I started this work at Ballagarey Chapel – St Marks during the Awakening Exhibition last year. I was the artist in residence and so was chatting to people as I worked. One of the things that became clear was that people responded to the green in my painting, it being lush, rich and vibrant. The green seaweed that grows around the coast around that time of year is exactly that. Lush.
My aim was to bring down the moody sky, capture the coastline and essentially bring together the basic elements that describe this extraordinary place.
Sadly, not long after this, the lady minister, a dear dear freind of mine left us through a sudden unexpected illness. We were all devistated.
I had been working with her in prayer ministry during this time between paint strokes! and we were planning to continue on a monthly basis to offer prayer for healing. So what was God up to? One of her parting remarks to me was,
‘There are no surprises with God.’
She also remarked that she was ready to depart and meet her maker to which my immediate response was that I was not ready to loose her! My considered response was to remain calm. I know that God in His sovereign grace has a plan. So I will trust Him in this however hard that feels right now.
I named this painting ‘Remaining Calm’ Simply because it reflects the bigger picture of what is going on despite the troubled skies.
If you are interested to see this painting it is now on display at Studio42 or on my website
