A Lynx picture done in watercolor and pen.

I had a lynx sketch I did a long time ago and decided to pull it out and copy, refine, and frame it as a gift for a bride-to-be. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it framed before it was sent off. :( It looked much better in that black frame!

The paper turned out to be a bit wrinkled, but it flattened out some when I framed it.

~Elizabeth Joy

P-51 B Mustang WW II plane painting

Gracia came to me one day and told me that I needed  to paint her a WW II plane (said in a very matter of fact way). So I did. It was meant for her birthday and I could have finished in time too, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. I ended up destroying my clouds in an attempt to make it even better. :P After that I lost my inspiration for a while and set the paint brush down for a couple of days to let my frustration die down a bit. It was a struggle when I picked it up again, but I was determined. After many, many cloud over, over-kill. I finally fixed it up enough to turn my attention to the plane. No trouble there. It was like slicing cake. I was delightfully surprised at how much easier it was to paint an object verses a landscape.Truly amazing. I'm glad it didn't give me a headache too. I'm still not quite satisfied with the clouds, but I'll have to be content. Its time to move on.

Photos by Rachel

One down, three more to go. Or is that four? ;)

Have a blessed week. :)

~Elizabeth Joy

Purpose.

Every year, my desire to refine this gift of art God has so graciously given me, grows and deepens. But despite it, I feel like I'm pushing against a hard wall, trying to move it, and only succeeding a tenth of a centimeter (I feel it's that much, but I know it's not). I'm trying to make progress,  but I must be patient. God Will give me that progress when it is time, the perfect time--His timing. The pace I am going is what God wants. If He wanted me to produce more, then those things that are causing my artistic production to be slow would not be present. Besides--as a good friend pointed out to me--at least I am able to produce art, and that is enough.

And...SCHOOL IS THE IMPORTANT THING RIGHT NOW, LIZ!! Because of this pressure (to produce more art) I have been letting school fall behind, I must not allow that to happen. Education is a gift from God, it is important. I CAN'T BE IMPATIENT! It accomplishes nothing.

" I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to." -Elizabeth Elliot.


Matthew 6:33 NASB

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you".

When you worry and are impatient, you usually get nowhere, but when you trust God and let Him lead, you find yourself accomplishing a lot more and being less frazzled and broken down. I don't want anything, but God's divine will for my life. I'm not happy when I seek my own, but when I seek His will, obey and turn from sin, I feel peace and joy. We all do.

~Elizabeth Joy