abstract art

Posted on October 31, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Seek the Lord

“Seek the Lord” © by Donna Gonzalez

Yikes! It’s just after 10 pm and I just realized today’s the last day of October and I have been so busy that I’ve nearly missed uploading October’s Newsletter on time! Funny thing is…as I write this I’m beginning to realize something and it’s exciting what comes to mind. It all makes perfect sense with this scripture! Confused? Let me explain a bit of background on this artwork…

I painted this mosaic earlier in the year using a new technique in which I simply splattered and poured different colors of paint randomly on the canvas. As the paint moved on its own the colors started to merge and blend on their own creating shapes that morphed in no particular order. As this happened I took photographs of how the paint moved across the canvas. Random yes, without God’s fingerprints, without a higher purpose? Nope!

The painting is comprised of only four mosaics duplicated three times and placed into a pattern until each side matched up perfectly.

Iconography: Highlighted below is a mirrored image of a man who is wearing a red and blue robe resembling a Christ-figure seated at a shiny glass table. He is looking both upward and over his right shoulder. Or over his left shoulder depending on which mirrored image you’re looking at. I noticed this immediately after I put the four mosaics together and thought of Isaiah 55:6. But, the next hidden image I didn’t see until I started writing this post.

At his side stands what appears to be a large angel in a red robe with blue wings holding his hands outstretched. I outlined the angel’s arms in pale blue on both mirrored images below.

At the table in front of the Christ-figure appears shapes that suggest food and drink.

The four mosaics placed together form the pattern of a cross.

The scripture is taken from Isaiah 55:6

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.”

If you look closely you’ll see what appears to be large areas of the canvas showing through most notable on the edges that form the central cross. Those are areas which didn’t get completely covered up with paint as it moved across the canvas.

So…just how does this scripture all fit in with me posting this newsletter an hour or so before midnight before the next month begins? Actually quite a lot.

You see, I had all the best intentions on getting October’s newsletter out much earlier this month, but try as might I have been kept from posting it, simply because…well, I’ve been focused on doing other important things.

And they were all good things that kept me away. In the back of my mind I kept having the nagging reminder to write this newsletter. I didn’t set aside TIME to do it until I realized how late it was. In hindsight that may have been a God thing to make His message all the more clear to me.

Should I happen to finish this post after my deadline of midnight it’s no biggie for me; I simply back post date this writing to be sometime before midnight October 31st. On the contrary after death, no one has the ability of going back into time before their deadline (death) to accept Christ’s gift of salvation.

²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: – Hebrews 9:27

God is holy and desires to restore our broken relationship with Him. He provided the only means possible, through faith alone in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus wants us to be born-again, to know Him as God and Savoir before every person’s deadline has come. Unfortunately many people take a cavalier attitude towards the Gospel message, defer obeying it since more “important pressing things” need to be done and experienced first.

As the Christ figure is seated at the table waiting to eat in the painting, in reality Jesus waits for everyone to come and dine with Him, to have a relationship with Him. I was being reminded throughout the month to write this post before the deadline and likewise, the Holy Spirit reminds people who’ve heard the Gospel message yet not followed through to make that decision to follow Jesus before it’s too late. The food symbolizes the bread and the wine, our communion remembering all He did for us. Jesus says:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” – Revelation 3:20

Jesus is the author of salvation and the only One who can remedy man’s sin problem before a Holy God. He paid a very high price for our redemption, likewise the symbol of the cross is central in the painting. So very important is everyone’s eternal destiny that God urges everyone to come to Him today and not wait for tomorrow. Without salvation in Christ Jesus in this life, there is no hope of eternal life in the next. God says:

“For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” -Isaiah 55:6

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” – Isaiah 1:18

Many people are deep in sin-sick captivity, bondage to all kinds of things; fears, addictions, obsessions etc., they are lost and bound in darkness having no idea that by calling upon God He is willing to save, forgive, heal, restore, deliver and set at liberty those who are captive.

