Paintings by my father that inspire thoughts to ponder.
Recently at the Our Daily Bread writers’ and editors’ conference, I got to lead the prayer sessions. For one of them, while praying we asked God for our words to be “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, ESV). My dad kindly painted these golden apples for us to ponder. What does this image speak to you?
More broadly, what does it mean for your words to be like apples of gold in settings of silver?
So much of life comes through imitation. A child learns to speak over many months of listening and eventually responding. Those of us who are writers learn to write by copying our favorite authors at first. Eventually, through enough words on the page, we find our own voice.
So too, I believe but do not know from experience, with other forms of art. My dad produced this painting for one of the classes that he teaches at a senior living center. It’s his take on someone else’s art, but beautiful in its own right. I love the layers of learning that it represents.
What are you learning, or imitating, just now?
Over the summer, I sat down with my dad and grilled him about some of his paintings. I’m so glad I did, for I love knowing what’s behind creative ventures.
I didn’t give this painting much thought before I knew what it symbolized. It’s my dad’s take on the transfiguration of Jesus (see Matthew 17:1-8), when he and Peter, James, and John go up a mountain and Jesus is changed, his “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2, NIV) and Moses and Elijah come to visit him. The painting, done with acrylics, is my dad’s imaginings of the mountain without the figures – the light that came and surrounded Jesus and the disciples. I love all of the textures and the colors.
How might God transform you today, bringing light and color into your life?
I can’t seem to get warm today; it’s definitely autumnal weather here in London this week, with the lashings of rain and cooler temperatures. I noticed on social media how a friend in Suffolk was delighted that she could now turn on the heat, for she loves autumn. I used to, but now I sigh and wonder ifI will freeze in this lovely spacious (and drafty) vicarage all winter.
Still, autumn has its beauty, including the wonder of the trees losing their green and giving way to vibrant yellows, oranges, and red.
What is capturing your attention this week? Is it autumn where you are?
Saturday was the last day of summer in London. Bright sunshine warmed us, and I savored it as much as I could. With the new week on Sunday came the autumnal weather – rain, dreariness, and a definite change in the air. I do mourn the loss of summer as I gear up for more layers and the everpresent scarf around my neck.
So in the meantime, let’s think about autumn/fall with the beauty it can bring. I love this painting of my father’s, which depicts Minneapolis, a city of lakes, in the fall. I feel like I could step right into this picture and inhale deeply, soaking in the sunshine as I gaze over the water.
What does this season mean to you?
I’m still holding onto the last days of summer, with the wonderfully unseasonably warm weather we had yesterday in London. I nearly got burned while working outside! And so for today’s Watercolor Wednesday I give you this delightful painting that my dad created from a photograph I took while on a walk in Southampton (below). It says summer to me.
This is the ancient bridge at Mansbridge, which for centuries was the only road across the River Itchen. We don’t know exactly how old it is, but it’s mentioned as early as 932 AD.
Are you holding onto summer? Longing to see an ancient bridge? Longing for a bridge from where you are to where you want to go? I pray that you’ll find sunshine and warmth and that you’ll be walking the path that brings you life and light.
Eighteen years ago, my husband and I were on holiday in Florida. I hadn’t realized that September was hurricane season, so I was channel surfing inside, watching reruns of ER. As I flipped a channel, I saw what seemed to be out of a horror film – one of the World Trade Centers crashing to the ground. The day was September 11, 2001, a day that will forever be lodged in my mind and heart – and in the minds and hearts of others.
Where were you? How do you remember?
We arrived home today from a wonderful time in Minnesota, seeing family and friends. And I went to the Minnesota State Fair a record three times! Somehow I managed not to eat too much fried food on a stick, but did indulge in the olives with cream cheese, battered and deep fried with a ranch dipping sauce!
The Fair had record attendance this year, and I’m not surprised as the weather was amazing – sunny and not too hot. The kids love this very American expression of the end of summer, with its agricultural beginnings.
I bought a postcard at the Fair with a design similar to the one above. I gave it to my dad and asked if he could recreate it in his own style, which he did and gave to me as an early Christmas present after just two days! I think it’s grand and look forward to finding some wall space for it.
Do you like the experience of a state or county fair? Or an English fayre?
Bruges is a picturesque city in Belgium, which my parents visited one year when they came to see us in London. I like this painting of a bridge with the horse and carriage going over it, but my dad, in true painterly fashion, has painted over this scene with his “Eternity” painting that I featured recently on my website.
What sorts of recycling and reusing are you doing these days?
The North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota is a special place. It forms the bottom part of the righthand triangle of the state’s outline and is a place for getting out in beautiful nature to camp, swim, rest, relax.
My dad’s painting depicts a lighthouse on the shore – a place of safety that provides light in the darkness.
Wherever you are today, may you find rest, safety, and light.