Tag Archives: watercolour

What Can I See With 33 Random Dots?

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What Can I See With 33 Random Dots?

Once again I challenged myself with 33 dots on a page. I prayerfully put 33 random dots on a page with my eyes closed. Then I join the dots without crossing any lines. See how I found a rabbit. Hint it has something to do with Easter.

rabbit

From Pixabay

What will I be able to see this time?

It’s not easy but I ask God — what it is this week that you want to explain to me? I turned the page around and round. I finally settled with this view.

What do you see?

 

rabbit

33 Dots connected. What do you see?

This week I had the pleasure of a visit from my sister-in-law. We did some walking around the Riparian Water Reserve in Gilbert, Arizona. We had our little dog, Snowball, with us.

 

rabbit

Janis at the Riparian Water Park in Gilbert, AZ

My sister-in-law loves taking pictures. So I wandered and she shot 100 pictures. She and Snowball have one thing in common and that’s rabbits. They both love rabbits. But Snowball likes to chase them and my sister-in-law wants them to stay still. I would hold our little dog back while she took some great pictures.

 

rabbit

Isn’t he cute? Photo by my Sister-in-law.

I guess rabbits were on my mind when I looked at my 33 dots because this is what I saw.

A rabbit emerged from the 33 random dots.

 

rabbit

33 Dot Image — Rabbit

Now I have a rabbit picture and of course, Easter is coming in a few weeks so my mind went to the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs.

I have questioned this custom before. In fact, I wrote about Satan’s letter stating that children were taken away from the true meaning of Easter by the Easter Bunny.

But I’ve changed my mind since reading about the history of these customs.

To read more of this post go to How Can God Let Me See Through My Painting.

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

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Is Pride Easy to Spot? I Think Not

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33 Dots: Pride

I am doing a challenge experiment in drawing — to make my mind expand but also to hear God at the same time. This time I heard the word pride.  I put 33 dots on a piece of art paper, outline them and then colour. Then I pray. What Lord does this mean?

just the dots outlined. Step 1.
Step 2 — The contour embellished and made into an image.
The final painting for 33 dots.

Now comes the harder part. Lord, what is this? What are you showing me?

At first, when I looked at the outline alone and turned it round and round I kept seeing crowns.

That carries back to Lord of the Rings and my reading of the third book in the series. There are a series of kings in the story. Good and bad. And then I am also reading David Kitz’s book “The Soldier Who Killed a King” and we have read together in a study both Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, followed by Herod’s entry. A study of two kings. Quite the differences.

But then I got to thinking that I saw an egg — and an egg person.

So what I see is Humpty Dumpty.

As I read through article after article it seems to me that this sentence made the most sense:

Perhaps, in this instance, we could take advice from Humpty Dumpty himself, as seen in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll:

“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less “ (Lewis Carroll).

People will always attribute more meaning to nursery rhymes than was initially intended (from The Origin of Humpty Dumpty).

I like to take the rhyme of Humpty Dumpty as a riddle. So I asked God what He thought. I prayed. I listened.

To read what God told me please go to:

What Does God Think of the Sin of Pride?

I would you to hear your thoughts.

Sharing on Paint Party Friday. 

 

How and Why God is Leading Me to Go Forth

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33 Dot Challenge: Go Forth

I love the creative challenge of 33 dots. I randomly place the dots on a page without looking. Then I draw lines to connect them without crossing any lines. This time I saw me carrying a banner that said: GO FORTH.

olympic rings Pixabay

No I am not going to the Olympics.

At first I was reminded of the up-coming Olympics and the torch that they carry. Then I saw myself – carrying the word of this year. Valiantly carrying on even though I have no idea where God is headed.

I love the challenge of the 33 dots and of my life with God.

When finding my “word” and scripture for 2018 I heard these words:

thrive, flourish, prosper, blossom, profitable and succeed.

