By Brent Wittmeier, edmontonjournal.com January 25, 2012

Wow! Brent did a great job with the article. It is exciting to be part of it.To read the article just click on Brent's name or the article title.

As I have been thinking on this for a few years I have found others pursuing the same and similar ideas and themes. God speaking to us through the creative arts and we in turn speak to him through the creative arts. I do it with painting, but Michael Card does in through his music. And we in turn can hear God through the mediums of each other. 

I will be leading three sessions on Painting Prayers. I want to give people the chance to experience it, so I will not speak long before we just dive right in to listening to scripture and music and painting what we are hearing and feeling and being moved toward through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14-17

14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit – deep inside us, our inner consciousness.

Gordon Smith, gave me words to describe what I was experiencing. In his book, The Voice of Jesus, he wrote this about our inner consciousness, "We affirm that the Spirit of God communicates inwardly to the consciousness of those who are prepared to listen."

I love this description that singer/ song writer, Michael Card, in Scribbling inthe Sand, wrote "Being the Creator-Artist that he is, the great Romancer, the perfectly loving Father, God calls out to us, sings to us, paints images in our minds through the prophet's visions. These sounds and songs, these visions, stand at the door of our imaginations and knock. Through them God opens the door of his own inner life to us. He paints pictures of His hopes for our future as well as his worst nightmares of what is waiting for us if we choose to go on living without him. He pleads with us to open the eyes of our hearts, to hear with our ears, to really understand....I believe human imagination is the door at which Jesus says he stands and knocks in Rev 3:20 – a door that we have the freedom to leave closed or to open up to him. ...Only a few verses later, as John's awesome vision begins in Rev 4:1, his comment is especially meaningful, "After this I looked and there before me was a door standing open."

I pray that as I head into the weekend, the Holy Spirit will move through the room where we are, touching hearts and lives in a way only He can. I pray for each person who participates that he or she will listen with their heart and open the door of their imagination and let God speak with them and they with Him.

Watercolor and ink sketches from a summer holiday in Kananaskis..

Lower Kananaskis Lake

Ptarmigan Cirque

The next two sketches are the mountains around Upper Kananaskis Lake:

The Whyte Avenue Artwalk is only a couple more days away...July 15-17, 10 am -5 pm. I am excited to be there and sharing my art with whomever comes by. I have a new tan gazebo this year  so my paintings are more protected.
It is fun to see and meet the other artists that are in my area - to inspire one another, encourage each other. There are about 300 artists participating.
I encourage you all to come by if you are in Edmonton, we will be there rain or shine but I am hoping the rain will stop by then.
I will be in Iron Horse Park (space 11) 103St and Whyte Ave. (About the middle of the park, under a tan gazebo.)

I recently finished a couple more small starfish paintings wihich are framed and ready for the art walk.

Dancing Starfish, watercolor, 3"x4"

And  - Stretching, Watercolor, 3" x 4"

With summer finally here (today is my daughter's last day of school), I am looking forward to sunshine and camping and the Strathcona Whyte Ave Art Walk. As I painted at the Bonnie Doon Mall this month a couple of times, I worked on this handmade paper painting of a place I dreamed of - of  summer, hiking and camping, and time with my family. I love going to the mountains on holiday.  Where do you like to go for a holiday?

The Strathcona Whyte Avenue Art Walk is Friday, July 15 - Sunday, July 17 from 10 am to 6 pm, in Edmonton. I will be under my tent in the middle of Iron Horse Park on the corner of 103 St and Whyte Ave. Stop by and say "Hi"

With all the warmer weather we have been having, I am looking forward to getting outdoors more to enjoy it and capture it in paintings. There is a lot of beauty in the Edmonton area - so I don't have to even venture very far to find it.   I love watching all the leaves come in and the blossoming trees. Millcreek Ravine is so beautiful in each season and we get to walk in it every day with our dogs.

Elk Island National Park is also not far away from Edmonton. It is another beautiful place to hike and see wildlife. I am fascinated with the Bison - Can you imagine there used to be heards of thousands roaming the plains? 

These three watercolours and print of a watercolour are going to be showing at the Eye C Gallery, along with 11 other paintings and limited edition prints, where I will be the featured artist for the month of June.

I will spend the afternoon there on June 4 in front of the gallery painting at my easel in the mall. 12-4pm. Come by and see me!

June 1-30, 2011

Featured Artist

Eye C Gallery

Bonnie Doon Mall

#181, 82nd Ave & 83rd St,

Edmonton Alberta

Beacon Original Art

On April 30, I attended the Beacon Original Art Show in Calgary. I enjoyed the day with 12 other artists as we talked, shared and encouraged each other. It was a good variety of work and styles.As an artist,  I enjoy seeing how other artists can interpret the same subject matter.

Here you can see some of the different styles along side of my paintings. There was a fibre artist, a couple of photographers, acrylic, oil, pastel, and watercolor painters  We filled the place up with art.

I showed about 28 of my paintings, quite a bit of the "Beauty of the Coast" series and had lots of opportunity to talk about the paintings with different people.

A lot of people came through - close to 200! The group has done several of these spring shows and one in the fall. This was my first time joining them.

I was honored to have one gentleman want to take one of my paintings home with him. "The Road Less Traveled," now is being enjoyed by him..