MASTER MARKS – Compassion

Today I want to look at a painting by William Bouguereau (1825-1905) called “Compassion.”  It is not merely about the death of Jesus, but our response to His death. In my view, the man is demonstrating his love for Jesus. He longs to know Christ and identify with Him in his sufferings. It reminds me of, Romans 6:3-9:

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

The man also shows the response to his love for Christ. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” This man carries his own cross in obedience and love.

It is painted with very subtle, neutral colors. The palette is tans/browns and dusty grey/blues. The Painting has a background, and a foreground (no middle ground). The Composition moves your eyes from the man’s face, up to Christ’s face, and then oval around the two figures. The use of lights and darks, brightness and contrast is very natural and creates a well balanced contrast. The brightest areas are the sky, Jesus’ shoulder, Jesus’ cloth, the horizon sky, and the feet/ground area.

By studying other paintings and techniques we challenge ourselves to become better artists for the Lord. Use your gifts for God’s glory!

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FREE SAMPLE #2 FROM THE PROPHETIC ART BOOK SHADOW PAINTER

Shadow Painter, prophetic art, revelation art, Christian Art.

Below is an excerpt from the chapter, “33 CATEGORIES OF VISUAL PROPHETIC ART.” Every Christian artist should understand conceptual art!!! It is the backbone of how God speaks through much of our art!!! (If you want to grow in prophetic art, purchase SHADOW PAINTER by Laurie A. Stasi on Amazon.) The excerpt reads as follows:

 

“#16 CONCEPTUAL ART

God speaks in concepts and parables and these should be included in prophetic art. In the Bible a pile of rocks became a monument to what the Lord has done. The concept behind the pile made it a tribute to the Lord. Rocks themselves mean nothing. In modern conceptual art, it is the concept or meaning that is important in the art or object. I visited a modern art museum and saw a chair that was placed upside down on the floor. Close by was an artist statement, describing what the chair placement represented. The artist’s ideas were the important artistic contribution; the chair was a prop to represent the idea. Encyclopedia Britannica explains conceptual art this way:

“Conceptual art, also called post-object art or art-as-idea,  artwork whose medium is an idea (or a concept), usually manipulated by the tools of language and sometimes documented by photography. Its concerns are idea-based rather than formal.” (Britannica)

And Sol LeWitt, famous conceptual artists once said,

“In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. . .The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” (Sol LeWitt)

Our God is very symbolic in His language to us. Dreams are presented in symbolic ways to make us ponder and engage us to get us thinking. Conceptual art puts a demand on the viewer to think. Why is that chair upside down? What is the artist trying to say? I would love to see galleries and museums filled with conceptual art that has hidden messages from God. Our Father loves word puns; it actually makes Him laugh! He enjoys making us contemplate. Jesus reminded the disciples that the people were, “ever seeing but never perceiving.” He wanted to challenge the disciples to think about and ponder the parables. Conceptual art is under-used in the church; most people don’t even know what it is. What a great opportunity to make them think about the things of God.”

 

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Prophetic Painting- Trousseau for the Bride

I painted at a women’s worship meeting yesterday and painted this painting. Several months ago my husband and I were in France. We had particular interest in visiting sites where the Huguenots had been martyred. In one of the cities we saw a clothing shop with a rotating mannequin in the window. It wore a white dress that had sketches of dresses pinned to it. I took a photo. I was drawn to it, believing the Lord wanted there to be sketches of churches on it. He also spoke to me the word “trousseau.” It is a dowry, or an outfit of the bride. It can be a hope chest, glory box or its contents. I believe the Lord wants to give the Bride a trousseau. He wants her adorned as the beautiful Church. The fact that the dress was rotating, means to me that there have been seasons when God has given out these beautiful gifts, and it is coming around again!

On our trip we visited many beautiful churches, basilicas, and cathedrals. They are so stunning as they let in colorful light through their stained glass windows. I love the magnificent architectural elements, the gothic arches, the stone carvings and massive wood doors. God wants to bring beauty back to the Bride of Christ. He wants to give her a “hope chest” of blessings, glory and beauty. He wants the very structure of the Church’s spiritual character to be beautiful.

As a side note: the Huguenots were known as being artists and craftsmen.

 

MASTER MARKS – 4 minutes to better paintings

For our first discussion artwork, I chose this piece by Jean Schormans. I saw it on a recent trip to Paris. It was a large painting, hung above another large piece, but it caught my husband and my attention. The emotional response was probably what grabbed us first. You have a group of boys, from another generation, being typical boys. There is a ringleader standing confidently with his feet apart, (body language is important!) and the followers. We related to this on many levels, as we run a drug rehab program, you always have the ringleaders and followers. Jesus also was a leader, and had His followers.

