Cloud by Day

~ Cloud by Day ~

Today I bring my most recent piece to you. It is done in a rather different style than my usual one. I have been experimenting with the technique of dusting which I used in particular for the clouds and the flame, but
also for some parts of the ground. I am really excited with the result and will add this technique to my toolbox for future use. 

The picture shows the path of searching in a  place of dryness and aridity - a desert. However, there is a way through - even though only faintly visible - and  the presence of a guiding light. There are also the clouds above with the promise of rain bringing fruitfulness and some glimmers of green throughout the dry land as little glimpses of hope. The title Cloud by Day resonates with this wandering through the desert. A place that always reminds me of God's faithfulness, even and especially in  difficult times.

~For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.~

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Deuteronomy 2:7 NASV

~You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?~

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Psalms 56:8 NASV



by Charis Gabriel

Celebrating Life

This picture just got ready in time for my Mum's birthday. I have been trying to express a 'thank you' for what she has done for me as I grew up and through the years since. It is also a thank you to the Great Live Giver for all that he gave us in and through our mother-daughter relationship. 

~ Jar of Clay ~

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

2.Cor 4:7

The second picture I am posting today has been finished about a year ago, it's about time to be introduced! 
I tried to captivate the joy, excitement and unpredictability that all come with a new beginning, as well as trying to express the dynamic motion needed to keep in balance while allowing the new to invade the well known and comfortable place of the present. The symbol is that of a spontaneous and intuitive dance.

~ The Dance ~

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, 

 hath had elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: 

Not in entire forgetfulness and not in utter nakedness, 

but trailing clouds of glory do we come 

from God, who is our home. 

William Wordsworth

Arrival of the "Seed of Hope"

~ Seed of Hope ~

Here is finally the "Seed of Hope". The drawing speaks of those dreams in our hearts that take a long journey before they come to fruition. As with my last drawing I am writing out some more of my thoughts. I will publish them on a separate page in a few days time. You will find the link in the side bar on the right.

The journey of Brendan the Navigator was very much on my mind during the time I worked on this drawing.
Brendan the Navigator was an Irish monk born around the end of the 5th century. He and his Brothers travelled the high seas of the Atlantic in a tiny coracle, evangelizing the islands, and possibly reaching the Americas in the 6th century. His story is full of faith and hope, wonderfully imaginative and full of all sorts of fantastic miracles. His journey bore rich fruit.

by Charis Gabriel

Introducing the Picture Gallery and the Torch Bringer

Today I have finished this latest drawing.  You have seen it before as the "Lamp Stand". Now, that it developed and has grown, it needed a new name - "Torch Bringer". Its a lot more dynamic and this needed to be expressed in the title. As you can see the scan has come out brilliantly and brings out the medium of pastel chalk really well. I want to say a bit more about this drawing and will do so on a separate page which you will find on the Page tab, right, in a few days time.

~ Torch Bringer ~

Some of you have asked for a  separate page for only the drawings, so I have added a Picture Gallery, you can find the link at the right side under the Pages tab. There is a not as yet posted drawing called "Mount Horeb" in the Gallery, which I will introduce in more detail at a later time.

Currently I am working on changing to new scans of the drawings that bring out the original medium of pastel chalk in much better detail. This latest drawing the "Torch Bringer" is one of those, as you can see. I have also replaced "The Tree" and ""Water Lily" so far.

by Charis Gabriel

Expressions of Prayer and Praise

 In my posts I will be sharing some of my own thoughts around my pictures, but I have also discovered that the drawings speak in a unique way to each one of us. Please join in with your thoughts and comments so the picture can be more complete.

~ Woman at the Well ~

The well or spring in the desert is the theme of this drawing. The woman symbolizes this spring or rather holds it in herself. The blue colour represents her willingness to receive the new, both in body and soul. The story of the woman at the well found in the forth chapter of the Gospel of John is a favourite of mine. The woman opens herself to the new life that Jesus offers to her – the living water that will never run dry. She herself is transformed into a life bringer.

~ Well ~

This drawing was created during a time of searching. It is an expression of the hope and desire for life to come into my future path. The drawing is packed with the fullness and diversity of life. It expresses the hope and prayer that the searching would end in a place of fruitfulness and growth.

~ Water Lily ~

This picture shows a childhood memory that came back to me in a flash of colour on a hot summer day. It is a leap back in time into the world of Grimm’s fairy tales where the water lily pond represents the portal into this world. It reminds me of the place where we came from – our true source and origin. 

~ Tree ~

This drawing was inspired by Theresa of Avila, a Spanish mystic who lived in the 16^th century. In one of her books she compared our soul with a beautiful tree planted in living water. I just had to find my own expression of this! It came as a surprise to me that the soul tree does not hold unto the living water like a tree holds to the soil. It is rather carried and held by it. There is a lot of light in this drawing and  a sense that the water, the tree and the light are one.   

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? 

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.

From Psalm 139, NASB

by Charis Gabriel