There’s a park in the foothills, about 20 minutes from our home, where you can see mountains that are 50 miles north and 50 miles south… It’s a gorgeous place to shoot the sun setting over the Rocky Mountains… If you come to Denver, be sure to check out the Mt Falcon Open Space…

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art. Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows…

Ben Darby (Ben_D on Flickr) is a regular contributor to the WOP group on Flickr. This image was captured at sunrise on Myrtle Point in the Great Smokey Mountains.

Moyra's latest work shows some experimentation and the influence of her favorite artist, Van Gogh.

It’s been almost a year since we featured Moyra, a painter living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who had received a link to WOP from a friend. After an exchange of emails, she attached a few photos of her work and I was hooked.

Moyra’s medium of choice is acrylic paint and her work, inspired by her love of the Irish countryside, is full of color and movement.  I never get tired of looking at her work. There is a noteworthy sense of peace in her paintings and Moyra’s warm and humble attitude has been a blessing as well.  My interview with her was encouraging and exciting, since she had just rebooted her work as an artist as an adult…

Moyra started out like many artists, doodling cartoons with felt-tip pen in sketchbooks and journals. Encouraged by her family, she pursued art as a way of dealing with the stress of growing up in Belfast in the 70′s. She loved the paint-by-number kits that her parents inevitably presented her with each Christmas and buying new colored pencils for school each year was a treat that she remembers.

Through secondary school (that’s like high school in the US, but I only know that from reading CS Lewis books) and into adulthood, Moyra enjoyed reading art history and technique. Her artistic pursuits were derailed as she grew up and got a “real life,” but her passion for art hung on and she continued to read and study; trading tenacity for formal art education to become a self-taught artist.

Like many of us, Moyra filled her life with a “day job” but a desire to return to the art that she loved gnawed at her. In her own words:

I didn’t ‘do art’ for about 15 years… I always meant to… thought about it… read art books … dreamt of completing a canvas – but never, ever did anything about it. I guess I was busy with life…working hard and busy around home!

But a friend named Mark, thought that all she needed was a little push. Taking the initiative, Mark booked space for Moyra at Common Grounds, a christian coffee-house in Belfast, and informed her that there was space for 15 pieces… On opening night, about 50 of her family and friends turned up to support and encourage her… She sold 10 of the original 15 paintings… Part of the proceeds from the show went to support a local mission.

Moyra now has paintings for sale in a local art shop and has had two more successful coffeehouse shows at Common Grounds.  She’s immersed herself in some additional training and her passion serves to encourage her 15-year-old niece to pursue showing and selling her photographic work.

One of the things that we love about Moyra’s story is that she made a “come-back” after years of wishing for an opportunity, she was finally able to make the time to paint and to see the ways that God can work through her gifts. She describes it as a “second chance to be creative” and many of us know what that’s like. For Moyra, each new day is an adventure as she explores the possibilities for using her art to serve and bless others…

I wrote another post with a few tips that I gleaned from Moyra on being a successful, part-time artist and making a come-back after years out of the game…

Click here to take the Arts in Worship Survey… You could be a FeaturedArtist.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength… they shall rise up on eagle’s wings.” -Isaiah 40:31

Almost a year ago, I started to feature artists who use their gifts in ministry and worship. As I am beginning to work on my book, I’ve decided it’s time to bring that back.

When I first spoke to Kathie Luther, I was really energized by her story, her conviction and the way she described her ministry.  As I continued to follow her photos and get to know her in the year since, I’ve also developed a deep respect for her as a woman of insight and wisdom. Here’s the original post:

Kathie is a mixed-media artist up in northern Michigan, with a broad scope of skill that covers painting, sculpting, textiles and photography. If you visit her photostream on Flickr.com, you’ll see examples of the many artistic interests and skills that Kathie has honed in her years teaching art to children, teens and adults.

Kathie first discovered a love of art in her high school biology class, where assignments required her to draw specimens. This, combined with her love of nature, inspired her decision to study biology and art at Northern Michigan University. She soon chose art as her major area of study and eventually received a degree in art with emphasis in sculpting, casting and pottery.

After college and making time to become a wife and mom, Kathie found herself teaching art in a K-12 Christian school and later began holding classes for children and adults in her home. As with many gifted teachers, Kathie is also a perennial student and through the years picked up painting, photography and digital media.

Her painting always tended to be inspirational in nature, but began to take on a more prophetic tone about five years ago. At that time, her themes and imagery began to trend toward symbolism and eschatology (related to the end times). You see a lot of that in the images that we’ve been featuring on the site.

For the record, I grew up and studied theology in a non-charismatic tradition, so I know that some of you can’t help but raise an eyebrow when I use the word “prophetic,” but what we’re talking about, simply put, is the idea that God still speaks. It doesn’t seem like a big stretch, in our media driven culture, that He would chose to speak visually.

Kathie told me that she doesn’t have a formula for creating a painting. Sometimes she wakes up and paints the images from a dream. Other times, she will trace the shadows created by imperfections on the canvas until an image coalesces. She has even done some of her painting during worship while the musical people in the room were singing.

And that is the kind of thing we love to hear.

Kathie continues to paint and create works in other media and teaches summer classes in the art center adjacent to her home. She holds summer art shows where she talks to the patrons who visit about the reality of God’s love and the ways that He still speaks. She reminded me of a prayer that King David prayed long ago:

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. - Psalm 25:4-5

Kathie still prays that prayer. After talking with her, I do too.

You can check out Kathie’s art on Flickr. She also has prints, postcards and some original paintings for sale at her eBay store.

There’s a park in the foothills, about 20 minutes from our home, where you can see mountains that are 50 miles north and 50 miles south… It’s a gorgeous place to shoot the sun setting over the Rocky Mountains… If you come to Denver, be sure to check out the Mt Falcon Open Space…

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art. Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows…

We’ve had some gray days this week and I stumbled upon this image that I shot back in the fall… The sky here in Colorado is SO blue most days…

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art. Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows…

'...and miles to go before I sleep...'

It’s been snowing here in the foothills… my favorite time of year.

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art. Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows (resuming in January).

Photo credit: Pinion by Tim Jones (timmyjohn1 on Flickr)

I took a little walk through Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs with my wife and daughter. The sky was unremarkable, so I was shooting monochrome and hoping for some dramatic contrast. Which I got when I pointed the camera up at this pinion pine…

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art. Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows (resuming in January).

Long's Peak by Tim Jones (timmyjohn1 on Flickr)

I took a hike up to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park with my brother toward the end of the summer. It’s about a 4-mile hike, there and back again with some spectacular scenery along the way, including this view of Long’s Peak. Long’s Peak is the tallest mountain in RMNP and the park’s only 14′er. You can see a bit of glacier, still frozen in August.

PhotoFriday is a feature of my own photographic art.  Join our group on Flickr.com to submit photos for post illustrations and FlickrFriday slideshows (resuming in January).