Press On!

Ever wonder what God has planned for your life? Ever feel like your life is on pause? Do you wake up some days and pray that God will bring miraculous change – today!? I sure do. Don’t get me wrong, I am blessed with the miracle of eternal life – a fabulous husband – a lovely home - physical health – a supportive family – and friends I treasure. But isn’t it just like our old human nature to focus on the one thing we find missing rather than the countless blessings that abound in our lives?

Lord, please don’t let me fail to see the glorious view you have placed before me while I’m searching for what I think is missing! I don’t want to surrender to the old self. Human nature is no match for spiritual renewal! I know and trust your word – that you are transforming me into a new creature. I know that my life is never on hold; I will press on for the prize.

Philippians 3:12-14 (New International Version)

Pressing on Toward the Goal

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Transformed, 2008

Acrylic on Wood Panel

24” x 12”

Inspirational and Compositional Description:

Transformed was inspired by 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” This composition has undergone a complete transformation a multitude of times. How fitting that the final outcome is a cross made of beams of light that form an overlaying image atop of a mingling of color. This vision echoes the way Christ covers all the old ways and makes us beautifully new!

To see more original works of art and related products like, posters, giclees and fine prints, please visit http://www.sonstudios.com/.

Live a beautiful life!  ~Kim P. Bartholomew

My Sister

It’s been a while since my last post…I spent last week in Texas visiting my sister. Kelly is just one year older than me, but I have always looked up to her as if she were a sage! The crazy thing is that for all the respect and admiration I hold for her, I have an equal amount of comfort in her presence. Maybe it comes from 18 years of sharing a bedroom with her, but she makes me feel “at home” like few others do. See, I’m a girl who likes to be in my own house -  in my own space -  among my own things - sleeping in my own bed!  And while I do love to travel with my husband, rarely am I comfortable in someone else’s home. Kelly’s home is an exception…but I think it has more to do with her than whatever structure in which she resides.

My sister has a spirit of grace. She is kind, and wise, and possesses strength of character worthy of my respect. Today’s painting seems a fitting illustration. Not only does Kelly love the color red (which I find most appropriate for her), but like the primary color, her spirit if pure and strong and giving. She loves with her life; all who know her can attest.

The Gospel, 2008

Acrylic on Wood Panel, 36” x 24”

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This is the good news, also referred to as the Gospel.

The focal point of this piece is a large cross (representing Christ’s crucifixion and gift of salvation), centered in the quatrefoil (symbolic of the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), among numerous hearts (representing both the love of Christ and the home of Christ through salvation). The hearts are repeated throughout the image in various tones of reds and red-oranges (echoing the idea that Christ comes into hearts and enlivens them through salvation). The patterns created by repetition of the shapes mentioned above are enclosed in black lines highlighted in blues to create a stained glass impression (representing the Church).

To see more original works of art and related products like posters, giclees and fine prints, please visit http://www.sonstudios.com./

Live a beautiful life! ~Kim P. Bartholomew