Welcome to my first “With All My …” post. In this new monthly series I will share bible studies, adventures in God’s creation, scripture art, and anything else that brings my focus back to God.
Today I’m sharing my very first attempt at scripture art. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out or if I’d want to do more, so rather than invest in a bunch of expensive supplies I may never use again, I just used what I had on hand:
- 1 #2 Pencil (Woops, I forgot to put that in the photo.)
- My favorite 5/8″ flat-head nylon paint brush left over from painting murals in my kids’ rooms (Originally bought 4 years ago as part of a set on Amazon, I guard this thing like its made of gold.)
- 1 cheap, small (round?) soft brush I borrowed from my kids’ art supplies (I have no idea where it came from. Sorry.)
- Sargent Art Watercolor Magic liquid watercolor left over from my kids’ art lessons
- Sketch paper left over from my kids’ nature journals (this exact sketch pad appears to have been discontinued)
- 1 black & 1 gray Ultra Fine Point Sharpie Permanent Marker from my personal stash of Sharpies (I hoard these almost as bad as books, but that is an issue for another post.)
- A million and one YouTube art tutorials and watercolor tips videos.
Since this was my first attempt at this art style and I haven’t used watercolors in about 3 years, it wound up taking me several days to create the finished product.
On day one, I chose my verse: Ephesians 2:10. I chose this verse because it has been lingering in my mind a lot lately, along with a corresponding question which I’ll get to later.
Once I had chosen my verse, I watched several videos on lettering and decided to stick to some basic variations for my first attempt. (Here is my favorite basic lettering video.)Then I grabbed a pencil and my sketchbook and visualized how I wanted the verse to look. The first thing I decided on was the pathway with the word “WALK” inside it. The rest came to me as I went. It took me roughly 4 hours to complete the lettering because, of course, I’m a mom and mom’s rarely get to do anything uninterrupted. (CLICK TO TWEET)
That was all I accomplished on day one.
On day two I watched several videos on watercolor sunsets, hills, and painting techniques. (Here are links to a few: Vid 1, Vid 2, Vid 3)
Then I made two photocopies of my original lettering as backups for when I was sure to screw up the painting.
After several more (scary) videos and hours of self encouragement I worked up the nerve to … grab a blank piece of sketch paper and test out my ideas on those. No way was I going to just slap paint on my original and hope for the best.
So days two and three were all about trying out different techniques, attempting to achieve the effect I wanted.
By day four, I felt confident enough to paint the sunset on my original.
Then I went back to testing on the extra paper to figure out how to achieve the green hill and brown path I wanted. I really liked the how the salt technique created a dirt path feel in the brown paint.
On day five, I painted my path and my green hills. In the process, I discovered I had dropped a green dot at the base of my path and left tide marks in the upper portion of the hill area needed bushes.
So it didn’t turn out exactly as I envisioned it, but I’m okay with it. Most importantly, as I worked, I prayerfully considered the question that had been pressing on my heart, causing me to choose this verse in the first place:
What does it look like to walk in the good works He has prepared for us?
I’m not sure I’ve come to a conclusion yet, but I feel peace that God will show me the answer in His own way and in His perfect timing. Meanwhile, I’d like to know what you think the answer is. Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, here is the completed piece:
Yes, I know. The wrinkles happened because I was not using watercolor paper. Like I said, I was working with what I had on hand and we’d long ago used up our watercolor paper. Now that I have tried it once and decided I like it, I’ll be purchasing some more appropriate paper for future projects. Meanwhile, I am choosing to view the wrinkles philosophically: While we are God’s workmanship, we are not perfect (thanks to the fall) and neither is my artwork.
TWEETABLES:
What does it look like to walk in the good works He has prepared for us? (CLICK TO TWEET)
While we are God’s workmanship, we are not perfect and neither is my artwork. (CLICK TO TWEET)