"Flying Over Utah"

This is the first of several pieces to come...I took a trip to Utah in November, first plane ride...so cool. So here is what I took from the experience...Don't forget...this is the first of many...I'll make a lil collection out of it...eventually!

Started with the Sketchbook

close up

"Flying over Utah"

Acrylic on Canvas

36x24

$125

HOME

This was a commissioned piece. I called it home. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Along the turquoise, I wrote out the lyrics to the Phillip Phillips song Home. When I started this piece that is the one song that I could not get out of my head.  I knew this piece was going in the master bedroom above the bed. The turquoise infinity sign came about, and then the lyrics. 

"HOME"

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Rooted

I completed this painting a couple of months ago...just never got around to posting the "inspiration" behind this piece. This was kind of personal to me...so I won't really share much.  But I do have a song that I listened to over and over.  And I do have some progress photos to share...Here ya go. 

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes 

I was going through some stuff with my "real job" and fighting for what/and where I want my art to go in the present/future. To say the least...this song helped me finish this piece in 2 days. 

Prints Available RIGHT HERE!

That One Night in the Windy City

A couple of months ago I was commissioned for a painting as a wedding present.  This was a first for me.  I've done commissions before but not as someone to give as a gift.  That adds a little more pressure, instead of pleasing one person...you've got 3.  Of course I was glad for the challenge.  I was given several photos to choose from and then a couple of pictures of the couple from that night to kind of get the feel of how the night went....

The painting is the view from the Trump Tower in Chicago.  The Groom flew the Bride to Chicago to propose...had a personal chef, candles, and roses; surrounded by the city lights.  

Here's how the painting went...

Check out my new "official" website at www.artistlindsaynorris.com 

The Latest Porch

Haven't been drawing since Christmas.  But here is the latest porch drawing!  

Now all I have to do is get it framed! ....and sold of course. 

Recycled

Recently I've been extremely busy with finishing up school.  But I did have a couple of hours to work on this new abstract painting....

"Recycled"
20"x28"
Acrylic on Canvas

Isaiah 55:10-11

Well...this has been a long time comin'

A couple of weeks ago I finished a commissioned piece and have been meaning to write about it.  I've been asked to explain my inspiration...this can be a little tough sometimes, especially for me since there are times when I have no idea where a painting comes from...it just happens. I play some music and then BAM! there it is...funny I know.

It's different when I get a commission painting though because its usually about something specific.  For this last piece I was given a Bible verse and then asked to come up with a painting expressing the verse.  The first thing I always think about is whether or not I will want the verse to be visible...do I want people to be able to read it? Or will I want the painting to speak for itself? What will the "client" want?

So the verse I received for this last painting was Isaiah 55:10-11 (I used the "easy-to-read" version)



 ¹⁰ “Rain and snow fall from the sky 
   and don’t return until they have watered the ground. 
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow, 
   and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat. 
¹¹ In the same way, my words leave my mouth, 
   and they don’t come back without results. 
My words make the things happen that I want to happen. 
   They succeed in doing what I send them to do."

Does the customer want you to be literal with your translation or do they want your "vision" or "version" of the verse? ....Oh yes...there's a lot to think about.  With this verse I decided to stay far away from literal.  Would they really want me to paint snow falling from the sky...hitting the earth then returning and whatever else?

I decided that with this one, that the verse obviously meant something to him, it wasn't just any verse from the Bible.  I didn't want it to be "readable" I wanted it to be personal, something that only he knew what it meant and if someone saw the painting in his home or such, that they would ask about it.  (You guys reading this are the exception)

So here it is...

It took me a while to start the painting after I received the verse.  I read the verse over and over and of course slept on it then just kept reading it.  Basically until I had memorized it.  Then I just said "Lindsay" we have got to do this painting.  I had no idea where I was going to go with it.  The word that just kept ringing out in my head was "promise".  When I was thinking on this verse I was trying to find a kind of symbol for the word promise but nothing came to mind, I searched the Hebrew language and then other verses.  The only thing that really came to mind was the olive branch that was sent to Noah by the dove after the flood, how it resembled God's promise.  I of course thought on that a couple of days and kept thinking about the olive branch.  When I started reading the verse more I began to realize how I was translating it...

--When we are in God's will, where he wants us to be... When we're in just going with the flow, God's flow, things are gonna happen, they way that God wants them too. Because of this thought I used the color blue for calm, and peace.  Because when you are in God's flow...that's pretty much how I feel.  He doesn't send us here or there for no reason..."My words make the things happen that I want to happen".

I also used blue for the water/snow effect and then the dripping like you're kind of being "washed" 

I wanted a way of "returning" so I used the bold gold, it was just powerful to me. On the gold I did decide to write the verse, but I made it "unreadable" I wanted it on the painting for a reason that I can't really explain, I'm sorry.  All I know is I wanted the verse in his house, on his wall; even if he can't read it...he knows its there.  

I didn't mean for this post to be so long! But that was just a little insight on how the process works for me...I really enjoyed it, I am so happy he gave me the opportunity to make something so special for someone.  

-Linds