Art Projects

Aug 12 2019

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow – Pt. 5

Draw the Fence Posts and Sparrow

In this pastel painting workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the fence posts and sparrow in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Aug 05 2019

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt 4

Draw a Field of Yellow Flowers

In this workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the foreground in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

You’ll need some yellow pastels to do this part of the drawing.

[COUPON IS EFFECTIVE FROM 8/6/2019 THROUGH 8/13/2019]

Jul 29 2019

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt. 3

How to Draw Distant Trees

In this pastel painting workshop from See the Light artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw distant trees in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

All you need are some soft (chalk) pastels and paper with “tooth” (pastel paper or construction paper).

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

Jul 23 2019

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt. 2

Draw Distant Hills

In Part 2 of this pastel painting workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw distant hills in soft pastel.

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

May 27 2019

Ring of Tulips 2

About the Project

In Part 2 of the Ring of Tulips project, Jim shows how to add depth and variety to the tulip image created last week. He also demonstrates the value of “happy accidents,” as something unexpected happens with the airbrush–and ends up part of the final picture.

Lesson Objective:

Continue to master the use of the selection, symmetry, and airbrush tools. You also learn how to crop an image and explore the brush library in this lesson.

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE
(Note: This is not an affiliate link. It is only included for your convenience.)

Content Guide:

0:00 – 2:27 Change Background Color.

2:27 – 10:40 Add Texture and Interest to the Background.

10:41 – 16:09 Use the Airbrush Tool to Color the Petals.

16:10 – End Use the Airbrush, Select, and Symmetry Tools to Color the Leaves & Stems

Music courtesy of BenSound: http://bensound.com

Devotional Thought:

A Surprise Plot-Twist in Proverbs! (Proverbs 26:1-12)

I’ve had several novels published, and one of my favorite parts of fiction writing was introducing plot twists.

Well, plot twists aren’t only for fiction writers. In fact, one of the all time great plot twists can be found in, of all places, the book of Proverbs. The writer leads you down one path (talking about fools) for 11 verses, then BOOM, switches directions and makes a 90-degree shift and hits us all where we live.

The passage is Proverbs 26:1-12 and it begins like this:

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool (Prov. 26:1 NIV).

Then, for the next 10 verses, the writer characterizes fools, and basically paints a pretty hopeless picture of them. In fact, reading the passage could almost make you look down on these hapless, totally unreliable people that the writer of proverbs describes merely as fools.

Ah, but the writer of Proverbs has something else in mind here. He does not intend to make a point about fools as much as he does about pride.

In verse 12, he writes:

Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.

BOOM!

That is what might be called a “gotcha” moment. This whole time we’ve been nodding our heads and agreeing how hopeless fools can be. Then he looks at us and says, “Oh, by the way, do you know someone who sees himself as wise? There is more hope for a fool than for that person.

Ouch!

The point of those 12 verses isn’t the hopelessness of fools; it’s the blindness of pride. The truly hopeless person is one who is wise in his own eyes, for he sees no need to change.

May God help us to set aside pride and walk in humility to all around us, and especially toward God.

May 21 2019