The Yellow Ochre Newsletter
A weekly curation of encouragement and practical wisdom to turn your art from a hobby into a purposeful blessing for your community and culture.
From Eustace to Useful
My kids have been listening through C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We’ve refrained from watching the Narnia movies until they’re imaginations have marinated from the books.
We noticed the character, Eustace, sounds a lot like the word useless. And his actions display such things.
We even made a fun game out of his character. “Everyone take your Eustace glasses off and put on your useful ones.”
Eustace might be one of my favorite Narnia characters due to his transformation.
5 Lessons About Plateauing Faith from Art-Making
Our imaginations preach at us from years of going to church. Ideas pop into our heads, don’t they? Snippets of truth and untruth. Clippings of truth needing untwisting.
Sometimes, when I feel like my faith in God is plateauing, my trained imagination tells me things like, “read the Bible more!” “Pray more, Matt.” “Evangelize more.”
It is hard to compete with these sayings. They are good things after all, aren’t they? However, God’s wisdom is meant to take scriptural truth and guide us wisely through the specific day-to-day circumstances.
Here are a few things art-making has taught me about those seasons when I felt my faith plateauing:
1. We were designed to make. To be an artist implies you use that skill. Using your craft gives artists the right to call themselves, “artists.” So it is with Christians. Being a disciple of Christ implies your whole life permeates with the life and love of Jesus. We were designed to use what God gave us and steward it. Every time I make something, something that did not exist now exists in the world to be useful and beautiful for whomever. When I say “designed to make” I mean God gave us gifts to invest into the world for his kingdom. Whatever He’s given us, make something with it. When Jesus was asked about the end of world, check out his commands and parable implications from Matthew 24-25. As the disciples and Jesus interact about the destruction about the temple, he says things like this:
Watch out that no one deceives you about signs of Jesus’ return (24:4)
See that you are not alarmed…the end is not yet (24:6)
The one who endures to the end will be delivered (24:13)
If anyone tells you ‘Look, here is the Messiah’… do not believe it (24:23)
Take note of what Jesus is saying here [his coming will be very apparent] (24:25)
Learn the parable of the fig tree: seeing these things means the end is near (24:32-34)
Be alert (24:42), Know this (24:43), Be ready (24:44)
Faithful is the one… (24:45)
…the master who finds the slave working… (24:46)
The virgins who were ready for the bridegroom’s return went in with him to the wedding banquet. Those not ready were not welcome (25:10)
Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour of the master’s return (25:13)
Invest God’s gifts: The faithful are those who invest their talents God gave them (25:14-30)
Invest in: the needy, hungry, thirsty, stranger, sick, naked, prisoners (25:35-36)
2. Give away. Besides learning to be content and enjoy the gift of artistry from my Father, I’ve learned how fulfilling it is to give that gift away to others. God gave us gifts, skills, and talents to serve and give away. This is not merely giving away artwork (which I enjoy doing) but giving away how to do artwork. There are always people out there who need things (time, talent, skills, mental bandwidth, material goods and services, etc.) you particularly possess.
3. Arts as metaphor for making good works. Arts engage in the realm of metaphor. God gave us each good works to walk in since before the foundation of the world. Good works come about through the act of making them (I’ve written some on this topic here). We make moments with others through words and actions. Have you ever felt encouraged by someone’s words? Ever felt strengthened or motivated by a sports coach to get moving with a renewed kindling toward action? Has a movie ever stirred your heart from a thing? Have you ever been gifted something so wonderful it brought you tears? Yes, those were all things made by someone else. Making isn’t simply about arts and crafts. Making is how we live our lives.
4. Making gives clarity to a thing. Making is all about a journey towards discovery. This might be one of the most misunderstood things about art today. When people view or hear a profane thing, it is easy to conclude the artist has arrived at such destination. Perhaps they have…for that day. But I assure you, art is all about discovery. Picasso’s bulls illustrate this well.
