Today, I painted my first bird. I’d wanted to paint birds for a long time but wasn’t sure how. I looked at a painting that I’ve been working on along the way and asked God what it needed; I’ve often gotten stuck on this painting. It came to me that the painting needed a bird—a sparrow. Suddenly, I had a reason to paint a bird, so I studied pictures of sparrows and painstakingly drew one. Then I set the canvas aside, again not knowing how to proceed. Today, I sat in the studio with worship music playing and the bird eventually emerged from my canvas. I was amazed. I’ve been painting professionally for a couple of decades but each new thing to paint takes new confidence. Today, I share with you my joy at accomplishing, and my encouragement for you to try new things too.

The finished sparrow in acrylic on canvas.

My New Jerusalem series is still under way with new posts coming but I’m working on other things at the same time.