Notice the coloring, it is filled with soft gray blues and tans. It has good contrast, with the blacks strongly grounding the main subject. The alley line on the right leads your eye into the piece. It is softy realistic, loosely painted.

Where does your eye go when you view the piece? The composition is simple, so your eye doesn’t travel based just on the composition, but it follows the action. We notice the hands, the eyes and expressions.

You may want to copy this piece and learn from the painting technique, or even just a small study of one of the heads. Enjoy!

Leave your comments on this artwork, I would love to hear from you!

BUILDING BETTER ARTISTS – JUNE

Have you noticed that a lot of prophetic art is very amateur? The message from the Lord may be clear, but the skills of the artist need to be developed. I will address this issue in upcoming posts by sharing a copy of a master work, and then discussing it and leaving it open for comments. When you study art in a good art school, they will have you copy a master work to learn from their style and technique. It is amazing what we can learn from years of study of Rembrandt, Degas, or the line work of Da Vinci by looking closely at their work.

Look for upcoming posts, MASTER MARKS, and grow in your art!!!

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

I worked on this book  for over five years, collecting treasured words and instruction that the Lord was speaking. God wants the arts to be taken back for His glory! He wants the prophetic word to be released! He wants the prophets to rise up and grown in their calling! HOW EXCITING!!!

FROM THE BACK COVER:

SHADOW PAINTER is an instructional handbook for prophetic Christian artists, that will help them grow in their calling. This handbook includes 33 catetories of prophetic art. It contains exercises and Bible Studies for individuals and groups. Whether you are a painter, writer, sculptor, photographer, banner designer or any other type of artist, this book will help you grow as a Christian prophetic artist. SHADOW PAINTER explains the Biblical background of Bezalel, the first person who was spirit-filled and chosen to create the objects of the tabernacle. It discusses wisdom, creativity, imagination and the amazing gift of accessing the heavenly realm. It covers spiritual principles relating to the supernatural. It gives guidance in creating small art groups, as well as personal instruction for living as a prophetic artist. This handbook encourages ways to take back the arts and how to interceed regarding the arts. If you hunger for God and want to use your creative gifts for Him, this book will support you in your quest. It will also help guide the beginner in learning to hear from the Lord. Equip yourself as a prophet for our generation. Purchase SHADOW PAINTER on Amazon today!

Welcome to Shadow Painter – INTRODUCTION

We live in a generation that is seeking more of the Lord and of spiritual things. Many are receiving revelation from Him. Countless individuals have dreams, visions or even trances. Some of these people feel called to demonstrate what they have seen or heard in their creative art. These individuals we now call, “prophetic artists.”

The aim my new book SHADOW PAINTER, is to help prophetic artists in every area of art to understand the vast possibilities in doing art for God. SHADOW PAINTER includes 33 types or categories of prophetic art, 29 exercises, and 24 Bible Study topics to develop your prophetic artistic gifting.

SHADOW PAINTER will also help others in the church understand what prophetic art is, and why God wants the body of Christ to embrace the Father’s gift of creativity. I hope to encourage artists in the lifestyle of the prophetic, and give helpful direction in hearing from Him and interpreting their visions.

The Bible gives us solid understanding of the prophetic and the arts. SHADOW PAINTER stands on scriptures to present topics related to art, imagination and creativity. Christian artists should know what the Lord says related to these subjects so they can be the most effective in their callings as artists.

I pray that as you read this book, God will anoint your creativity, and you will find more ways to use the arts for the Lord’s glory. Whatever your field of study, weather it be the visual arts, music, cinema, calligraphy, banners, photography, dance, writing, drama, etc., Shadow Painter will give you information that will stretch you and help you grow in your creativity. As I wrote, I frequently put information in context of visual art, but please apply the principles to your creative medium.

The Lord has precious revelation He wants to release to our generation. He has prophetic guidance and wisdom He wants to impart to His children. I pray that churches will embrace the arts, and the artists in their calling as they release a message from heaven. I encourage artists to fearlessly go forward with the message they have received.

The world has had an evil grip on the arts for too long. Its time we take them back and offer them as a sweet sacrifice to our Savior. SHADOW PAINTER will give direction and guidance and together we can create for the Lord’s glory.