Saturday, February 18, 2012

Pictures I Would Paint If I Could Paint

I have two brothers who are trained artists, both of them are very imaginative in their compositions. I also have a lot of admiration for other artists who bring inspiration into my life. One of my favorites is Greg Olsen. These ideas often flash to life instantly in our imaginations--or maybe we absorb them bit by bit as we study the picture in more detail--but they take the artist hours to create.

There are a few different things happening in my life that have all mixed together to produce this blog. Last Saturday I went to here a children's concert of the Orchestra of Southern Utah playing Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an exhibition." I have been reorganizing my room with the help of my mother. We are to the point of hanging pictures. I have enjoyed choosing out the family photos to hang on the walls. I just read Thomas S. Monson's book Faith Rewarded: A Personal Account of Prophetic Promises the the East German Saint. I have also been reading The Book of Mormon lately, and a lot of thoughts have been coursing through my mind as I read it. So here are some of the items on my list of pictures that I would love to paint if I had the talent and abilities to do that--my pictures at an exhibition:
  • Christ gently holding a prodigal around the shoulder as He knocked at the door of the prodigal's family (This of course is based on a famous painting called Christ at Heart's Door. I have frequently seen other versions of this picture by different artists, but never one where he is bringing someone home.)
  • A triptych of the LDS church in East Germany. The first panel would be President Monson alone at Checkpoint Charlie for the first time, the second would be of the East Germans flocking to see the Freiberg Temple for the first time, and the third would be of the German people from both sides, knocking down the Berlin Wall with sledge hammers--maybe with Joshua blowing his horn in the foreground for dramatic effect.
  • My husband and I stooped side by side next to a small campfire, one of his arms is around my shoulder, and with the other hand, he is feeding our divorce papers into the fire.
  • A still life of a sword and a plowshare (Isaiah 2:4), maybe with a rifle with a daisy in the barrel leaning against a nearby stump.
  • A portrait of Gail Halvorsen with a B-52 Bomber buzzing overhead, dropping little parachutes with candy tied to them.
  • Christ standing with his arm around my mother-in-laws shoulder.  I am at one side, standing off a respectful distance and watching while they talk. My husband and his father are on the other side, watching. Christ and my mother-in-law have been talking, but now He is beckoning me to join them. I originally had pictured this taking place on the day of judgement, but maybe I would rather set the background near the tree of life near the end of the iron rod.
  • A U.S. soldier in full combat uniform (a member of the Utah National Guard 222 Battlion, rifle slung over his shoulder, stooped down next to an Afghani child, presenting a toy from the Happy Factory in Cedar City Utah.
Please add descriptions of pictures you would like to paint in the comment area.  Although I was obviously in a very symbolic and religious mood when I wrote this, your ideas don't have to be religious.