Faye's Feedback

What started with a desire to recreate a favourite sunset photo on canvas, ended with a foreboding message…or several, depending on how you look at it. I photographed a phenomenal sunset from a moving vehicle with two friends after a retreat in Minneapolis . The cloud and light formation reminded me of an angel, and I named my photo Angel Sky . On Sunday afternoon I decided to make an attempt at transferring the image in the photo to canvas. Foolish me… how can I possibly re-create something perfect that the Chief Artist Himself created first? After viewing my “finished” version of Angel Sky , I realized that my attempt was pleasant, but weak in the depth department. So I took the canvas, and with a bit of trepidation, made some additional modifications… The painting took on a whole new disturbing demeanor. One aspect of which is: while I spend an inordinate amount of time enjoying sunrises and sunsets (sometimes at the last second avoiding running my car off the ro...

A Painting Story... As I mentioned in my previous blog, I had been away at a refreshing weekend in Minneapolis for a conference called "Women of Faith". My husband called me on Saturday night to let me know that my pregnant daughter, Cherie, was in the hospital, and had been induced. I spent Sunday on the long drive home with my companions Jen Werner and Courtney Perez. We almost lost our way a couple of times, making wrong turn-offs - distracted with conversation and storytelling. Both girls were growing excited, in anticipation of finding out if my daughter had had her baby while we were traveling. The sunset that evening was spectacular - so I took many photos from the moving car, and Jen even stopped the car for a few minutes to snap a few more. At one point, Jen said that the sunset looked like a "crescendo", and I told her that if I painted it, I would give it that name in her honour. Here it is, Jen!! The weekend ended with a crescendo - Cherie...

I was away at a weekend women's retreat in Minneapolis when I got the news that my daughter had been induced and that her baby daughter was on the way. I cried and prayed with my roommate Ruthann, because I was far away from home. Jen, Courtney and I were leaving for our drive home the next morning, and we kept in touch with my husband as we traveled, in case there was news. Cherie and her baby were in God's hands, and if I had to miss the birth, it was my own fault. However, when I arrived home, the baby had not yet been born. I checked in at the hospital the next morning, and there was no indication that the baby would arrive soon, so I went to work for a while, to keep busy. My bosses and co-worker witnessed my blubbering reaction to the phone call in the afternoon, when my son-in-law Chris called to tell me that my granddaughter was waiting for me to come and meet her. My son Thomas works near to my office, so the two of us hightailed it to the St. Boniface Hospita...

How do you know when art is good?  They say " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. " For visual art, the answer is easy. Good art is "eye candy". You will find that it is difficult to draw your eyes away from it. Perhaps it is the combination of colour, the textures, or the way your spirit is drawn to the meaning of the piece. My own art may mean one thing to me, and another to someone else. The art of music is the same way. Ever since I received my boss' preview tracks of his new Christmas CD, I can't help but be drawn to listen to it over and over - the lyric and music attracting my attention in new ways every time. I play it in my car to and from work, play it while I exercise (I can think clearer then), and while I paint. It inspires me to paint in new and creative ways, and also to meditate on God and how He uses music as a key to open doors in people's hearts. A poem or book can draw one's attention so that you want to read it twice, th...

Have you ever had one of those moments that seem to stand still in your mind and memory where you know absolutely for sure that where you are in life is exactly where you should be? I've had two of those moments recently. The first when I saw the squirming silhouette of my unborn granddaughter, and the second while walking and holding hands with my husband's grandson Carter, who suddenly brought my hand to his cheek for a squeeze. Oh, those melting moments... At this moment in time my life is perfect. I am loved - really loved. We are healthy. We have family, grandchildren, jobs we love and a beautiful home. I am able to paint when I feel the urge or inspiration. I am truly blessed. It hasn't always been this way. Losing my first husband and my mother's gradual descent into dementia has been the most difficult period of my life. I just read today Romans 5:3-4 "...but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; persever...

The last few weeks I have been participating in a summer program designed by my friend Meggie, for the women of our church to pray for each other all summer long. I have a list of women, and I pray for one per day, and Meggie supplied some scripture references to help us pray. I have also been contemplating for the last few months, the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Whatever I am studying or reading comes out in my paintings. Today's painting is called Unfathomable . It is from one of the scriptures that Meggie gave me: Ephesians 3:18 & 19. The photo in the painting is taken from a rather unflattering photo of myself as I was sitting in the sun on the long weekend. I never realized my nostrils were so huge! I could have named the painting " Nostrildamus ", but I digress... I started painting the face at the bottom, and as I contemplated the rest of the painting, I realized that yet again the piece would represent several things: Pentecost, the Holy Spir...

It had been 3 1/2 weeks since I last painted. Starting a new painting was almost a bit intimidating, like I might have forgotten how. But for some reason, last night I was driven to pick up the brushes and a new masonite board that I am trying for the first time. It flowed beautifully all evening, and I feel like I'm free again. The reason for not painting was my mother's sudden heart attack, hospitalization, death and funeral. It was a shock to my system, and one that is taking a while to recover from. Two days before the heart attack, I was taking a weekend painting class in multi-media. My last assignment resulted in a small painting of my mother's face. The facial expression was very fearful looking, and she looked rather ghostly. Having my Mom become seriously ill after painting the portrait kind of freaked me out. Too much of a coincidence. I had been planning a spring art showing in my home, so I decided to go ahead with the showing - even t...