Melani Pyke

Melani Pyke Fine Art

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Psalms

Archives:May 2010
Apr 2010
Mar 2010
Feb 2010
Jan 2010
Dec 2009
Nov 2009
Aug 2009

Planned or Free-flowing?

by Melani Pyke on 5/30/2010 10:23:54 AM
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Is it more spiritual to do a painting moment by moment, without a plan or a sketch or a photo for reference? I've meet many people who seem to feel that it is. I've created paintings using all kinds of methods, and I don't know if one is better than another, or if I should even narrow myself to one style or method.

Can a painting (or a song or a spoken word) be prophetic (that is, a message from God,) if the artist has received the vision for it before regurgitating it for an audience, as opposed to on the spot? I think so. Most of the pastors I know spend many hours researching and praying before they speak on Sunday morning. I think that God can use a planned-out message just as much as he can speak to someone through a more charismatic speaker who hears from God right there on the platform. Hey, God spoke to Baalam through his donkey! (See Numbers 22:28-31)

I've been privileged to visit many churches, and experience many styles of worship. I can appreciate them and not judge them as I might if I had grown up and stayed with only one denomination. I've seen God use unlikely people, and even things of the world, for his purposes, and why not? Satan steals from the things of God, so I think we should be using the best that today's technology, media, etc. has to offer, as long as we stand firm and don't compromise on the truths that really matter.

I've enjoyed doing a series more that I thought I would, and it brought a greater significance to each small, individual painting. I can imagine my next series being made into a multi-media presentation that also incorporates music and graphics, which would make the message available more easily to more people. This would require some planning. Knowing my own strengths and weaknesses and goals, then, my paintings (and public speaking!) seem to be better off planned than free-flowing.

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Summer update

by Melani Pyke on 5/27/2010 4:57:02 PM
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My daily Psalms paintings are completed, so I've been taking a bit of a breather before gearing up for my next series, which will be even bigger and better, and will likely begin this fall. (Well, so far it's notes and doodles on scrap paper, but it will be big!) And where are the Psalms paintings now? Packed neatly in boxes until the Crystal Beach show next month, and the library show in August. Right now I'm working on a poor old maple leaf painting that's been waiting to be completed since almost a year ago, and catching up on odd little art jobs like tattoo designs for people, and painting my own sun room windows with a beach scene for summer.

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Psalm 150: A Call For Praise

by Melani Pyke on 4/15/2010 9:45:21 PM
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I like the concept of this painting. I would like to further develop the composition and redo it as a large canvas, maybe even a mural, and add more detail including a wider variety of musical instruments.

We've come to the end! I hope that Psalm-A-Day inspires you to take whatever resources you have, whether in the arts, business, family life, community, etc. and set aside a few minutes or a couple of hours each day to improve yourself and use your thing to encourage others.

Thank you for allowing me into your inbox every day. An extra-special thanks to those of you who have helped with this project by praying, sending encouraging emails back, and purchasing paintings. Your support is much appreciated, and makes a difference. Any feedback now that we've come to the end also helps me to plan the next project. One last "thank you" to everyone who came out to our Thursday night leadership group, and helped make it a success.

So what's next? Proverbs? Maybe.

I'm looking for locations to exhibit the Psalms collection in 2012, (so if you know of any venues that would be appropriate, please let me know,) and also taking orders for custom paintings.

I'd like to choose a few of the mini psalms paintings to create full-sized paintings.

And spring cleaning. Finding the surface of my desk would be a good place to start...

Psalm 150 (Amplified Bible)

1PRAISE THE Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!

2Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!A)">(A)

3Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!

4Praise Him with tambourine and [single or group] dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes!

5Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

6Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

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Psalm 149: Sing a New Song

by Melani Pyke on 4/14/2010 8:57:05 PM
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When we sing and dance for the glory of God, it releases his power to defeat the enemy. I painted a worship leader guy, and I wasn't sure at first about a green background but actually I like it, since green reminds me of fresh new things like spring grass, and Psalm 149 encourages us to "sing to the Lord a NEW song."

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Psalm 148: Praise and Splendor

by Melani Pyke on 4/13/2010 8:50:00 PM
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For those of you in the Niagara region, you can see my interview on channel 10 on The Source all this week until Saturday. Here's the link to see it online:

http://www.tvcogeco.com/niagara/gallerie/the-source/2362-the-source-april-12th-17th/17574-psalm-a-day

(I can't quite bring myself to watch it in full; I cringe and keep thinking stuff like "Ooh, I should've said it this way, not that way," but it went okayish overall.)

Psalm 148 is a joyful song of praise for God. It reminds me of his delight when his creation (even snow and hail and cattle!) praises him, and how much he delights in having a relationship with us. And how to illustrate that? I've shown the earth, with everything figuratively standing up to praise him, and there he chooses to have a relationship with us, as symbolized by the hands.

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Psalm 147: His Word Runs Swiftly

by Melani Pyke on 4/12/2010 4:55:49 PM
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With a half of a carcass of a chocolate chicken beside me, I started with a messy base layer of yellow ochre before I even knew what I would paint. You can still see the golden glow peeking through the subsequent layers. Oil paint would have made smoother gradations, but the rough texture of the acrylics give the rocks a more wild, rustic look. Lastly, I painted the

beams of light using a thin layer of white, which hint at the supernatural.

Psalm 147 tells us a lot about God's character: He builds up, he provides, he gathers, he sends, he reveals, he strengthens, he stirs up, he delights, he covers, he supplies, he makes, and he sustains. Verses 15-18 remind me of how God controls the elements, and that if we put our trust in him, he comes quickly and his influence is widespread, just like rushing water or a summer storm, which is how I came up with the image of a waterfall.

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Psalm 146: Good God

by Melani Pyke on 4/11/2010 9:09:48 PM
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Okay, so this psalm mentions fish, as in, God created them. But then it talks about how God sets people free. He lifts us supernaturally out of our circumstances, like freeing an ordinary fish from being confined to water only. We are free to fly.

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Psalm 145: Hungry

by Melani Pyke on 4/10/2010 9:51:37 PM
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Psalm 145 (New International Version)

A psalm of praise. Of David.

¹ ^a]'>[a] I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.

² Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.

⁴ One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.

⁵ They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works. ^b]'>[b]

⁶ They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.

⁷ They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

⁸ The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

⁹ The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.

¹⁰ All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.

¹¹ They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,

¹² so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
       and your dominion endures through all generations.
       The LORD is faithful to all his promises
       and loving toward all he has made. ^c]'>[c]

¹⁴ The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

¹⁶ You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.

¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

²⁰ The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

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Psalm 144: Fleeting Shadow

by Melani Pyke on 4/9/2010 9:00:57 PM
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I was especially struck by verse 4 today, "Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." I wanted to make an airy painting that made you feel the breath, and sense the flightiness of a shadow. The figure making the shadow represents God, and we are like the shadow.

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Psalm 143: Wilted

by Melani Pyke on 4/8/2010 10:04:23 PM
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I've once again used a flower to represent the human condition described in the psalm. Psalm 143 made me think of a flower that wilted as daylight faded, yet it left its leaves outstretched in anticipation of the sun rising again soon. As verse 6 says, "I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land," and then verse 8, "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love."

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