Picasso famously showed this journey of abstraction in his lithographs of the bulls above. Say what you will about Picasso’s own worldview, values, and how he expressed all that. Art making helps us clarify something into it’s simplest form, much like understanding the irreducible minimum of Pablo’s visual bull. Art is the process of getting to see the forest rather than the trees. Understanding this has guided me to focus on the irreducible minimum in bible reading, or, what is God’s heart in whatever passage I read.
5. Making is the completion of understanding a concept. Consuming data is different than learning it. I have found Scripture more crystalizing by engaging in some of the following ways following reading:
Create infographs
Doodle what I’m reading
Napkin drawing of how I’d give that thought away visually
Attempting to write a poem
Writing a song
Painting
These activites have helped my meditation process. And the fruit compounds. I can give these things away. Creating a corpus of Scripturally focused stuff roots the text deeper into my bones.
If we feel our faith is plateauing, what if that restless feeling is because we’ve buried goods things God has given us? What would it look like to use your unique accessible tools which have been on the shelf collecting dust? What will you make with your life today?
No One Person…
So, I possess an unusual amount of pencils.
These don’t even including the common #2 pencils we have around the house. It’s not that I’m a lover of pencils, though. They all serve different purposes. Usually, I underline and write notes in books with a pencil. Other times, I’ve done drawings with them.
Papa Gani (2014). Graphite (pencil). Matt Taylor
But this blurb isn’t merely about pencils. It’s about community and what individuals within that community choose to do.
Did you know no one person can make a pencil.
Actually, it takes an entire global workforce to make one.
Consider this. This global unity project, known as the pencil, is an effort to create one simple, graphite, tool for our lives.
With the invention of the pencil, we can create worlds, jot down tasks, scribble notes, or make a piece of art. When the gift of the pencil is used, it multiplies into many streams of gifts to continually impact the world.
If you are part of the pencil-making process, thanks.
If you are the pencil, use it to bless others.
Two Kinds of People in the End
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”
C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, 75
Cali Surf With My Brother
Cali Surf with My Brother (Digital painting, 2022)
It is always a wonderful thing to encapsulate memories into art.
A couple years ago, I visited my brother who lives in California—a place I’ve always desired to explore. Knowing this, my wife gifted me with that opportunity for Christmas. My time with my brother was wonderful. He was a great host who showed me all his favorite spots around the city.
Surfing happens to be one of his newfound hobbies. I was eager to learn from him.
This painting reminds me of that visit. It reminds me of the joy of learning something new (like surfing) and relearning something unclear (like playing with colors in a painting). It reminds me of the beauties of God’s world, of glories difficult to describe with words.
My 16 Favorite Online Painters
A few years ago, I began following more artists on social media. I quickly observed that an unconscious decision to do so resulted in inspiration for creating more art just for the joy of it. It ignited a strong yearning to continue learning and to follow curiosity in the making of art.
After several years, here are sixteen of the most enjoyable and helpful painters I’ve gleaned from. Learning from each of these artists has been like a second art degree program! To be clear, these reflect artists I’ve found personally helpful in my ongoing development in visual arts. They do not represent all artists I look up to or enjoy. They are not all who freely give away tutorials. They are simply ones I’ve come across and go back to. I’m thankful each of them chose to show and tell their work.
If you have any interest in visual arts, check out all of the videos you can by each of these terrific people. These are rabbit trails you want to go down!
Lixin yin
Something clicked in color theory by watching and listening to Lixin Yin. His loosened use of texture, color, and shapes freed me from some of my “stuck-ness” in painting. YouTube. Twitter. Instagram.
Aaron Blaise
Aaron Blaise (The Lion King, Brother Bear) is one of the G.O.A.T. in the animation world. I would say Blaise is responsible for reigniting my love for painting. I also feel like I am watching a 90s Disney movie every time I listen to him. He’s the kind of guy I would love to spend a day with painting, grilling, and asking about his life. Youtube. Instagram. Twitter.
Nathan Fowkes
I should stop saying “G.O.A.T.” because there’s too many on this list. Yet, Nathan Fowkes (The Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Shrek Universe, How to Train Your Dragon, The Legend of Puss in Boots) is one of them! Fowkes unlocked for me even more unconventional rules of color theory. I don’t think I retweet anyone more than I do of Fowkes. YouTube. Instagram. Twitter.