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” – John 3:16-18

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” – Romans 10:13

Did you know there is not one paintbrush stroke in this painting? The paintbrush never touched the canvas. Neither did I intentionally paint an angel, a table, cross or the Christ-figure, that was all God’s fingerprints. Likewise neither is salvation wrought by any man or woman’s merit or work. It is all God’s doing.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:10

One last thing about this painting, it’s the angel. I imagine this angel has been asked by Christ if a person has responded to the Gospel message. What the angel’s response is depends on how each viewer of this mosaic painting responds to the Gospel message. Is the angel about to rejoice or is the angel sadly replying; “No Lord, they said not today.”

May this post encourage others to see the value of each person’s worth and the incredible significance in believing in Jesus Christ for eternal life today and not put it off for another time.

in Him,

Donna

Posted on September 19, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – A Threefold Cord

“Threefold Cord” © by Donna Gonzalez

This painting is what I chose for a sister in the Lord who sent in her favorite bible verse that I had requested from friends in August of this year. I painted this artwork last year. The composition is comprised of 80 painted mosaics neatly placed together to form this unique pattern. The result is warm, inviting and quite pleasing to look at. And looks something like lace or latticework, of interwoven cords of yellow, orange, and red against a very deep burgundy that mimics a deep warm brown. Amazing how some very deep hues appear much different than its original color!

The scripture for this painting comes from Ecclesiastes 4 verses 9-12:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Old King Solomon was the wisest, most wealthiest of all the kings in Jerusalem in the era of which he lived and composed a lengthy discourse of his memoirs containing his experience, knowledge and wisdom which was granted to him. These six short sentences speak of the importance of having a good friend in one’s life, especially one that is beloved, trusted, and faithful.

A scripture that came to mind as I pondered over this artwork and its verse is: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

Hmm…we’ll get to that in a moment.

It’s the title of this piece, taken from the last verse of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and the artwork’s pattern in relation to Proverbs 18:24 that I want to focus on. I’m not going to take it to the extreme, you may come to a different conclusion than I and that’s all right. There may be more scriptural truth here but this is what I noticed so far.

Iconography: The orange cord meanders at a decorative pace horizontally, while the yellow cord runs vertically twisting every now and then. The red cord travels horizontally with slight undulation among the yellow and orange cords. The orange cord represents man, the yellow cord represents woman. The red cord represents Christ.

So how does this pattern relate anything at all to Ecclesiastes 4:12 and Proverbs 18:24 you may ask? Well, a lot actually.

Men and women as we already know are so different from one another and I’m not just referring to our gender. Often, we don’t understand each other relationally or emotionally. Women are a complex mystery to men and likewise women can’t figure out why men do what they do and some conclude they must have come from another world. Yet despite our many differences both often become best of friends coming to the aid of each other. Sometimes the result is of two lives desiring a lifelong faithful commitment to each other instituted by God in marriage.

This is represented by the yellow and orange cords intersecting each other at two different angles, just as a man and a woman were not meant to be clones of each other identical in every way, but to have variances in our makeup, experiences, dreams, desires, talents, and ability.

But notice there is also some space between the two cords. One cord doesn’t dominate or control the other, nor one cord crowd the other preventing the other from moving, neither do they create a tangled mess. Instead just the opposite occurs, both the yellow and orange cords harmonize with each other in lovely lacework pattern where each contributes. Without the yellow cord with its circles or triangles the pattern is incomplete, without the orange cord the pattern is also incomplete.

Now, in a painting an artist will deliberately position an object or a subject to be dominate, by creating that object or subject larger, or exaggerated, or more colorful, or separate from all the other things in the artwork to purposefully call attention to the viewer to look right here, because this is the most significant thing about this artwork. That object or subject is called the main focal point. All the other lesser elements within that painting will work to draw the viewer’s eye along towards the main focal point so the viewer really doesn’t pay much attention to the lesser objects or elements in that painting. That is called hierarchy in art, where there are degrees of rank and order among all the objects or subjects within a painting.

