Angels in Mixed Media - Garden Angel

 

Garden Angel

Unframed Mixed Media on linen board

16"x20"

For Sale

$300

Full size giclee

$150

 

I painted this sweet angel onto a linen board and surrounded her with a garden of tissue papers, wrapping papers, craft papers, and a beautiful wine colored fabric/paper with holes that I found at Jerry's Artarama.  I used acrylics and art pens to blend the various papers into one harmonious composition, and transitioned her wine colored gown into the fabric/paper in order to make it appear as if she floats through the garden while she watches over it and blesses its beauty.

 

 

 

Angels in Mixed Media - Praying Your Dreams Come True

 

Praying Your Dreams Come True

Mixed Media, unframed, on canvas board

16"x20"

For Sale

$300

Full sized giclee

$150

 

I have obviously jumped into mixed media with both feet, and stomped around joyfully like a small child in rain puddles!  It is making me so happy to make these angel pieces.  This one is also made with artist craft papers, wrapping papers, pieces of photographs, and acrylic paints and art pens.

Angels in Mixed Media - We Will Remember You

 

We Will Remember You

Mixed Media, unframed, on canvas board

16" x 20"

For Sale

$300

Full sized giclee

$150

 

I was working on this piece for Memorial Day of 2015, but didn't get it finished in time.  The upper background artist's craft paper is a typed letter home from a serviceman.  I changed the date to indicate that it was sent during WWII, and then formed the rest of the composition around that theme, with love letters from his wife, an actual death notification via telegram, etc.  All of my own WWII veteran relatives now await us in heaven, but they are lovingly remembered and missed dearly.

 

 

Angels in Mixed Media - Recorder of Seasons of Blessings

 

Recorder of Seasons of Blessings

16x20" unframed mixed media on Canvas board

For Sale

$300

Full sized giclee

$150

 

As I did this piece,  my abilities continued to expand, to overlap differing papers and use paints in order to blend their patterns into my own composition.  The paper with stone-shade circles was also used in the first piece, and seems to have been photographed from a tissue paper collage in order to make the wrapping paper design.  I have enhanced the circles and in an upcoming post you will see that I have begun to add tissue papers to my own creations.

 

Angels in Mixed Media - Advisor to Kings

 

Advisor to Kings

Mixed Media, unframed, on canvas board

For Sale

$300
Full sized giclee
$150

 

This is the second in a series of mixed media pieces.  The angel is by Fra Angelica, and is a depiction of the Archangel Gabriel.  There are 7 castles from different times down through the ages in several European countries, and Buckingham Palace.  I used photos, papers and acrylic paint, as well as artist pens to complete this composition.

 



Angels in Mixed Media - Bringer of Peace

 

Bringer of Peace (to cities)

Mixed Media on Canvas Board

16"x20"

For Sale

$300

Full sized giclee

$150

 

This is the first in a series about which I am extremely excited.  I still do oil paintings, acrylics and watercolors, and have launched head first into mixed media.  I am using photographs, old papers, new craft papers, wrapping papers, paper bags, and paints and art pens to create these angels.

 

 

 



"So Soon, Lord?"

 

Grieving Angel

"So Soon, Lord?"

 

Acrylic

30" x 40"

 

 SOLD

In Contemporary black shadow-box frame

 

 

 

After I found a stunning photo of this cemetery statue, I came upon several more in other places, some more artistically carved than others, and even one that had no wings at all!  She called to me to be painted and enjoyed by more people.  My sketched under-painting was done with a light purple paint, and I haven't done an angel in purples since my gray/purple/blue Key West angel titled, "I Will Remember You".  Somehow the purple seemed to suit her grief, so that's how she developed under my brushes.

 

I have no idea which statue was the original and which ones copies.  But I took artistic license with my version, and hope that she emanates the true grief any of us feels when a beloved's life is cut short, or who dies with purposes not completed.