James Gurney
If you have any interest in gouache, illustrator James Gurney is your guy! You’ll find a plethora of Gurney’s material all around the internet. His do-it-yourself mentality helped me break out of my own do-it-by-the-rules mode of art-making. Want to make your own easel? Go for it! Gurney helped me also understand that limitations are a good thing in art. Small sketchbook? Details with small brushes? Limited color palette? Limitations are a path to artistic freedom. YouTube. Instgram. Twitter.
Craig Mullins
Craig Mullins is the guy the G.O.A.T.s look up to. I had forgotten about Mullins. About 20-25 years ago, I saw his digital paintings. I was hooked. It might be one of the top contributions which led me to take art as a serious major in art school. Ask any digital artist, they might say the same. I only wish he had more tutorials online! YouTube. Instagram. Twitter.
Devin Korwin
I came across Devin Korwin via a helpful Twitter thread with some excellent art tips. His use of brushwork inspired me to return to the simplicity of default photoshop brushes. Instagram. Twitter.
Joseph Zbukvic
Watercolor master Joseph Zbukvic leaves me speechless. Watching him is like watching art history in action. Even if you don’t paint, gather the family around your streaming device, grab some popcorn, and watch him work! Instagram. Just YouTube his name!
Stan Miller
Last, but certainly not least, is Stan Miller. Miller’s work is the kind of work I often pull out my phone, show my wife, and with my jaw slightly dropped say, “Isn’t this amazing?!” Miller, a master watercolor artist, has done the the visual artist world a service with some terrific tutorials. Miller, more than more, showed me how you can use really any color so long as the value is correct. YouTube. Instagram.
Works Make Faith Alive!
Recently, I preached on James 2:14-26.
The passage contains one of the Reformation’s most famous texts: Faith without works is dead. Martin Luther depended strongly on this verse as a response to Rome’s salvation-comes-by-works theology. His heart was to say faith alone is all God requires for salvation.
500 years later, the same idea remains: we do not achieve salvation by our works. Jesus’ work on the cross accomplished what we could not on our own. So what is the place for our works?
As I prepared my message, I resonated in a fresh way with this text. I reflected on it as an artist, as a worker. I know James’ concept of works was not exactly art-making. And yet, I wondered how art-making might shed some light on this.
I wondered what would happen with a simple rewording. Instead of “faith without works is dead” (which sounds kind of negative to me), what if we made it sound more proactive? “Works make faith alive!” Something about this rewording gets me moving. This rewording helps me understand God’s heart and the heart of what His word says in a fresh way.
In light of the “works make faith alive” idea, how is all our life’s work impacted?
As we serve our families, friends, and neighbors, God's life permeates our imperfect efforts. With each moment of our day, we can choose to believe we are children of God and stewards of that which he has given us. What if we operated with that M.O. every 5-minutes? What if your next decision were guided by that in both your belief and imagination?
God has already created us as makers. We make moments. We make stuff. At the end of the day, we look back on our day’s creation(s). We look and we see our words and actions have constructed a manifestation of our values, beliefs, and worldviews. Whatever story we believe about who we are found itself in that day’s efforts.
Metaphor: The Marriage of Thought and Imagination
C.S. Lewis provided three guiding principles concerning the interplay between thoughts and the imagination. I’ll just call this the marriage which metaphor provides:
We have now three guiding principles before us:
1. That thought is distinct from the imagination which accompanies it.
2. That thought may be in the main sound even when the false images that accompany it are mistaken by the thinker for true ones.
3. That anyone who talks about things that cannot be seen, or touched, or heard, or the like [the other senses], must inevitably talk as if they could be seen or touched or heard [i.e. metaphor].
From chapter 10. “Horrid Red Things” in Miracles by C.S. Lewis.
“…In The West”
Considering the present global context, particularly the increasing influence of globalization, imagine if the majority of opinion-based comments from Christians on social media were qualified with the ending "...in the West."