Did you notice there is no hierarchy in this painting? Neither the yellow cord nor the orange cord stands out as the main hierarchical element in this artwork. Both cords are equal, of the same tonality, shape and size, one doesn’t dominate the other by any differences in texture, size or position, other than the individual color there is nothing to suggest hierarchy. Both cords have their own unique style and color and each one’s movement in the artwork creates beauty.

In marriage, both husband and wife are a unique creation in their God-given talents, attributes and in the gifting the Holy Spirit has imparted to each one. Both are to work alongside each other, not dominate each other, or oppress or abuse the other. Husband and wife are called to love one another dearly as Christ loves His Church, by showing reciprocal submission to each other out of mutual respect for one another in the fear of God. Ephesians 5:21.

The red cord represents Christ, who is the only One positionally and spiritually the Lord and Head over both the husband and wife, who joins them in marriage. The red cord weaves in close between the orange and yellow cords symbolizing Christ being very near to both husband and wife who is the Friend who sticks closer than any brother.

Notice the red cord isn’t ornate either, nor flamboyant, extravagant in color, or larger than any other element in the painting to even remotely suggests hierarchy. Is not that how our Lord Jesus is? Humble, never ostentatious. Though in reality Christ’s hierarchical position is the main focal point in a Christian marriage as both Lord and Head over the marriage and over each person within the marriage.

Lastly, it is the red cord which makes the twofold cord into a threefold cord in the painting. Without Christ as the solid foundation in a marriage it can become broken and eventually destroyed through constant wear and tear of the storms in life; however, a threefold cord with Christ as the sure foundation in the marriage is much stronger and able to withstand all the storms of life.

For those who are single, Christ still remains as your Friend who sticks closer than any brother.

May you be encouraged by this post and remain strong in your faith!

-Donna

Posted on June 29, 2017May 12, 2021 by Resurgent Art LLC — Leave a comment

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Tree of Life

I have to admit I do like patterns, they do seem to serve a purpose if only it is for its beauty. Take for instance this painting above, it is of four mosaics placed into a pattern. I tried a much different approach in painting this mosaic, as I wanted to see the movement of paint on the canvas. Instead of painting it with a brush as I had in the past I applied a wet-on-wet paint technique which allowed the different colors to move and blend. I love the result!

The branching arms of colors of this abstract composition appear to be of a great tree and its reflection in a lake of still water. And yet this pattern is not unlike the feathery delicate dendritic pattern often seen in hoarfrost or the icy pattern seen on a frozen windshield. Is there something more to these dendritic patterns? I think there is!

Now, I’m no scientist by far, but seeing these patterns emerge from the painting gives me even greater inspiration to try this technique again. That’s what I think is so unique about these mosaics as the patterns come forth on their own without my intervention. Since these mosaics always create a pleasing pattern there must be some kind law or rule it is governed by. But what?

We see patterns everywhere in fabric designs, in nature, architecture and believe it or not they are even in the laws of math. Artists have used the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence to create realism in their works.

I teach an art course as well, and one of the videos I have my students watch is on fractals by Dr. Jason Lisle of the Institute of Creation Research. Today my mind went back to this “Tree of Life” painting. I don’t fully understand how it happens. But I’m still musing about this pattern in light of what Dr. Jason Lisle’s says in his video and how God’s fingerprints are seen in my artworks just like His fingerprints are also seen in what He creates in nature.

It’s lengthy but a fascinating video entitled: “The Physical World Obeys God’s Math Fractals” by Calvary Chapel Quakertown. Dr. Jason Lisle explains in depth the discovery of the Mandelbrot set where a set of complex numbers exhibit a very elaborate never-ending complex set of patterns seen through increasing magnification.

If you watch the entirety of the video you’ll have a deeper understanding how fractals in math and in nature though considered random at first in the end create an unparalleled beauty that can only be described as originating from an intelligent Designer – God Himself.

Now that is really cool!

-Donna