Gifts in Return

Just wrapped up this sermon illustration for Church in the Valley, designed to accompany a new message series called "Gifts in Return." The pastor is discussing the gifts we give to God in return for all the amazing gifts he first gave us. The theme ties in nicely with both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so naturally the graphics took on a seasonal look as well.

I started with a shaded pencil drawing and then painted the color and environment within Photoshop.

Vintage Faith

I recently completed design and illustration on this promotional mailer for Fellowship Church of Burbank. They're starting a new message series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, hoping to sift through the cultural misconceptions and preconceived notions of who Jesus was, and rediscover the "vintage" Jesus as presented in the Bible.

The Pastor at FCB is a really cool, deep-thinking guy; it was a lot of fun to work with him on the project. He gave me a good measure of creative license which was encouraging and a challenge at the same time. The main ideas we hoped to convey were a sense of organic authenticity, community, and "vintageness." "Vintage" can fit a lot of things, from 60's concert posters to 50's advertisements or 40's fruit crate labels, so I researched a bunch of different kinds of vintage references to find aspects that would fit our project. The result, I hope, is an image that feels "Vintage" without necessarily being tied to one specific era or genre.

The series kicks off this Sunday and will be going for a few months. If you're in the area, check it out!

Pride weighs us down.

I received a really challenging idea in my inbox this week, courtesy of Ariane Goodwin's smARTist Mailing List. She was discussing artistic self-esteem, and how sometimes low self-esteem is actually pride in disguise ("pride and ambition running amok" as she put it). She suggests that sometimes artists are too focused on the highest levels of recognition, ability, and income, beyond their current level. So instead we convince ourselves we're worthless rather than be content with the moderate success we can have now.

"...If you really want to see your work on the walls of MOMA, you might find it easier to believe you're no good than to keep making art that simply sells."

I know I've been guilty of this. Just because I'm not the best doesn't mean I should give up. God sovereignly distributes gifting as he chooses, the good servant is the one who invests what he has and brings a proportionate return, not the one who hides for fear of inadequacy.

If only the best birds sing, the forest would be a quiet place!
- Rachel Naomi Remen

Trying to get back on track...

It's been a crazy year as far as freelancing goes, for much of the year I've been struggling just to survive. I've found myself in a few messes by trying to rush ahead and make things happen careerwise, sometimes impatiently or unwisely. In the process I haven't been relying or focusing on God as much as I could be.

The last few months I've been trying to more intentionally get on track, to let go and be patient with where things are at for now, to be faithful with daily responsibilities, and to focus on getting to know the caller more than trying to figure out the calling. And of course, I've been finding that stuff actually works out better that way! I've even been able to carve out a little time for daily sketching with some unexpected progress.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Here are a few recent sketches from the book...

Shoeless Joe Monsterface

Live Painting

I had the opportunity to do a live painting performance during our church service a couple weeks ago. I was painting for the full hour, and about 3/4 through shared a brief testimony (experiential story of faith) about a struggle that inspired the painting. It was interesting to try the same painting twice, during two 1 hour services. I actually received some really great feedback from some members of the congregation after the first service, and was able to immediately implement their suggestions during second service, resulting in a much more successful painting (in my opinion).

My friend John Martin was kind enough to take this photo, and my friend Brad Rozman made this awesome timelapse video too! I guess everyone gets a turn on YouTube.

Illustration Friday

Experimenting with a fountain pen...