Meaning
I feel like the Lord is saying, "I am coming. I'm coming in power; I am coming in freedom; I am coming in joy; I am coming in hope, and I bring the mysteries and the great and wonderful things I’ve promised you with me. Open your heart because I'm going to show you the unsearchable things of my heart. Call upon my name and seek my face. I’m going to blow your mind with all my wonders.”
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This painting is titled the Arrival. It represents Heaven’s desire to back up our dreams and give us strategies to make them happen. The eagle, which represents Holy Spirit, seems like it has an incredible depth to it, as if it possesses eternity within itself. In Him, and inseparable from Him, are all the mysteries and revelations of Heaven.[1] He brings them as part of Himself, eager to give them to those who would seek Him. In the painting, it looks like He is breaking through the sound barrier. I can almost hear the eagle laughing as He soars at incomprehensible speeds into our secret place where we are most intimate with Him. His arrival is swift, it is sudden, and it cannot be missed. I feel joy and hope are being rediscovered as the Lord releases gifts and dreams we thought were unattainable.[2] Heaven is open and His glory is poured out.[3] It all seems to be arriving to the secret place at the exact same moment, as if summoned by the eagle. I feel like the Lord wants to release these things to us and is calling us to seek Him intimately and to pursue His heart so He can do exactly that. God wants our dreams more than we want them, and He’s excited to see them fulfilled.
[1] Represented by its colouring, black and blue. Black is mystery and blue is revelation.
[2] Joy is represented by the pink fog and hope by the yellow.
[3] Represented by the blue and gold oil pouring down the canvas.
Story
This is probably my favourite painting I have done. It's currently hanging in my dining room. While it's for sale, I kind of don't want to part with it. I think it will be bittersweet when it does sell. I really enjoyed making this one. Getting the paint to drip down the canvas was fun and messy, and it was exciting to see how it ended up drying. I'm sure my worship pastor appreciated me making those drips on the stage, haha! This is the first time I tried mixed media too. I experimented with the eagle using soft pastel and it turned out beautiful. One thing I love about the eagle is that if you look closely, it feels like there's an unsearchable depth to it. Well, at least I feel that way. To me, it's like it carries mysteries and discoveries within itself (which you can read in the meaning above). It's a very thrilling painting to me, and I still marvel at it today and think, "Wow! I made that?"