Lord + King
Bible doodle, Psalm 10:16
“The LORD is King forever and ever;
the nations will perish from His land.
LORD, You have heard the
desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,
doing justice for the fatherless
and the oppressed
so that men of the earth
may terrify them no more.”
Psalm 10:16-18
Ways Artists Can Interface with God’s Mission (part 1)
Dilemma of the Century
Lilias Trotter faced a fork-in-the-road ultimatum: do I become an artist or a missionary? In his incredible book, Rembrandt is in the Wind, Russ Ramsey explores Lilias’ encounter with this challenge. Ramsey says,
Ruskin’s [Trotter’s art mentor] pursuit of Lilias was not just about her art, but of her singularity of focus. The potential he recognized in her could only come to fruition if she devoted herself wholly to her craft. But he felt Lilias’s ministry was competing with her art, and in truth it was. He told Lilias if she would devote herself to art, “she would be the greatest living painter in Europe and do things that would be immortal.” He wanted her to choose between her ministry and her art—forcing her to face the crisis of her life: What role would her art play? (199)
Ramsey quotes her diary where she grappled with this in saying, “I see clear as daylight now, that I cannot dedicate myself to painting in the way that he means and continue to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
Ramsey goes on,
Lilias made up her mind—she would give herself to serving the poor, and in whatever role her art played, she would use her creative instinct and imagination to create places where the downtrodden would find respect, support, and, if God allowed, Christ himself. (199)
Here is the incredible thing. That was in the late 1800s. This dilemma—do I become and artist or a missionary—has plagued the 20th (and now the 21st) century. And it is the fork in the road I have wrestled with throughout my adult life.
I write this to relieve you of the pressure of that dichotomy: do I choose arts or missions? Take heart. God’s kingdom is not made up of such compartments!
Throughout three blogposts, I explore a plethora of ideas I would give myself if I were age 18 again—a wonderful age of ignorance and un-marinated dreams of an arts career. I will focus on three categories: first (this post), I will consider the essence of being a unique artist in God's kingdom; second, I will dive into the arts that contribute to the expansion of God's kingdom; and third, I will examine the role of the arts in establishing God's kingdom.
You, the Artist
The pressure is on! You’ve just begun art school and you love Jesus. What do you do?!
1. Focus on your Christian growth. For you as a person, Jesus must always be the center! Understand that being a Christian is not at odds with being an artist. The first attribute about God recorded in the very first book of the Bible is that God is a maker. And you were made in His image. Making is an attribute endowed to each and every person. The concept of “artist” is relatively new in the scope of world history. All are makers. Some are particularly gifted in what are called the “arts.” Regardless, those who follow Jesus ought to devote their lives to abiding in Christ…no matter the profession or hobby. Always growing. Always giving. Embed yourself in a local church community where you can interface with the gospel, the church, the mission, and Scripture. Be poured into. Pour yourself out.
2. Understand yourself in relation to various groups. Being a person, a Jesus-at-the-center person, requires us to adapt to all kinds of situations. God doesn’t just make us believers though. He places us (**see below) in all kinds of groups (mom, co-worker, elderly, etc.), gives us all kinds of statuses (foreigner, artist, Christian, etc.) along with a variety of roles (a group’s expected behavior for those statuses). Recognize you might be in one group one morning (playing music on the church worship team) and another group immediately after (in the studio with non-believing friends). We are constantly ebbing, flowing, dancing, dare I say “performing,” in these relational tides. Relax. Navigating this might be one reason you’re overwhelmed. Simply ask, “what does God require of me in this situation with these particular people?” And what does Scripture already explicitly say about each role (dad, child, worker, etc.)?
3. Hang around people you want to become. Be it: professional, spiritual, relational, etc. Cross-pollinating with those of different interests was monumental for me. While my creative posture would pull me more inward, toward myself, non-artistic community forced me outward. Surrounding myself with mature Christians helped loosen my idolatry of art-making and the romanticized ideal of the starving, isolated, woe-is-me artist propped up by larger society.
