Colors and Light

When I draw its all about colors and their relationship with (harmony) and to (juxtaposition) each other. When I paint, though, it's all about light and how light reflects, refracts and illuminates. For instance, this piece, "Deep Unto Deep" is one of my favorites. It is currently in our living room and I find myself staring into it regularly. In this photograph much of the color that I used in it can be easily seen. In daylight you can see the variations of black, prussian, violet and burgundy. But in our living room these colors are hidden within the low light. There is also a gold edge around the piece that I am very glad I decided to include. One of the ideas behind this piece is that I wanted to hint towards heat signatures. I wanted to create a piece where you, as the viewer, were not sure if the bright core is concave or convex or simply flat. The pale yellow, almost rectangular stripe over the canary yellow has rough edges to it that cannot be seen in this photo. Initially I didn't like this and felt that I had made a mistake by letting it dry. But the more I look at it the more I love it! It adds to the question as to whether or not the heated center is resting topically on a surface or reaching inward like a cave. Am I looking at a colorful topographical map or the inward parts of someone's heart or mind?

Light has a way of bringing out qualities in a work that were hidden or even invisible before. Light accentuates color. It bounces off of reflective surfaces and refracts changing direction and bringing something unseen to the forefront. When the Light shines in our lives we will find that we are no different. The best in us always becomes more visible because of the Light.

The title of this piece comes from Psalm 42:7 that reads, "Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me." When I am worshiping Jesus through paint I am longing to receive the "blueprint" while I am in a meditative place with Him. Then after I draw it I execute the work using acrylic, gold or silver leaf, alcohol and a variety of other elements. Just the other day I used actual fool's gold crumbled up and mixed in with some gold. It turned out great! Here's to another day of worshiping the Master!