 

Even though we can rejoice that the Lord promises us that He has numbered all the days of our lives, and has known and loved us since before we were created in our mothers' wombs, and He knows when even a tiny sparrow falls to the ground, the deep grief we must go through when someone leaves us is no less real for that knowledge.  We can take comfort in the anticipation of eternal reunion with those we love, but when someone we love dies, our remaining days on earth can seem like an eternity, too...

 

In all of your griefs, may the God of All Comfort hold you close to His loving heart in His safe, protective arms.

Joy's Angel

A dear friend found a photo on Facebook of an angel that she really connected with and I got permission from the photographer to use it as inspiration for a painting.... a surprise gift for my friend!

                                                              Hadasseh
                                                            Joy's Angel

 

 

As Joy and I spoke about how she felt she related to this angel statue, I began to pray about how to manifest her feelings in the painting.  First thing, the metal bird had to go!  She needed a dove to symbolize Holy Spirit right there with her through everything, on her shoulder, speaking to her and holding her steady through all of life's storms.  She also needed to be coming forth from those dark stormy places into light and freedom.  I changed the statue to let her hair fly free on the lit side, and to be tightly controlled on the shadowed side.  I also softened the face and made her more serene.  Often, God names my paintings and my angel pieces.  All I had for this one was the 'working title' of "Joy's Angel".  It was after Joy received her and hung her in her bedroom that the name came forth:  Hadasseh.  Holy Spirit gave me a lot of words of knowledge for Joy as I painted, and prophetic words, too!  The name He gave her for her special painting also holds a very intimate word of encouragement to my dear friend.  This is the kind of ministry that deeply excites me and makes me feel fulfilled as an artist and handmaiden of our Lord Jesus.

Keeper of Cherished Memories

It has been a very long time since I posted here.  My lack of geekhood has kept me out of my blogs until now.  I finally got far enough in to reset my password so that I CAN update you on what is happening in my art life.  Thank God!

                                           Keeper of Cherished Memories

Acrylic on Canvas

Unframed

FOR SALE

$500

 



This is a painting I was inspired to create from a headshot of an angel statue that had become completely engulfed in vines.  Her 'wings' are formed from imagined headstones behind her, and she appears as if she could very well be alive instead of a statue.  Most people wouldn't sit with a branch upon their heads, I suppose.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy her.

Vanguard

Vanguard

Acrylic

$500

As I continue to paint angels from photo references and from my imagination, skin tones that intrigue me are those that are more than human, or different than human.... You may have noticed my statue pieces are rarely "gray", but golds or blues or purples, etc.  So, please don't think that I see African skin tones as oranges and sepias, ok?  This huge, looming masculine warrior is intentionally in other-than-human colors.  He came solely out of my imagination and inspiration from Holy Spirit. 

A dear friend said that he reminded him of Mister T from the old show, "The A-Team" and how he would glower ferociously and say, "I pity the fool!" 

This angel is definitely supposed to represent a guardian angel, and his protection of the weak would be absolute.  He is a front-line kind of angel, ready for anything the enemies could bring on, so his name is Vanguard, which means the first battalian of warriors engaging the enemy armies.  He doesn't just hang out waiting for a fight, he charges out to get the enemy!

If you are in need of some protection today, or perhaps need encouragement that God does really send help, I hope that this angel painting will bring you comfort and hope.  Scripture tells us that "the angels of the Lord encamp round about those that fear His Name."  So, if you feel surrounded by enemies that you can see, be assured that you are also surrounded by those invisible ones who will fight on your behalf!  Call on the Name of the Lord!  He is with you and His angels are, too. 



Serenity

Serenity

Acrylic on canvas

24" x 18"



Two posts in one day after so many months!  I'm sorry, but it would be a shame to overlook this angel painting done from a black and white photo close-up of a gorgeous statue.  This blog site is only for the angels and not for all the other kinds of paintings I do. 

She seems to me sort of a cross between a living being and a bas-relief.  Perhaps she will share some of her serenity with you.  :-)

Undefeatable

Undefeatable

Acrylic and gold foil on canvas

$500.

