In the Studio: With God's Help We Will Do Mighty Things

My sweet friend Sarah asked me create this painting for her husband for their 10th wedding anniversary! I was SO EXCITED! She gave me this really fun idea to paint a guitar full of memories and to include their vows! There are so many personal images and words full of stories in this painting...

This was the first painting I tried out using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics almost exclusively. I LOVE how easy it is to create texture, blend colors and the pretty "sheen" it has now that the painting is complete! I was a little worried about how to do all of the lettering with paint, and a friend suggested getting a paint pen. I found an "art marker" by Prismacolor that has a "paint brush" end! It made my lettering look so much like my painted lettering so I used it for all of the words. They also dried with a very pretty sheen! (Paint from Blick Supplies)

10 Years of Memories
You can see the images maybe a little more clearly in the detail photos below... there are street signs to represent the homes they've lived in, a "Jeep" symbol about a sweet sacrifice he made for his family, a Bible, a moving trailer (they moved to Texas from New York!) a new years hat because they were married on new year's eve, a sword, a puzzle piece, a boat, a tree for the logo of the husband's band, an old country church, a red couch, the Stonegate logo (the church they attend now), their initials and an ampersand  from their wedding invitation, their kids names and birthdays, and the names of the songs from their wedding,  his ordination, and one he wrote!

The background is filled with the husband and wife's handwritten vows. I know you can't really read them here, but let me tell you....they are SWEET! The more and more I heard of their story and as Sarah described the images, the more I was blown away. What a story! 10 years of seeing God at work in their lives and marriage...it's really awesome. I feel so blessed to get to express their story on canvas!

My favorite words that Sarah gave me for the painting really sum everything up! "With God's help we will do Mighty Things"! Cheers to the next 10 years friends! Happy Anniversary!