4. Be the person for others to become. Being a disciple of Jesus means it permeates every facet of our lives. It means a life of incarnational generosity. Over time, it means people naturally gravitate to you. Aim to be imitate-able.
5. Drop the comparison game ASAP-as-possible. There are a kuh-zillion different ways God has gifted artists. Enjoy and learn from other artists. Become known as someone who blows wind into other artist’s sails.
6. Cultivate your usefulness: this skill will compound into a generous well of blessings to others with your talents over the course of life. It’ll tee you up for serving others.
7. Pursue excellence with your craft. Excelling in an artistic craft is one way to cultivate usefulness. Get further training. Western society tends to suppress the curiosity itch. Youtube alone has so many free resources for artistic development. Whether you consider yourself a professional artist or arts are a “hobby,” keep scratching.
8. Expand your vision of how God uses the arts. I found Todd Saurman’s, The Worship Wheel, valuable for this. How could you make art for yourself? For God? For others? Is there a need in your community your arts can meet? You don’t have to always stay in one lane.
Todd Saurman, The Worship Wheel, Mission Frontiers
9. What kind of person (cough…I mean artist) are you? Being an artist is simply the journeyed expressed overflow of who you are. Are you more apostolic, pastoral, evangelistic, prophetic, or a teacher (see Ephesians 4 and APEST)? Do you have a passion for expanding or establishing God’s kingdom ? Do you feel more at home with academics? Or alongside the outcast? What do you secretly brag on about yourself or hope people discovery about you? One way to find beauty and freedom as an artist is to lean into your natural gifts, not away from them. I have found the Five Fold assessment useful. Additionally, spending time list all the gifts from Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, and Romans 12:3-16. Which do you naturally enjoy doing and gravitate towards without anyone telling you? Are you more of a leader or follower?
10. What is your story? The more you dive into your stories, the more you cultivate your unique artist vantage point. How does your story inform you as an artist? What high and low life moments shaped the person you are today? Who have been the hero’s and villains of your life? And how has that impacted you? Situating yourself in an overarching narrative provides the rationals behind why you do what you do and think the way you think.
11. Multiply yourself. God gives to us so we can give to others. Don’t be an arts hoarder. Train others in what you know. Give away everything you know.
In part 2, I will look at arts to extend the kingdom.
Five Roles of Redemptive Artistry
Portion of American Windows (1977), Marc Chagall. Stained glass window panels in the Art Institute of Chicago
After reading Calvin Seerveld for several years, here is my attempt at restating what I believe to be five roles of what he calls “redemptive artistry.”
In his book, Bearing Fresh Olive Leaves, Seerveld says redemptive artistry can speak a “modern language that both an orthodox Christian and a hard-core secularist can understand” (112). For him, redemptive artistry is like,
“what the dove did for Noah in the ark. Noah was wondering whether the punishing flood had receded and the earth was now habitable again. The dove came back bearing fresh olive leaves (Genesis 8:6-12), a token that the faithful LORD was giving new life on earth after the awful judgment on world sin. Maybe we could consider artistry by the redeemed for their neighbor as simply giving a metaphoric promise of life and hope at the gracious Rule of Jesus Christ on earth, firmly aware of the brokenness within which we live and build, suffer, expect, laugh and cry. Redemptive artistry will be bearing fresh olive leaves.” (112).
With that said, here is what I believe redemptive artistry accomplishes in the world today:
Imagines the kingdom of God through nuance
Rebukes injustice, summons obedience
Stories a nation's imagination
Binds wounds, gives allusive riches to poor saints
Lures the senses to Jesus
Which one is your sweet spot?
956 Charro
956 Charro (gouache, 8X8)
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I find painting to be challenging. Though I studied it for many years, merging multiple disciplines (color theory, values, color temperature, medium nuances, etc.) is incredibly difficult. Good painters are excellent for a reason.
Sometimes, people are more natural at it than others. But, all need practice. No tree produces fruit without nourishment over time!
I always gravitated toward graphite drawings. I found safety in drawing black and white hyperrealism. But I grew stale over years of compounding, what felt like, the same drawing over and over again.