My scripture for this year is from Hebrews 13:21

May God give you every good thing you need so you can do what He wants. May He do in us what pleases Him through Jesus Christ. May Christ have all the shining-greatness forever! Let it be so (NLT).

As you can see I only go forth with Him.

Not ahead. Not holding back. It is my goal to do what He desires and not my will.

Here is my image from today’s challenge.

go forth

Watercolour Painting 33 dots by Janis Cox

Call to Action:

Are you searching for more in your studying of the Bible?

Do you hesitate to take your Bible from the shelf?

Do you want to go deeper with God?

Connect. Create. Grow through God’s Word.

If you are interested you are welcome to join us in our search together on Growing Through God’s Word Facebook group.

We are finishing up Proverbs now. And today I learned Proverbs 28:19

“He who worked his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.”

go forth

Bible Art by Janis Cox – Proverbs 28:19

You can also find me on Instagram. go forth

How Can We Learn to Be Good Fishers of Men and Women for God?

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Fishers of Men: 33 Dots

I love doing the 33 dot challenge. Does anyone else want to do it with me? If so I would set up a special way to link for it. This time my dots turned into a fish. And it reminded me of “Fishers of Men”.

fishers

Photo by Fredrik Ohlander on Unsplash

“Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed” (Matthew 4:18-20, MSG).

Jesus said He would show us how to catch men and women. How?

I think He meant that through the Holy Spirit we would learn things we didn’t know before. Through His Word the Spirit would open up new ideas and awake us to the truth. And when we learned these things He wanted us to go out and tell others.

Are you telling others? If the conversation turns to God do speak up for Him? Or do you turn away? Change the subject?

I hope this fish reminds you that Jesus wants us to be Fishers of Men and Women.

“Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands” (2 Timothy 2:26, MSG).

How can we learn mature righteousness? “Joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God.”

The Artwork for Fishers:

Here is the progression of my picture.

fishers

fishers

Final Painting

 

Our new group in Facebook is aimed to do just that – help us grow into Fishers of Men and Women. We grow closer to God by studying His Word and prayer. Join us.

Create. Connect. Grow Through God’s Word

And if you want a Lenten study this year like no other join us in another Facebook group, Book Study with David Kitz and Janis Cox. Learn more about that week before Jesus died. Be part of the crowd; feel what the centurion feels. Join us.

fishers

Last day to get a free book is January 31. Don’t delay join us today.

Book Study with David Kitz and Janis Cox

 

Stockings: Drawing Shouldn’t Be Complicated

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33 Dots: Stockings

“And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

Christmas has come and gone but not the spirit of Christmas – that’s what should last all year.

Today I drew my 33 dots again. This time I saw the stockings immediately.

stockings

stockings

Thoughts:

Although some people think that Santa shouldn’t be part of Christmas, I disagree. I think that the giving part of Santa should stay alive. As long as we don’t put “getting” before “giving” we will be okay.

On the top of the mantel is the true meaning of Christmas, the Babe, Jesus, arrived in the flesh. The Incarnation. God with us.

I love the story called “Santa’s Favorite Story”. Santa is worn out, but discovers that he can find happiness again in giving as he remembers the true meaning of Christmas. Simple but powerful.

A gift opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great (Proverbs 18:16, NIV).

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11, NIV).

Let’s keep the giving alive at Christmas. But let’s put to rest the getting.

Do you want to keep growing in your faith? Do you need a boost to study God’s Word?

CALL TO ACTION:

Growing Through God’s Word is an interactive Facebook Group that is a safe place to explore your faith without judgment. Learn to read your Bible and discover God’s Word. Learn to listen and hear God speak. JOIN US.

We share. We learn. We create. We connect. We grow.

Janis is a creativity catalyst with a heart to connect people to God. She specializes in creating art based on Scripture so that the Truth penetrates hearts and not just minds.The world needs more pictures, art and colour.

She also has a gift for you called One Word at a Time, if you like to work through scripture.

