Blind to See

Isaiah 61 just jumped off the page for me one night and I had to paint it. I didn't know how to paint it, but I needed to anyway. So, I went back to the basics of art school and started with blind contour drawings of all the visual elements of this wonderful chapter of the prophet's writings.  

Blind contour drawings are great for anyone to do, because you don't look at what you are drawing, you look only at the object. Create your lines slowly across the surface only as fast as your eyes move across the object, never ending your lines, but keeping them in constant movement. This technique is used to intimately study an object in order to replicate it more completely.

I realized as I was sketching this way in my journal, it was the most amazing way for me to immerse myself in these divine words. The meaning reverberated over and over with the repetitive movement of the lines on the surface. 

"He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted...To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair...they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory."   Isaiah 61:1-3 NLT

Over every line of the tree...like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory....

Over every line of the crown...a crown of beauty instead of ashes.....

I moved my drawing onto a scrap piece of wood so I could have more space to work. It was so freeing not to worry about what the end result would be. Letting the passage sink into my soul and flood out through my fingers was reviving for my spirit in a way I had not experienced before.

It made me wonder how much more freeing it would be if I could keep my eyes only on Jesus, never looking away, to intimately study Him in order to replicate Him more completely. Not to worry about how things will turn out or get caught up in the details. But just study Him. Know Him. Do my best to replicate Him.