During the pandemic, I made a choice to relearn and repractice color theory. I knew I wanted to work within limitations:
Paint small paintings: to force me to paint the big picture and not get stuck in details.
Post everything I paint: to get over my struggle with perfectionism.
This resulted in painting being a joyful learning experience. It has opened up new doors to exploration. And the fact that I have gotten to do this alongside my family has been an incredible blessing.
With that, here are a few snippets of my process behind my gouache 8X8 of 956 Charro.
First, I had this idea of painting something from Brownsville’s Charro Days. This annual celebration is too good not to represent in paint form. Everything from the colors, dress, decor, and food spark local unity between Brownsville and Matamoros.
I asked my friend, Daniela Loera Gonzalez (owner of Border Creative Co.), if I could paint her wonderful photo of this charro. She was gracious enough to grant permission.
I didn’t really know the direction this would go but I first needed to get values on after my initial sketch. I call this the “poo-poo” phase. As you can see…it looks as such. For all the years I’ve been an artist, this is the phase I call it quits on a piece. It is easy to understand why!
The poo-poo phase lasts, for me, about 60-70% of the painting process. This is why art-making takes resilience. You’ve got to push through the poop.
There we go. This is looking a little better. I still felt the colors needed some harmony. In Daniela’s photo, I love how those reds pop out from the horse’s straps and saddle as well as its textured fur. Time to bust out my handy color mixing guide…
In order to make the reds pop, I painted the background a blue-green color. Let’s see what that does.
There we have it. After that 60-70% hump, its time for some details. And there you have it. Now, let’s keep practicing!
The 95% Rule
We’ve missed people’s hearts at the cost of precision (getting our words accurate).
What if we assumed we don’t know 95% of what people (even our closest family members) intend when it comes to the use of their words.
What if our response were characterized by restraint rather than reaction, with a focus on patiently seeking understanding? And upon what we believe to understand, what if we then asked twenty more questions?
Commended Laborers: Others
The “lone ranger” concept is foreign in the New Testament. One last qualifier for anyone in ministry is the validation of other believers.
Before we learn of Barnabas, the minister, we understand his reputation, character, sacrifice, and personality. Luke initially introduces him, not as Barnabas, but as “Joseph” in Acts 4:36-37. No need to learn Greek here as Luke tells us “Barnabas” translates as Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). The apostles referred to him by this name, expressing their opinion of him.
Following Paul’s conversion, many of the disciples feared him but Barnabas vouched for him (Acts 9:26-27). Although Christ set Paul apart for the mission at his conversion, it wasn’t until he was already a leader in the church at Antioch the Spirit said, “Go” (Acts 13:1-3).
In Lystra and Iconium, the brothers spoke well of Timothy (Acts 16:2).
Similarly, Paul vouched for Epaphroditus to the Philippians (Philippians 2:25-30).
Paul considered Titus trustworthy enough to oversee the order of all the churches on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5).
The apostles, elders, and entire Jerusalem church chose Silas, recognized both as a leader among the brothers and as a prophet, to accompany Barnabas in delivering their letter to the Gentiles in Antioch (Acts 15:22-23, 32). Also of a commendable nature, was the fact that Paul chose Silas to join him once he and Barnabas parted ways (Acts 15:39-40).
Before Philip’s evangelizing and Stephen’s preaching and martyrdom, the church recognized them, along with Prochrous, Nicanor, Nimon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, as “men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” The whole company of disciples in Jerusalem appointed them to serve as deacons (Acts 6:3).
For a church of 3,000 people (and growing daily by God) (Acts 2:41, 47), the character of these seven men must have stood out.
For a church of 3,000 people (and growing daily by God) (Acts 2:41, 47), the character of these seven men must have stood out.
This pattern of commending is repeatedly observed. None of these individuals commended themselves; rather, it was God working through both them and the church that guided them into more specific missions.
In today’s ministry landscape, the world needs seasoned disciple-makers to train those with less experience. Affirmation from others, especially during hardships, becomes crucial for ministry leaders, who serve as visible pictures of God's commendation and assurance of His enduring presence.