after the snow has melted

Of whom all nature hath creation

I bind unto myself today
The Name, the strong name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word;
praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Words: Patrick (372-466)
Music: St Patrick's Breastplate, Irish melody

My watercolor sketch of the River Boyne near Newgrange, Ireland.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me,
Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

dear March

Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886

Dear March - Come in - 
How glad I am -
I hoped for you before -
Put down your Hat - 
You must have walked -
How out of Breath you are - 
Dear March, how are you, and the Rest -
Did you leave Nature well - 
Oh March, Come right upstairs with me -
I have so much to tell -

I got your Letter, and the Birds - 
The Maples never knew that you were coming -
I declare - how Red their Faces grew -         
But March, forgive me - 
And all those Hills you left for me to Hue - 
There was no Purple suitable - 
You took it all with you -         
  
Who knocks? That April -
Lock the Door -

Epiphany Sunday

Rough sketch for the wood carving of the Great Doors at Church of the Resurrection.
Church of the Resurrection is in Wheaton, Illinois, I am a member and have contributed many hours of art work for the beauty of the sanctuary and narthex. I'd like to write a few posts about the Great Doors in future days and share the beauty of the final wood carving and some of my sketches that made up part of the five year project that is now completed.

rest and peace

When despair for the world grows in me....

I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

...I come into the presence of still water.

...For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

lines from the poem "The Peace of Wild Things"

by Wendell Berry

only light

Colour helps to express light, not the physical phenomenon, but the only light that really exists, that in the artist's brain.
-Henri Matisse

feast for the eyes

The first virtue of a painting is that it be a feast for the eyes.
- Eugene Delacroix

Ubi Caritas

Some Mondays

Gratitude

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." G.K. Chesterton