Although I have hundreds of photographs of angel statuary, and often go through them to see if there is one among them that calls my name requesting to be painted, there are very, very few male angels among them.  And there are even fewer male warrior angels among them.  I want to paint male angel warrior angels, so I find this frustrating.  Holy Spirit asked me to just go ahead and paint some!  Ummm, with no references at all?  Yes, just paint.  I LOVE to "just paint"!  So, here is one angel portrait I've completed, whose name is Undefeatable.  The styling was influenced by the graphic novel characters we were recently painting for an event at the gallery, in case you wonder about his colors. But then, who really knows what colors angels may be, right?

It's a reassuring concept that one's guardian angel could not be defeated in battle.  I hope you like him.  If you do, I'd love to hear from you.

First Watch Over the Mississippi

First Watch Over the Mississippi

SOLD - Commissioned

36" x 24"

Acrylic on canvas

One of my earlier angel paintings found a home with a dear friend of ours in North Carolina where we used to live, and her daughter-in-law asked me if I would paint an angel for her to go over their fireplace.  She picked a palette that she loved from some of my other paintings, and asked for an angel in the sky however I saw fit to create her.

My first attempt was posted while in process on my Facebook page for Sarah Paints, and as it was forming, it became clear to me that this young wife and mother didn't need even the naked back of an angel in her living room!  So, that one is still in process at my studio for someone else, and I began again.

The "First Watch" includes the evening hours past dusk into the darkness of night, and this lovely angel is sweeping over the fire-orange sunset-lit autumn trees along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, guarding and blessing God's creation and creatures.

I hope she will bring blessings into my friends' home and a smile to your face!  If you would like to commission me to create a painting for you, please contact me.

First Watch Over the Mississippi will soon be available as prints and note cards.

Our Little Angel

Maddie with Wings

(Our Little Angel)

I love endearments.  I think they make the person you love feel even more special.  Recently I remembered that my Dad called me "Little Bit" when I was small.  It made me feel precious.  And "Precious" is what our Gran called all of her grandchildren, me included.

Maddie is a little over a year old now, and most often, both of her parents call her "Maddie Bug".  Cute, huh?  Anyway, I've not thought of her as "our little angel", even though I knew that after they visited when she was 10 months old I just HAD to paint her as a cherub.  I used for a reference photo a picture of her seated on a 12' trampoline, looking at a leaf.

The painting is 24"x24" and is done in oils.  I had to really scramble to get it done and dried before shipping it off to California in time for Christmas!  It was a success, as both our daughter and our son-in-law cried over it!!!  They had no idea I was painting Maddie, and their response to it made me extra happy.  Plus, I got to smile for over a month as I painted her.  It made me feel almost as if she were still here with us on the east coast.  California is a very long way away from Virginia....

Makeda Mekelle

Makeda Mekelle

(Beautiful, Who Is Like God)

Amharic

18" x 24"

Oil on Linen with gold foil

$800

Also available as prints and note cards.

One of my 'friends' on Facebook is a wonderful artist and photographer named Gisela Hammer.  She graciously allowed me to paint a small child that she had photographed.  In her picture, this little girl is in ragged clothes.  The filthy shirt was so torn that there were no shoulders.  She was holding a staff, and stood smiling in front of a rock wall.

There have been other times I gazed upon a person, usually a child, and felt that God gave me His heart and His eyes to see that one, fully loved, fully healed, fully blessed and protected as only our Heavenly Father could do.  That's how it was when I saw this precious little girl.  I saw past the earthly to her true self, her highly esteemed position in Abba's kingdom, and created from her present image an eternal angel.  I "redeemed" her torn T-shirt, stitched in an African gold necklace, and replaced her staff with a golden angelic trumpet.  I hope when you look on this painting, your heart swells.  I hope that you will look on the lowly and the ragged with God's heart and God's eyes, and be filled with His love for them.  He loves you the same way, you know.

Matthew 18:3

And Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Mark 9:37

“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My Name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One Who sent Me.”