Self Portraiture

Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror,

  

but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.

All that I know now is partial and incomplete,

 but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.

I Corinthians 13:12

Just for fun...

You Capture: Sky

The sky has been so beautiful the past few days, a vibrant, brilliant, clear blue. It made me think about this verse:

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You." 1 Kings 8:27

God is so big, so beyond our scope, we just can't comprehend the magnitude of who He is. And yet this God who is so big cares for us.

 It makes me think of a song I sang in Sunday School as a child, with the emphasis on the caps:

My God is so BIG,

So STRONG, and so MIGHTY,

There's NOTHING my God can not do!

It's TRUE!

Though the heavens can't contain Him, and He doesn't dwell on the earth, He does dwell in the hearts of the men and women who invite Him in.

He cares for us, though He is so big and we are so small. He cares about our problems and hurts. He's reaching out to heal and love. Us. I don't understand it.

 But I'm so grateful for it.

You Capture: Sky

And I quote...

"If monotony tries me, and I cannot stand drudgery; if stupid people fret me and little ruffles set me on edge; if I make much of the trifles of life, then I know nothing of Calvary love."  -Amy Carmichael

You Capture: Depth Of Field

I love playing with a shallow depth of field (DOF). It's a technique I find myself using frequently, I just love a blurred background that makes your focal point stand out even more. My favorite lens is our fixed 50mm because of it's ability to create such beautiful bokeh. It's definitely my go to. All of these were shot with it set at f. 1.8, I think. 

Pitcher Plant

Statue

Palm leaf

Rose

My beautiful girl.

I especially love using a shallow DOF for portraits. It creates a beautiful, watery background and draws attention to your subject. You just need to make sure that your focal point is set in the right place or you'll end of with an out of focus face.

Our lives can get out of focus too. Often times I find myself focusing on the wrong thing. House work, friends, family, hobbies, media, they're good things, but not when they are the focus.  When they are, my life is out of balance. Things just don't go well, you know?

 

What I've found to be true, is that when I focus on Jesus, everything else falls into its proper place. Life is sweet, a beautiful picture that draws attention to the only reason I've found for living: Jesus.

You Capture: Depth of field

Lensbaby

Matt gave me a Lensbaby Muse for my birthday. It gives pictures a kind of dreamy, artsy effect. All of these were taken with it.

I'm really having fun with it, and now I want to get some accessories, the creative aperture kit and the macro. Photography can be an expensive hobby, but lucky for me, a lot of the Lensbaby stuff is really affordable.

You Capture: Yellow

My cat Methodius has yellow eyes. If you look closely you can see my silhouette in them.

A yellow rose from my garden.

A yellow sunflower on my shelf.

A yellow figurine in my kitchen.

Yellow flowers in the desert.

I'm always amazed that flowers can grow so abundantly in such a harsh environment.

"And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing."

Isaiah 35:1-2

You Capture: Yellow

And I quote...

"A Christian who was in a great deal of trouble was recounting to another Christian the carious efforts he had made to find deliverance, and concluded by saying,

'But it has all been in vain, and there is literally nothing left for me to do now but trust the Lord.'

'Alas!' exclaimed his friend in a tone of the deepest commiseration, as though not greater risk were possible-- 'Alas! has it come to that?' "

-Hannah Whithall Smith in The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life

You Capture: Spring, Take Two

A lot of my art work definitely has a spring feel to it. I just love sherberty pastel colors! These are a couple of my most recent paintings/collages and they were spring inspired.

These collages both feature old book paper, which has been a favorite with me for a while now.

As I sat down to work on this canvas I had covered in old music paper, I heard birds singing outside. The birds didn't look like this though!

Lately I have been thinking about the spring cleaning that needs to be done in my heart, and thus came about this collage/painting Come and Make My Heart Your Home. It seems as though my heart needs a periodic clean out, bad attitudes lurk in dusty corners, priorities become unorganized and out of order, the windows become dulled with sin.

I want my heart to be a clean, beautiful place for my Lord to abide, and thankfully, He is most adept and helping me spruce up the place.

You Capture: Spring