INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION BLOG
Insights, Inspiration and Instruction – by Mark Hillis
Here you will articles in several categories – all relating to art AND nuggets of truth and wisdom for the Christian artist. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and read about art history, techniques, beauty and my own humble work – seasoned with truth to inspire you on an even deeper level as you walk with Christ. Leave your comments. CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE CANVAS AND CROWN WEBSITE FOR A FORETASTE OF THE COMING OIL PAINTING MEMBERSHIP EXPERIENCE WITH COACHING AND COMMUNITY.
HOW TO GET OUT OF THE ARTISTS’ RUT
Art Challenges to Boost Your Creativity Sometimes as artists we get stuck. It happens to almost everyone. You just feel like you are in a rut and the idea for the next painting won't come. Here are some creativity-boosters that have helped me in the past. Perhaps they will help you also. Breaking...
THE FIRST ARTIST IN THE BIBLE
Bible records first mention of artist used by God Many are surprised to learn that The very first person the Bible says was “filled with the Spirit of God” was not Adam or Eve. It wasn’t Abraham. And it wasn’t Moses. It was a creative named Bezalel, an artisan whom God anointed to carry out His...
ENDURING ART ON TRASHED CANVAS
Featured Image: "Broken Bottle, Broken Life", Still Life painting by Mark Hillis - 18" x 24", Oil on canvas The Army Tent Canvas Experiment The painting featured above was a still life assignment that I did in art school at Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., in 1976. The following summer it...
LIGHT IS EVERYTHING
(Featured Image: "Afternoon Light, Georgia Hay Field" - by Mark Hillis - Oil on Canvas, 16" x 20") Summer Memories of Farm Life Growing up on the farm, Summer was the season I waited for. As soon as school was dismissed for the Summer, my shoes came off...except for Sunday morning church services....
BEAUTY EVALUATED IN THE LIGHT OF WORLDVIEW
Featured Image: "Al Ritmo de la Respiracion", by Carlos Jacanamijoy, Harpers.com/NYC Understanding the Artist's Worldview Art has long been a universal language, capable of capturing beauty, emotion, and mystery. The works of Brazilian painter Carlos Jacanamijoy exemplify this truth in a...
CREATION
Painting Creation emerging from Chaos Featured Image: "ORDER OUT OF CHAOS", Oil on Canvas, 30" x 40" by Mark Hillis "CREATION" is a painting I did some years ago. It is a work that is drawn from the imagination, borrowing upon the theme of the first chapter of Genesis. The Bible says that the...
ON BIRTH AND INFANCY
Featured Image: Detail from "The Precious Life", Charcoal on Toned Paper, 9" x 9", by Mark Hillis The Miracle of New Life A Newborn Infant - always a symbol of new life, of hope and innocence. The culmination of nine months of life in the darkness of the womb, now expressed fully as the new life...
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF ARTISTIC VISION
The Artist's Trained Eye The artist's journey is, at its core, a transformation of vision. While others walk past the ordinary scenes of daily life—sunlight and shadows dancing across a surface, or the architecture of an old and massive tree—the trained artistic eye perceives symphonies of light,...
UNDERPAINTING OPTIONS
Underpainting is an important part of the painting process. Technically it is not necessary, and there are some artists who skip this part of the process. But the value of underpainting for those who employ it, cannot be overstated. I would like to bring attention to several practices that I have...