Porcupine: Drawing Shouldn’t be Complicated

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Drawing Shouldn’t be Complicated

Try 33 Dots to Discover your creativity and God’s Word – porcupine

The other day I read Meg Konovska’s post about her method of painting with 33 dots. This fascinated me as I need more help visualizing pictures.  At first I forgot the number and painted only with 14 dots. Both my 5 year grandson and I tried it with 14. We used shiny paper and markers. It was so much fun.

Here at the 14 dot pictures.

14 dot porcupine challenge

Janis – markers. 14 dot challenge

14 dot porcupine challenge

Grandson Bryce – 14 dot challenge – bear going to school

Now he is excited to try with 33 dots.

 

Today I tried the 33 dots and immediately saw a porcupine (stylized).

porcupine

Watercolour Pencil – Janis Cox

porcupine

Watercolour Pencil – with water – Janis Cox

My thoughts:

When I think of a porcupine I think of prickly and defensive.

We can be like porcupines. We snap. We get defensive.

But porcupines are reacting to danger.

What is pushing our buttons?

God gave us the ability to change. When we see the problem, we can ask for help. When we pray and ask God for help in those situations where our emotions would rather scream, but our spirit wants to halt.

We remember the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

As we head into the busyness of Christmas, reflect on this. Breathe. Seek God. Find His love, joy, peace and hope. Try not to be a porcupine.

Blessings

Janis

It’s Amazing How Different Things are When You Look Closely

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This was going to be a different Friday as I had decided not to write. Ha ha. Me? not write?

different

Photo by Cody Davis on Unsplash

So I am taking the required 5 minutes to write on the word “different” for Five Minute Friday. If you are a writer and just want to write for fun and link with others to encourage them, join us.

If you need help or encouragement just ask me. I’m right here to help you. Email Janis.

5 Minutes: GO

I thought of many ways I could approach the word different – how changed I am from the way I was last year, to how I was 16 years ago- to today. I thought of how life is better and different when I am with God than when I am not.

But I decided to take a look at my journey in art. When I first took a watercolour painting course in 1996, I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know.

Not about art – but about seeing.

Yes my eyes were closed to the world around me. Through my subsequent art lessons I learned to see.

I remember when we were taught to look at a distance and see the atmospheric conditions – how there were grays, and not blues, how the trees where not green but they could actually look blue.

different

Photo by Sergei Akulich on Unsplash

And then to look at trees on the side of the road – to really look at the different greens. There are deep greens, lime greens, all interspersed. Can you see the difference?

different

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash

I started to look. And as I started to look closer I really saw the difference.

I had to be careful when driving on the country roads that in my desire to see, I didn’t take my eyes off the road.

Now to look how this affected my life.

I really hadn’t seen how different God made his creatures, his plants, his flowers. When I saw a flower up close it looked incredible.

I started to take pictures. I bought a good camera and for a long time I took many pictures.

different

Photograph by Janis Cox – Butterfly Conservatory

different

Photograph by Janis Cox – Butterfly Conservatory

My thought: When you take time and look, things can be different. (click to tweet)

The same is true with my faith. I didn’t really think about my faith before. It was there. It didn’t mean anything to me.

But then I started to look – to ask, to question, and eventually to pray.

I now know I am different than I was in 1996. I have seen into the spiritual and as I study, pray, and listen to God I see it more and more.

Now I also do Bible Art so I can see what God is speaking to me. Here are 2 versions of 2 Corinthians 3:17.

different

Painting by Janis Cox from 2 Corinthians 3:17

different

Bible Journaling by Janis Cox 2 Corinthians 3:17

Call to Action

If you are looking for a way to connect with God deeply and creatively. If you are tired of scrolling through Facebook pages and getting nothing of value….

Please join us at our interactive Growing Through God’s Word Private Facebook Group.

We share. We learn. We create. We connect. We grow.

Janis has a free book, called One Word at a Time.  If you like short devotionals you will enjoy these 4 devotionals with questions and a place to journal.

