Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanskgiving One and All!

"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers..."

Philemon 1:4

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I'm heading to Houston for Thanksgiving, so I'll catch up with you all when I return Sunday. Blessings to you all!

Illustration Friday: Free

Free to be who you were made to be...

"Work like you don't need the money, love like your heart has never been broken, and dance like no one is watching."
Aurora Greenway

To live above your circumstances, to dance in the face of fear, to love unconditionally, to speak from your heart, to laugh at yourself, to be gracious under fire, to have patience for the intolerable, to have hope for the future when the present tells you otherwise - that is freedom!

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"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:32

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"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
John 8:36

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"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17

Illustration Friday: Strength

I'm always inspired by people who have a quiet strength. They face tough problems and painful situations with grace. They choose to laugh when others would be bound up in bitterness. Truly, the "joy of the Lord is their strength" (Nehemiah 8:10)

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"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever."
Psalm 73:26 (NLT)

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"The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Psalm 118:14

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"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29

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"But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

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"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
Philippians 4:13

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"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
Psalm 59:16-17

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I didn't have time for a drawing this week (I barely got this in before the next topic), but chose to do a little photo manipulation instead. Done in Corel PhotoPaint

p.s. So sorry I have not had time to provide comments to your fine artwork out there - but it has blessed me!

Hello Friends!

I really hate not writing on a more regular basis. I really do, but there is currently not much that I can do about it, but to take a couple of stolen moments and say hi when I can - like now.

So, I'll throw out a couple of my random photographic images to let you know I'm out here and wishing like anything that I could pull up a chair with you, enjoy some yummy coffee, and chat the afternoon away...


Thinking of you...

HUGS,
Becky

Illustration Friday: Night

The night sky never ceases to inspire me - the nightly dance of the moon and stars, choreographed to perfection by the Creator, delights and thrills me. Wonder and awe fill me as I gaze upward - how can it be that this masterful symphony of shimmering perfection is lavished on me...mere me? And I realize that the Father delights in delighting His children! He splashes sunsets and northern lights and shooting stars all across the vast canvas of the universe - and for all their beauty, they only HINT at the majesty of their Maker. WOW!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

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Done in Painter 9 (click image to see a larger version)

Looking Forward - Looking Back

I think I've settled on a new banner for my illustration site. (click image to see a larger version). I have much more to do to get my site updated (I haven't even added this banner to it yet) but, at least I'm making a little bit of progress.

One thing that I'm excited to see after 5 months of blogging and participation in Illustration Friday, is the number of new designs I have for my portfolio. I printed out all my Illustration Friday entries since June and counted up 20 entries - 18 of which were brand new pieces. That was just what I hoped would happen when I started this. IF gives me the motivation to create on a regular basis, and that's just what I needed. Hopefully I won't always need IF to motivate me - but for my situation, working full time in a demanding non-artistic environment, it's just the push I need after hours to head to the computer or the drawing table and create.

Here are a few of my personal favorites from the past 5 months:

• My first IF entry is still one of my favorites - "Black & White" was the theme. I illustrated a black and white coloring book longing to be colored.
• Hardest IF entry had to be for "Heroes" - I chose to do a tribute to teachers and it was ambitious - took me forever - but I love it.
• Most commented on - that would be the painting I did in Painter 9 of the moon rising over a lake for "Reflection". It was fun to do something in a realistic style for a change.
• Most fun to draw - that would be the one I did for "Wisdom" - it was right up my alley - all my favorite things rolled up into one picture celebrating the awesome creative genius of God.
• Favorite "cut-out" style - I've been developing this cut-out style for a while now, but I had always used it for small little items like icons for my illustration page, etc - but during these past few months I've been using it for entire illustrations and I'm loving it. My current favorite cut-out is the one I did for "Float" of a mouse using a fall leaf as a sort of parachute. He was very fun and quick to do - which was nice. All my cut out design are done using Painter 9.

So, next steps are to add several pieces to my online portfolio from this new work I've done, and to overhaul the illustration site to better reflect my evolving style. And beyond that - who knows...? I still hope to be able to make a living as an illustrator/licensed artist some day and I'm excited about making slow but steady progress toward that goal. Meanwhile - I'll keep waking up on Friday and heading to my computer for the latest Illustration Friday topic - and in 5 more months I'll have 20 more new pieces to show for it. Not a bad plan.

Thanks for looking forward and looking back with me!