Say More with Less

Market seller, Digital painting

Potency in life hinges on placing the right emphasis on the right thing(s). I learned this as I relearned color theory.

In the painting above, you will notice that the most clarity is given to the man on the right and the artifacts closest to the viewer. Everything appears messy, and yet, it is clear.

They are literally just scribbles—intentional scribbles. I selected each color's value intentionally as the painting recedes further back.

Marco Bucci explains this phenomena well…

What brevity of color might we use to convey a more potent glimpse of love to our neighbor? How might we give proper balance to the intentions of our heart?

PNG Bird

Papua New Guinea Bird, Gouache, 8X8

During my 2013 trip to Papua New Guinea, I fell sick.

I sustained a minor concussion while swimming in the ocean. This was occurred several hours before we’d begin our overnight excursion from the city to the lowlands (the hottest place on planet earth, IMO).

Upon our arrival in the jungle, I immediately brushed against a thorny tree branch. One of our teammates noted, “they amputate limbs for those kinds of thorn attacks!”

The trip continued with more laughable stories about Matt, which my friends still talk about today (ask my friend Ron, he’ll tell you).

Contrasting these stories are the array of photos we captured during the trip.

While going through my photos recently, I came across this bird. Its beauty stirred something in me, opposite to the trip’s silliness.

There are many memories from this trip. This painting reminded me of God's delight overseeing our hardships, laughter, and playfulness.

Fall(ing over myself)

And just like that, I enjoyed acrylic. In college, I dreaded color theory. And acrylic even more. It was all too confusing for me.

I felt safe with black and white, hyperrealism and pencil. But the pandemic changed all that. I’d face my fears of color.

With an challenge of 30-60 minutes per painted, I’d paint and I’d posted. I busted out my old watercolors. I grabbed my wacom tablet. I learned gouache. And here we are, nearing the end of 2023, and I am taking another stab at acrylic.

All it took was a little playfulness with family. Without any care in the world, everyone else at the table enjoyed mindlessly painting.

My kids gave me back my box of crayons.