Are you ready for a blanket of snow?

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Are you ready for a blanket of snow?

When Michael of #ScribblePicnic gave the prompt for blanket this week my thoughts went to cuddling a warm afghan on a cold winter’s night. Then I saw Pooh Bear snuggling up with his blankie. But finally I decided to paint a quick watercolour of a snow blanket.

Soon we will be heading to warmer climes – getting away from the coming winter. Snow is beautiful. I love seeing snow covering the lawn.  If only it would stay on the lawn and not go on the roads. Driving in snow is not one of my favourite activities. And after 7 years of escaping it I am afraid I am no longer a seasoned winter driver.

Blanket

 

Here is my watercolour rendition of “Blanket of Snow”.

blanket

That’s from memory. No picture to look at. But I know as the drifts pile up, the white snow becomes less pure, dirtier.

I love reading Psalm 147:16

He (God) spreads snow like a blanket
and scatters frost like dust. (Good News Bible)

blanket

And you can pile that blanket of snow higher and higher!

We have some gorgeous pictures from our winters past but most of them would need to be scanned. I found the two pictures on this post on my computer.

One more from my Growing Through God’s Word Facebook group. blanket

blanket

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How Can I tie it up? A Lesson in Shoe Tying

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How Can I Tie it Up? A Lesson in Shoe Tying

Today on #ScribblePicnic Michael gave us this prompt: Tie it up. Since this is the first week back to school my thoughts went to all the tying up of shoes I did as a grade one teacher. And how thrilled I was when those kids could tie them up on their own.

My grandson is going into senior kindergarten and his goal this year is to in his own words, “tie up my shoes really fast”.

tie it up

Therefore my picture today – done very quickly in pencil, then watercolour crayon, is a child learning to tie his shoe.

tie it up

 

tie it up

As I drew this I realized how complicated the motion of tying up shoes can be. I couldn’t tell where those laces were. And look at how the hands have to twist and turn to make the loops.

When I taught school, velcro had just come into existence. Great I thought – this will make things much easier. Wrong. The kids were so thrilled with the velcro I had trouble keeping them from doing up and undoing their shoes in circle time. Zip. Zip. went the velcro. Enough to drive me crazy.

Tying laces in an art. All ice skaters want to be able to do this task. Although I saw skates the other day that had no laces.

I have seen children make two loops to do their shoes but I tie the old-fashioned way. What about you? BUT….

I learned something today. I have been tying my shoes the wrong way. Here is a TedTalk that shows me how I should be tying them. This makes them stronger and they won’t come apart. I always had ended up double knotting mine. I will try this today.

Here is a cute video about kindergarteners tying their shoes.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. I am always thrilled how there is something I can draw with the prompt.

tie it up

Don’t peel that birch bark!

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Don’t peel the birch bark!

Scribble Picnic: Curly

The prompt this week is curly. When we first think of curly we think of curly locks – Shirley Temple. But my mind went to our week at the cottage when the kids brought some pieces of birch bark over to the fire. Joining #ScribblePicnic with Michael.

We explained that we do NOT take any bark from the tree as it will hurt the tree – it’s a protective covering and when it is taken off the plant hurts. It does burn very well even when wet.

As a Canadian I value our birch trees.

Here is a national song I learned as a child:

Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver, where still the mighty moose, wanders at will. Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more…

curly

“Don’t peel the bark”. As a young girl this warning has stuck in my head. It takes 5 years for the tree to recover from being peeled.

Instead peel the bark from dead birches, fallen branches, or peel that naturally falls to the ground. We would make canoes, teepees and many other crafts from fallen birch bark.

 

curly

2 minute sketch of bark peeling off the birch tree.

curly

Progression with pencil crayon.

curly

 

Final picture – very quick today as I am travelling once again.

Here are a few interesting posts about birch trees.

Canadian Icon revealed 

Does peeling birch bark cause harm to the tree

curly