Snowflake Gala Entries

I haven’t posted a lot of my work lately, but I will be participating in a gallery show next week called the Snowflake Gala and I thought I would show you the pieces I am entering.

A Bruised Reed

16 x 20 Acrylic

In Isaiah 42:3, we read: “A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…”
It is a prophecy about the gentleness and grace of Jesus and a good reminder of His love for us. When we are weak, He is strong for us!

He Bore Our Thorns

16 x 20 Acrylic

One day I was walking and feeling like a Spiritual weakling. I was reminded of Paul and how amidst all the great Spiritual Power he has, there was something unbearable, something he begged God to take away. He called it his thorn. I think we all have thorns and I wondered if that is why Jesus wore the Crown of thorns. Maybe He bore our thorns for us as well.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Tree

16 x 20 Acrylic

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a tree which grew large enough to be seen all over the world. Then he dreamed it was cut down. The dream foretold his rise and fall. He fell because he claimed glory for himself. When you rise, when you succeed, remember who is your source. God gets the glory.

Neither Do I Condemn You

16 x 20 Acrylic

The pharisees brought a woman who was “caught in the act” to Jesus. They wanted to stone her, but more than that, they wanted to trap Jesus. Jesus neither condone her sin nor did He condemn her. Instead He showed her what we all need, grace and told her to leave her destructive behavior behind.

The Vine and the Branches

16 x 20 Acrylic

In John 15: Jesus compares Christians to branches on a vine. The point His is making is, for Christians to live fruitful lives. we need to be commected to God, the source of our power and strength.

I like these paintings because the explore some of the key components to the Christian faith, connection to God through Christ, grace and repentance, God’s tender mercy, substitutionary atonement and God’s glory and jealous love. I pray that they touch the hearts and minds of all who see them.

Now here’s the question: How would you express the things you want people to know about Jesus?

ANew Piece of Pop Art

I try to be a pretty easygoing guy, but there are still days where I feel like this.

How about you?
Prints available here!

Beware of Artists Part III

The quote is one of which I never get tired. I’m rendering it in a few different pop art forms in hopes that many of my creative friends will grab the concept and make Queen Victoria’s nightmare come true. You see she said, “Beware of artists. They mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous.” In a world where many artists become elitist, I want to be an artist and lead a tribe of artists that reach across all borders and use our gifts to serve humanity for the greater good. Care to join the movement?

I’m currently working up a page called Beware of Artists. Which will be found soon at http://www.bewareofartists.org that will offer an online gallery, creative challenges and more. To check it out before it goes completely live go to http://bewareofartists1.wordpress.com

New Print, New Initiative from My Most Popular Post… BewareofArtists.org

Queen Victoria once said, “Beware of artists – they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous…” I love that quote and wear it like a badge of honor. I posted it to my blog almost two years ago and it still gets more hits than almost anything I have every posted. Sounds like it resonates with people. I am working on a street art initiative now for my ministry AMOKArts.com and it’s going to be called Beware of Artists. Details coming soon to BewareofArtists.org

For a poster print of this piece, click the image or click this link to get it on a T-shirt.

Thoughts from a Legend: Salvador Dali

It’s odd that one of the most unpredictable, original, unique artists of all time would have said this, but he did. At times I think the fear that it’s been done before keeps artists from creating. King Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun and he may have been right. Take your best ideas and give them your best. What makes your work truly unique is you.

Trying a Different Style… The Foray into PopArt Continues

Recently, while on vacation, I got inspired in some galleries and museums to try my hand at a different genre, namely pop-art. While I figure it is probably the closest genre to what I do, it still feels like I’m stretching and that is good for an artist.

I’ve been looking at the work of Warhol, Lichetenstein and various other pop artists. I love the way they expressed people so I decided to do a piece or two using a photo of my son Chris as the subject. He got a pair of star glasses in the dollar bin at Target and posed with my wife in equally interesting props for some gag photos. I loved his expression so I thought I’d use it. Chris does community theater so for the shading on his face and hair, I used the titles of the shows he’s done so far. I’m having a great deal of fun on this foray into a different style of art. Hopefully you like them too.

The first one was more inspired by Lichtenstein, though it also feels somewhat reminiscent of art from a Japanese Game-Show.

This one is obviously reminiscent of Warhol:

What would it take to stretch you out of your creative comfort zone? Try a new style, a new medium, or just a whole new way of doing things. It’s a great way to bring you out of a creative rut. You may find a whole new way to express yourself.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Lost

The challenge of the week was Lost. Lately I’ve been dabbling with pop-art and there was this piece I was already working on that pretty much sums up the ultimate reason we get lost. It all comes down to a choice a long time ago. God told his first two people they could have everything they wanted in the paradise He created for them. There was only one thing they could not have. Unfortunately the one thing they could not have became the apple of their eye and they made a choice. Reject God for the only thing he did not give them. It sounds senseless, but we do it every day, every time we choose something that God tells us not to do.

What was their prize? The tempter told them they would be like God knowing good and evil. Let’s examine that. They already knew good, they were surrounded by everything good and had daily communion with God in person so what did they really gain by their sin? They got to know evil. In the same way when we choose sin we get the privilege of dealing with the consequences not to mention sometimes unleashing those consequences on the people around us.

You may finally ask the question, why did God put that tree there in the first place? Why did He allow them to be tempted? Believe it or not, because of love. You see love is a choice. Without an alternative, would ti really be love? They got to choose whether or not they would love God and they chose wrong. Today we are surrounded by billions of harmful choices, and the way to resist them is same as it has always been. Choose to love God more. Anything less is a lost choice.

Yes we are surrounded by temptations and consequences on every side, but hope is not lost. God gave His only Son to die on a cross to pay the price for our sins. If we will put our faith in Him, He will save us and lead us through this minefield called life.

Hope is not lost. Hope is a person. His name is Jesus.

(If you’d like to purchase a print of the image above, click the image, or get it on a T-shirt here.)

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Sight

A few months back I started working on a line of t-shirts called visionary that had eyes as a central component to the designs. I love the title visionary. Visionaries have a special kind of sight, they see things as they ought to be and then work to bring that vision to reality.

The Bible tells us that “we walk by faith and not by sight.” Faith is a key component of being a visionary because one has to have faith that what they see can be.

Click the design to see the shirt!

Painting for sale… Sea of Faces

I hope it’s okay to list this here.

I have quite a collection of paintings here at the house and they are stacking up. I also have some ministry financial needs, so I’ve decided to put a few of my pieces up for sale. The first piece is the painting I created on my most popular youtube video so far. It’s Sea of Faces (*see the video below). It took a huge amount of time to paint. It’s entirely painted on a jigsaw puzzle then sealed together. The finished piece is 10.5″ by 9.25″ though you may want to mount it to something larger. I’m asking $150 plus $4.00 (more outside the US) shipping.

First person to contact me at amokarts@aol.com gets it. I will tell you how to send the check/money order.