Swallow
2019 | Acrylic on Canvas Board | 20in x 16in
How we respond in crisis reveals much about who we are. How we respond in victory exposes our inner character. The underdrawing and prayers and thoughts that began this painting were created initially the while sitting in a pew and listening to a great man speak about brotherly kindness. The Bishop of Rwanda- John Rucyahana, who lived the Rwandan Genocide spoke elequantly of interpersonal peace. This man watched his family die in front of him, now spoke of brotherly kindness. Swallow is an exploration in how love can transcend hate. Read More>
Forgiveness
2019 | Acrylic on Newsprint and Canvas | 10in x 10in
Genuine forgiveness is seeing through the offended's eyes. In this painting, the birds are in the process of overlapping to see through anothers perspective. The work was painted over several newspaper headlines and articles that display the brokeness of the people of this world. If we would but pause and seek to understand another's perspective, peace would come.
Budgie Song
2019 | Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Board | 20in x 16in
Riveted beak- you cannot speak. A story to tell, to someone. To stop and travel at your pace asks much of this world and the hurry-up obsessed people in it. Read More>
The Persistence of Time
2019 | Acrylic on Board | 20in x 16in
The sun fell on us and a gentle breeze that filled my nose with the perfume of your baby hair. You were less than two years old. We sat in the grass of our little oasis of a back yard, safe from the world’s hemorrhaging brokenness. You held out your hand to me. In it was wonder wrapped in stone. “A rock” you said. “Iraq” I heard. Read More>
Golden Finch
2019 | Acrylic on Canvas | 12in x 12in
In medieval painting, the goldenfinch was a symbol often used for Christ. In this painting, I'm connecting the routine necessity of nourishing food and drink with the nourishing of Christ's radiance in life. Read More>
Trio
2019 | Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Board | 16in x 8in
Perhaps the most intentionally aesthetic painting of the parallel Series, Trio is exploring the shapes erupting from a single bird over three moments of time. The number three is the most stable of all shapes in nature. It is also the most interesting. Trio explores these themes and celebrates the various shapes and visual opportunities that come when taking a single finch in flight and leveraging futurism over time to interact three birds together who are yet one.
Duet
2019 | Acrylic on Aspen Leaves and Canvas | 12in x 12in
Awareness births opportunity. Will every regret be an anchor to the past or a trophy of wisdom?
Divergent
2019 | Acrylic on Board | 14in x 11in
Thriving might look like diverting from the course. Maturing is perhaps a subtle turn from what has been safe and known. Read More>
Cardinal I
2019 | Acrylic on Canvas | 12in x 12in
This piece is the first in the Cardinal series of 3 paintings. It is inspired by the poem "Heart", by Christy Barber. Interpersonal pains often strike deeper than physical wounds. In this painting, an arrow is striking the Cardinal, symbolic of the arrows the poet speaks of in "Heart".
"Heart"
By Christy Barber
“You are not beautiful”
“You can never do anything right”
“You are not good enough”
Words hit their mark
With deadly precision
What was once a free heart
Slowly turns to a prison
Cardinal II
2019 | Acrylic on Canvas | 12in x 12in
This piece is the second in the Cardinal series of 3 paintings. It is inspired by the poem "Heart", by Christy Barber. When we experience trauma in life, we can sometimes dissociate parts of ourselves from us. When that happens, we own less and less of us. That is why this cardinal is smaller than Cardinal I.
"Heart"
By Christy Barber
..."Don’t let the arrows in
Blood stops flowing
Stone begins to fill the aching abyss
It feels so good
So safe
That she places more stones in there
Soon they solidify into one solid piece of
Impenetrable stone"
Breaking Through
2019 | Acrylic on Board | 16in x 8in
This piece is the climatic conclusion in the Cardinal series of 3 paintings. Inspired by the poem "Heart", by Christy Barber, here the cardinal has been seen, known, and loved. In that place, she was able to break free from the shame of the past, and has become reintegrated into a whole individual.
"Heart"
By Christy Barber
“You are my beloved”
“I created you to be beautiful”
“I want to be with you”
The words keep coming
The stone keeps crumbling
The tears stop falling
Eagle and Hummer
2019 | Acrylic on Canvas | 24in x 12in
This is a portait of two friends of mine, Kelly and Tait. Tait has cerebral palsy and is confined to a gesture similar to this eagle. He is a published author, and brilliant thinker. May we never judge a bird by his feathers. Kelly is like this colorful humming bird flitting about around Tait, full of life and vibrant color. Thoughts going this way and that, always making sure Tait is taken care of. Together they are beautiful. Read More>