The beginning - blocking out 140lb cold press watercolor paper. This consists of choosing what size the piece will be, and making that perfectly square and straight, then taping it down really well, and giving it a coat of water...let it dry...
Then I applied various antique papers - these are not "downloads" (nothing wrong with downloads, I use them when I teach) rather, they are original items. I get them as gifts from friends, and from antique stores...
I work on this easel, set on top of this beautiful vintage storage piece:
It's heavy as the burden of sin; thankfully, it is on rollers. It is scuffed and dented has beautiful blue chippy paint. Perfection! The top drawer is a locking cash drawer. For now, it contains all my "dry" art supplies for sketching and Pan Pastel work, and a few "wet" supplies for mixed media and acrylic painting.
The drawers are full of vintage papers, Caran D'ache oil pastels (water soluble) and willow sticks and blending stumps, and utility knives for trimming away extra pieces of material. There are stamp carving supplies in one drawer, jewelry making supplies in another.
Every drawer is full to the brim with things interesting - challenging project supplies waiting to become something that will bless...
But this paper is a perfect example of something not found in those drawers. I get it out, I smooth its folds, and I simply admire this invoice written in 1892. I will use this beauty in one of my mixed media pieces, but not today. This, along with many antique French and Italian ephemera sit in a special box, separate from the other vintage pieces...I am saving them for a really special idea.
This is the {unfinished} version of what was sketched and painted on the watercolor paper above. This is what my worshipping heart wanted to communicate...a beautiful woman, who is deeply aware of her own need for grace- yet at the same time, has chosen to "let no one take (her) crown..." (Rev. 3:11). This woman is a leader - not because she thinks she is, not because she says she is, but because others actually follow her. She lives by faith, and thereby makes the hard choices that few are willing to make.
She wanted to tell all of us that she is "in it to win it!" (I Cor. 9:25)
No comments:
Post a Comment