Waiting for an Answer – Sending a Prayer series

Waiting for an Answer - by Richard Fudge
Acrylic medium on a canvas jounal

This prayer mailbox metaphor is just a rough idea still. I want to eventually have a series of pieces and invite other artists to get involved. I'd like to see other interpretations of this theme. The still i want for these is illustration heavy, and I dont normally paint that way. Definitely going to be a challenge for me.

Also, I'm going to start looking for odd ways that people have used to deliver mail and messages. One such example is rocket mail - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mail

Thou Art With Me - Live painting concept

Highpoint Church contacted me about a week back. They were looking for someone to do a live painting for an upcoming special event. It looks to be a very inspiring event and very relevant given the economic times, the emotions of the holidays, and the start of the new year. When Life Hurts is Saturday, January 3, 2009 Highpoint Church welcomes Ravi Zacharias to Memphis, TN. From their website:

Where is God when life hurts?  We've all faced difficult circumstances and asked this question. Unfortunately pain and struggle is part of the human experience; thankfully we do have a God who cares.  International Christian author and speaker, Ravi Zacharias will help you see where God is when life hurts.

I was asked to do a live painting to match the theme, but they ended up having some last minute changes and decided that it would be best not to have art that night. Oh well, maybe some other time. Here are the rough concepts for the painting i would have done.

 

I think that I would have rather done the thumbnail on the left. A profile figure would be easier to paint in one sitting. There are always limitations when doing a live painting. 

Here is the small painted version I started. It's just a rough and I didnt finish the figure in the middle since the request was canceled. But I think you can see where I was going. Yes, it's inspired by another Stirring Artist's work. Teresa (Terri) West Cater is awesome. She use to be the gallery manager at The Stirring but sadly she had to move far far away. Her work is incredible and her ability to capture so much emotion in her realism painting is breathtaking. Her painting Lamentations is chilling. My concept was to simplify the piece (because face it I am not that gifted) and make it interactive. People would come up at the end and write in black ink on the red back ground their worries, fears, pain, etc. And/or they can write in white ink on the hands of the Lord comforting promises, scripture, words about God such as "I am with you, savior, grace, renewer, redeemer, I will protect you." etc. 

Chris Reed – previous guest artist at The Stirring

A picture from our Maundy Thursday service in 2008. Chris Reed is painting on the right side of the image. In the left center, I'm working on that cross piece that everyone touched.

Here is the finished piece that Chris was working on that night.

Quito – a past exhibit at the Stirring Art Gallery

Local Memphis artist Chris Reed was very inspired by his recent mission trip with Hope Church to Quito, Ecuador and the art he saw there. The Stirring gallery was proud to feature six works from Chris’s “Quito” series back in May 2008. Three of the paintings were created live on stage at the Stirring in March while Chris was the guest artist.  

A Burning Passion - a Live Painting done at The Stirring

“A Burning Passion to Begin” — 2007 acrylic media — 16”x20”
By Richard Fudge and painted live at The Stirring

The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted! — Matthew 13:23 NLT

But if I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. — Jeremiah 20:9 NIV

This painting is a combination of the scriptures given above. The Lord plants a seed of purpose in your heart. Sometimes it is a burning passion that fuels your growth, and other times it takes a moment of adversity that challenges you to grow.

Guarded Heart - a Live Painting done at The Stirring

“Guarded Heart” — 2007 — acrylic/mixed media — 24”x30”
By Richard Fudge painted at The Stirring

If you guard your heart like a coiled rattlesnake so it will not be trampled or broken, can you really be loved or even make true friendships?

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. — Revelation 3:20 NLT

God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." — Genesis 2:18 (The Message)

We all need buddies. I was a Boy Scout when I was younger. I like that Gen. 2:18 is the first use of the Buddy System. The buddy system is maybe the first rule you learn as a scouter. It is a way for Scouts to look after one another. Your buddy goes everywhere with you, and you go everywhere with him. Know where your buddy is at all times. The buddy system is very important -- more important than having a compass or first aid kit or anything else. If you get hurt or lost, your buddy will be able to help you. Two people can often solve a problem better than one.

Starved - a Live Painting done at The Stirring

“Starved” — 2007 — acrylic media — 18”x24”
By Richard Fudge painted at The Stirring

From the Parable of the Lost Son:
About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, "At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”
— Luke 15:14-19 NLT


Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal live.” — John 4:13 NIV

Cross #6, aka Erin's Cross

16" x 20" acrylic on canvas and painted in the artist’s studio.

Description: First, about the numbering, I have painted this cross a few times. This is the sixth time that I have painted it. It is not one of a series of crosses but a near duplicate of a popular piece that I continue to paint. Secondly, I tend to think of this painting as having another title, “Erin’s Cross.” When we were first married, I purchased Erin a silver cross. I wanted to pick one that was very unique and very Erin. One Sunday at The Stirring, I was the guest artist. I came unprepared to paint that night. Then I remembered that Erin was wearing her cross necklace. I borrowed it for the evening and did my painting based on the lines of the pendent. The other reason I think of it as “Erin’s Cross” is that the black lines make me think of her tattoos. But since I felt “Erin’s Cross” might be seen as irreverent, I just chose to simply name it “Cross.” At the time, it was the only cross painting that I had done.

Over time small improvements and changes have been made as I have created these crosses. Of note, “Cross No. 6” is painted on a thick gallery wrap canvas. Other improvements are harder to point out such as the use of better quality paints, gel medium, and a gloss varnish.