nakedpastor

This is a photo I took today of my son Joshua snowkiting on the river in front of our house. Man it was cold! The wind was biting. But I got some good photographs with my Nikon P5000. Sometimes it is helpful to just get outside and enjoy it. It’s a great stress-reliever. All my concerns, including my anxieties over the church, slip away. At least for a while.

This is what greeted me first thing in the morning. This is the river that flows in front of our house. Right now it is flowing under a couple of feet of ice. The moon was setting. It was 12 below 0 C (10F). I was in my housecoat and slippers at the end of my driveway. But I captured the view that inspires many of my paintings, as some of you already know. You can still buy some of my paintings that I’m purging from my inventory at sale prices HERE. Thanks!

I am selling off all my 2009 inventory of my original artworks at sale prices. I’ve gone through a kind of personal transformation that I trust will be manifested in my art. I am turning a new leaf, so to speak. So I am sort of “purging” my older pieces. I still love them, but it’s time for them to go and find their new homes. There are some incredible deals so you might want to hurry to select yours. I will continue posting them on my art site, so stay tuned. Also, I am providing FREE SHIPPING for a limited time. Go HERE and enjoy shopping for some very affordable art.

Hear Me

Here’s an older song of mine that I wrote. It is based on the psalms. It is quite a bit louder and rambunctious. I like the chord progressions. The recording is very rough, recorded live one Saturday morning in our church. I’m singing the lead a bit strained. Ellen sings background vocals.

Are You There?

I wrote this song some time ago to commemorate what for me was the end of a great illusion, or at least I hope most of it, in the efficacy of hype in our church life. When all the fun is gone, and nothing has gone according to plan, what is left? That’s what this song’s about. I’m singing, with Ellen singing background. Here are the lyrics:

ARE YOU THERE?

When I kneel all alone,
and the answers won’t come,
and my soul’s cold as stone,
are you there?

When my mind’s caving in,
and my heart’s soaked in sin,
and my eyes have grown dim,
are you there?

chorus:
I believe, I believe.
Please help my unbelief.
I’ll trust you, I’ll trust you Lord.
By faith I, by faith I hang
on your every word.
Help me Lord, help me believe.

When I lie on my bed,
and the darkness instead
of the light fills my head,
when the feelings don’t come
that were promised by some,
and my life’s come undone,
are you there?

We just got this done last week. Joshua (back left) was home for a visit so we took the opportunity. Lisa and I are in the front. From left to right: Joshua (22), Casile (17), Jesse (20). So… these are my anchors for my crazy boat in a stormy sea.

Why, when I love more, am I loved less? Why, traveling deeper into the frontier, am I further forsaken by travelers? I try to understand. I want to know. But my mind refuses to acknowledge what it doesn’t already recognize. My heart, raised to be beholden, was reared tender to the touch. But there is something pulling, drawing my heart beyond itself. And my feet, one before the other, lead to an unknown land. As my eyes’ darkness falls, the light grows more intense. The heat of what calls me burns all that I cherish. Although I tremble, a certainty impresses itself. This indeed I must do.

This is a watercolor on Arches 140lb cp.; approximately 10″x22″ (25cm x 55cm). Getting ready for a gallery hop on Saturday. Someone suggested I do one of my birches paintings. So here it is.

This piece, called “Let There Be Day”, is done with oil pastel on Arches 88 paper. It measures 20″x30″ (51cm x 73cm).