This is God's Country

 
Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last 5 years, you are painfully aware we are in the throes of a presidential election.  It has been disturbing to say the least.  I believe at the heart of every person is the desire for peace, love, freedom, and prosperity.  It feels like those very things are being threatened today.  


The name of this painting is "This is God's Country".  It is God's country no matter what happens today or tomorrow.  He will still be in control.  In the end, God will allow the person He sees best to be our leader, for whatever purpose/s He has in mind.  I know this.  He desires His church to humble herself before Him.  That is when He hears the prayers of the His people and answers them.

Daniel 2:22 in the King James Version of the Bible says:

And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.

I feel like I want to write a prayer here, and I invite you to join with me.

Dear Lord, we humbly ask you to be merciful to this great nation.  We have sinned against you, and we ask forgiveness, even though we do not deserve it.  Lord, we are at a crossroads, and we desperately need you to do what needs to be done to save our freedoms.  We have our own thoughts about the way it ought to be, but we know that your thoughts are not like ours, they are so much greater.  Lord, please act in your great wisdom, might, and mercy on behalf of this nation.  We are in a mess here, and we need you!!  We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son. Amen!!

I had not actually planned to expound so theologically...but it came out, and there you have it.  My plan is to spend more time praying about this election in the next few weeks.  We need a miracle.

I hope you enjoy this painting.  I must give credit to my nephew's wife, Wendy Hall, for taking this photo on her walk in Oklahoma recently.  I loved it and offered to paint it.  I'm very excited about how it turned out.  Thank you, Wendy.

And, by the way, this is a 16X20 oil on canvas and will already have a home soon.  I will be painting a couple more similar to this if you happen to really like it!!

I hope we can all take some deep breaths and relax in the presence of Jesus in these coming days.  He really does have it all under control.

Peace.



  
   

The Foot Bridge

I really love to pencil draw.  Over the past few weeks, I've been a bit under the weather (because of this yucky rainy, humid, mildew producing weather) enough to not feel like doing much, but not enough to keep me from being totally bored.  I took that as an opportunity to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes.  

Again, I went to my photos of our recent trip through the South.  At the same place where I took the shot of the Great Blue Heron, Magnolia Plantation, near Charleston, there were beautiful foot bridges throughout the gardens.  As I looked through my photos, this one just jumped out at me and said "DRAW!".  The place gave me the feeling of what I think Monet's Giverny might give, where he painted the various waterlily scenes.

When I draw I can focus so well and lose myself in what I am doing.  I relax and totally enjoy it.  

 Nothing profound comes to me today other than the peace and calm that this place exudes.  May peace and calm be yours...always.

Competition

I'm excited to post my selections to compete in the Conroe Art League Fall Show.  There are some strange shadows on the drawings which definitely don't belong.  You'll have to come see them in person!  From the top down are:
                                                                Chuck
                                                                  Angel Baby
                                                        Anchored in Doe Cove
                                                         Sweet Baby Dreams
                                                        Red Shouldered Hawk

I painted Chuck in a group portrait studio where "Chuck" (his name is not really Chuck) was the model.  This was done in a 3 hour time span (with breaks).  I like the way Chuck turned out.

Angel Baby is none other than our sweet granddaughter, Jodi.  She had fallen asleep shirtless, with diaper only, on top of her snoozing daddy on our sofa one lazy Sunday afternoon.  I snapped the irresistible scene.   She is definitely our little Angel Baby.

I've blogged about the next painting before.  The photo was taken at Doe Cove on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands.  This was a spot that could entertain me for days, weeks, months, without doing one thing.

The first pencil drawing is of my great great niece whom I've never even met.  She lives in Vermont, and I so hope to meet her before she and her big sister before they are all grown up.  Her mommy posted this picture on her Facebook page and I grabbed it.  Mommy, I hope you don't mind???

One day I looked out my living room window and right there on the deck railing, just beside the bird feeder, sat this Red Shouldered Hawk, and he was not there to snack on the nuts and seeds in the feeder, rather on the small partakers of the feed.  He was beautiful.  What a treat to have him so close and be able to snap this shot, then draw him/her.  How do you tell the difference?

The Conroe Art Show will be held during the months of September and October. The show is divided into the 2 months as follows:

September:  Oils/Acrylics, Drawings, Photography, Digital Art, Studio Fine Art

October:  Watercolor, Mixed Media, Pastels, Abstract, Sculpture

My works will all be on display throughout September.

If you are in the area, I hope you'll take some time to stroll through our lovely gallery and view all the works of many amazing artists in our area.  The gallery is located at...
                                     127 Simonton
                                        Conroe, Texas

Thanks for dropping by and many blessings for you and yours!







 

The Carriage House

Our recent trip to Charleston, Asheville, and Savannah sparked my creative juices.  There were so many opportunities for photographing beautiful architecture and nature.  

In Charleston, we stayed at the Rutledge Avenue Inn which was barely in the historical district, and north of Broad.  If you know anything about Charleston, "north of Broad" was considered less than the best, not the upper crust, "the other side of the tracks", socially unacceptable.  Anyway, we were north and we were still happy.

North or south, this charming Carriage House was our residence for four nights and it was delightful.   Built in the 1800's, it is a lovely cottage, perfectly appointed, totally updated, and comfortable.  We enjoyed our stay with our friends, John and Linda.  

This was our first visit to Charleston, S.C. and what an eye opener it was.  I knew of the beautiful antibellum architecture from magazines and books, but the surprise to me was the abundance of beautiful homes and their magnificence.  Knowing that just a few miles out in the country lay their other beautiful home at the plantation, for some of these, at least, was astounding.  There are a few of the "town" houses with square footages of over 10,000 feet. 

