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INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION BLOG

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...

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...

ENDURING ART ON TRASHED CANVAS

Mark Hillis reflects on his 1976 still life painting, created on repurposed army tent canvas, which won BEST IN SHOW nearly 50 years ago. He emphasizes the durability of unconventional materials and spiritual redemption, likening God’s transformative work in our lives to art creation, making the seemingly worthless into something enduring and beautiful.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

SYMBOLISM IN PAINTING

STORIES

Featured Image: Detail from "Night of Wonder" - Oil on Canvas, 5' x 6', by Mark Hillis Early Memories That Shape Us Childhood can have a profound impact upon our artistic expression. As I get older, I think about images and emotions that run deep in the heart and memory. I recall images from...

WHY I LOVE VINCENT

INSPIRATION

Vincent Van Gogh - the name evokes images of thickly applied paint on canvas. It brings to mind depictions of sunflowers. One thinks of poor farmworkers and miners, starry nights, and colorful boats pulled up on the beach. Most people know him as a tortured soul, a man with mental illness who was...