I’ve always loved thunderstorms. Heavy rain, rumbling thunder that you can feel deep in your chest. God seems extra near as the sky lowers toward us. As the storm approaches, the sky changes, the colors shift as a cool wind blows in. These colors are the colors I love to paint with, deep almost black colors, muted grays, silver, the gold sifting through clouds.  These colors inspire me. 

Inspiration comes from a deep well inside of us. It connects us to creation, the process of creation. The desire to be fruitful. Within us and around us we see reflections. Beauty is a reflection.  

Creation was created for the purpose of beauty – reflecting the beauty of God. We are reflections of beauty, we see moments so tiny. Forgotten, but created for that moment. So often we are lost, drifting by. But what if we stayed in a little bit of wonder? I want to capture that wonder to remind myself that I don’t have to always be searching and seeking. I can be still and know that God is God. 

I want to see creation poured out and translated onto canvas. I want to capture moments of stillness. God created moments captured, struggled over, and found their sense of right.  I paint until I feel a sense of rightness. A sigh of relief, rest for the eyes.  

The world can be so hard. Things don’t always feel right, that life like a painting is a struggle. But with faith the messy middles become righted. That good beauty will come out at the end. Changes can sometimes be inevitable, but something beautiful will be there at the end. It can be hard, it can be so hard. But it is worth it. It is worth the struggle to have something beautiful. 

Beauty is worth the struggle.