I suddenly realize it’s national coffee day, and I want to post something related to coffee, I find it much sooner. It’s also faster than I could paint a new image.
I understand more now than ever the truth behind the saying he who doesn’t know his history is doomed to repeat it. Whether good or bad, if they make you smile or cringe, I would encourage you to go through your old sketchbook. You can draw so much from old drawings, and see something you haven’t seen before.
iPainting Old Glory And The Wind
I saw this on a the way to Mt Juliet Tn and I thought it would make a good painting, Old Glory And The Wind, available through our online store.
April 28, 2022
iPainting Purple Jungle
This iPainting of The Purple Jungle illustrates how light and shadow affect on the way we see color and hue. This image is available in our online store.