We took a horse carriage ride through the historical district whose tour route is determined daily by lottery from a basket of colored balls.  This way the routes don't get cluttered with all the tours.  So, you wait in line in your carriage behind the other carriages, until your turn at the twirling basket of balls.   Your route will be determined by the color of ball that pops out.  The wait is quick. The tour is very interesting, historically informative, and entertaining.  Highly recommend!

Oh! the tastes of the south!!  We so much enjoyed all the fabulous food as we ate our way across the south.   My husband compiled a list of all the restaurants we tried and presented it to the four of us to rate.  It was unanimous that the whole group's favorite restaurant was Magnolia in Charleston.  Delightful, luscious food.  My very favorite dish (which wasn't even mine...I just had a taste) was the fried green tomato appetizer, in such a way I cannot even accurately describe except they were fried to perfection and drizzled with this yummy sweet sauce, and, I believe, there were goat cheese crumbles on top.  Wonderful ambiance at Magnolia with a modern decor and "up a notch" southern cuisine.  

I could go on and on and on, but will stop before I bore all to death.  Too much of a good thing...

There's nothing like the south in so many ways.  If you're looking to take a trip that will delight all the senses, this one will do it!

My painting for this entry is my version of the Rutledge Carriage House, our cozy and comfortable "Home Away".  (rented through VRBO)  It is a 16 X 20 oil on canvas.

Road Tripping through the South

The Great Blue Heron in Spring Plummage

America sparkles with God's handiwork.  Recently we did a road trip to the Carolinas and Georgia...Asheville, Charleston, and Savannah.  What a fabulous time of sight-seeing historical places, grand architecture, enjoying the absolutely lucious cuisine of the South, the glorious scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Atlantic coast, the hundreds of moss draped stately live oaks and the forests decorated with blossoming magnolias.

Magnolia Plantation is just outside Charleston and has been in the same family since 1676 when it was founded by the Draytons.  It is one of the nation's oldest plantations and public gardens and the first ever to open its gates to visitors for the cost of a quarter, because hard times warranted a new way to keep the place afloat.  A truly fascinating place which offers the house, the gardens, and a genuine swamp with boardwalks for experiencing firsthand its birds in the rookery, numerous alligators and other reptiles..  

The walk through the swamp was totally fascinating as it offered a haven for herons and other larger birds (names escape me) to nest and fortunately for us, the young were out on display.  Simply beautiful.  Thankfully, a fence appeared to separate us from the reptiles which were very visible in the water.  The visible ones were alligators, and I don't even want to consider what the invisible ones were, which could slither right through that wire fence.

Strolling through the gardens, I was thrilled to come upon this Great Blue Heron who appeared to be so otherwise engaged in his prospective aquatic lunch that I was able to get very close for a photo without his taking flight.  For added attraction, he was displaying his spring plummage. This made a perfect opportunity for painting when I arrived home.  The background water and trees were of my own imagination.  I preferred a much brighter setting than the one Mr. Heron had chosen.

Open your eyes and look around.  Drink in the beauty of God's artistry.  He is the Master Artist. He is the original Artist.  He knows how to put it all together.  And, I mean all.

Please enjoy the other posts which display my artwork.  If you find yourself taken with any, please contact me.  mjwillis52@gmail.com.

The Harbor

One of the most peaceful places I've ever visited is the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state.  My last blog several months ago contained a painting of the market there.  

On our first full day on Orcas Island we scoped out the island via car, getting our bearings.  It was early morning, the skies were cloudy, the air was misty, and we pulled into this lovely cove whose name escapes me.  In every direction the views cried out for a camera. Wildflowers on the shore, the not so distant islands across the way, the fisher-people with their rods, the bench of solitude on the hill.  The sailboat anchored in harbor was beautiful and such a symbol of peace and security. That cove inspired this painting.

There is One who offers a Harbor of peace and security to all who will take refuge.  In the world we now live, that is a priceless offer.

I'm thankful for the Harbor.

                                                   

Island Time

 Summer Market

Last summer my husband and I were blessed to spend a week on Orcas Island in the San Juan group in Puget Sound off the coast of Washington State.  Oh what a lovely time!  Joined by our dear friends,  John and Linda, we reached the island by ferry.  We relaxed on the patio with the view of Puget Sound, Mt. Baker and the surrounding Cascade range before us.  Dinners of fresh Dungeness crab and fresh halibut stir up my tastebuds as I type!  Ah!  It was SO delicious!  The picturesque village of Eastsound was just a few miles away down the mountain, its streets lined by quaint structures of shops, churches, restaurants, inns, and graced with hollyhocks and roses.  It was July and the temperatures never reached above 80. Oh...take me back!  

The market was on Saturday in town so we decided to enjoy it with the locals.  There was an array of products...jewelry, handmade soaps, lotions, art, woven goods, clothing, carts preparing the local fare, all calling out to my camera.  This ice cream cart and the cute lady standing there with her glass of iced tea was one.  The background is from my own imagination.  I love the colors, the bright summer day feel.  I can almost feel the breezes and smell the aromas.

When we travel, I am always ready to return home.  Always. There's no place like it.  Not this time.  I could have stayed a month!  I begged Jim to let's please come back.  He loved it nearly as much as I and we do plan to return, but there are so many places to go and so much to see.  Time will tell.

Thanks for joining me here and at Orcas Island.  Blessings!