“God who touchest earth with beauty, make my heart anew;
With thy Spirit recreate me. Pure and strong and true. “
( words from a hymn)
9×12 oil
This song came to mind as I stood among bluebonnets and other pops of color . . . looking at the streaks of sunlight coming through clouds, and applying paint to canvas to capture just a teeny bit of the beauty of this place.
Our transitional stay on the 85 acre ranch has become an Artist’s Retreat for me. Days are filled with the opportunity to paint outside as the weather allows and to use the breakfast nook for larger pieces in a makeshift studio. Walks with my camera mornings and evenings have given profound assurance of the presence of God and more reference photos than I will ever have time to paint! “With thy Spirit recreate me” has been a prayer, as I search for how my art fits into God’s plan in Waco, TX.
Lately, I’ve been making a list of “re” words: recreate, renew, restore, revive, retreat, reinvent, revitalize…do you see a theme, here? RE-tired works too! This place of retreat is bringing rest and renewal to this tired soul – a restoration of who I am, a reevaluation of how I paint, and a reliance on God’s guidance.
Retreating involves a “be still and know that I am God” stance. I am content to retreat for now. Remind me of this place of solitude when life speeds up. Remind me to refocus and rest.
Several Studies en Plein Air
As this earth is restored to life with Springtime, may you (and I) be refreshed, revitalized, and resurrected to a purposeful life!
I’ll leave you with a few glimpses of this place through my camera.
