Sketchbook bits

Here are some sketches from my journal. Some are old and some aren't. I'm trying out different ways of working in my journal for an upcoming workshop that I am teaching and it seems very apparent when I'm trying to be someone other than myself. Let's see if you can tell which ones I'm talking about.

I run like Jonah

So this is a little study I did about a week or so ago and it isn't much but reminds me of my love for paint. I think I'm trying too hard to make other things work and when I just sit down and paint everything seems to make sense. Eli has been fighting sleep these days and it's funny watch him in a way because he is so tired and needs a nap so that he can be happy and rested again, but just doesn't want to give in. I can see now why God calls us children, because as a parent I can look at him and know his needs, and want to give to him for his betterment. But I can't give him things he won't take. Maybe that is reaching as an analogy for why I should be painting, but I do think God knows us and how he made us. My friend Dawn said, "James you're running like Jonah, and look what happened to him..he got swallowed by a whale." It is lent and I can't think of what I should give up. I almost think I need to take on a discipline instead of abstaining from something so that I am faced with my sin and have to set it before God. Painting makes me do that. Maybe that is why I've been running.

Painting Experiment

Meaning

So I'm wondering how much meaning has to be in the image. I think there is inherent meaning in each piece I do, but I can't always verbalize it. These images are almost a year old, but when clicking through them this evening, they jumped out at me. The editing isn't too complicated, but they remind me of how I want to paint. Everyone I've been talking to says I need to start painting again. I'm affraid to paint, because if people ask about my image, I may not have a BFA worthy answer. My work always seems to point to where I am in my own journey. Some may call it confessional, maybe it's just intuative. I know I need to get over all that and just paint, but "What do I paint?" and "Why?" seem to be the questions getting in the way right now. Funny how these images seem to say that also ... see what I mean? (no pun intended)

New Endeavors

So I can't figure out how to put a youtube window on my blog and I know it is possible, and I tried to cut and paste the HTML, but that didn't work so I am listing the link to my new video on youtube. It is just a practice for editing and effects, but it was fun to make. It is a minute and a half, and took like 3 days to make. Anyway... Check it out and if anyone knows how I can put the actual video on here let me know. The title is "painting experiment" by Jamie Brouwer and it is at www.youtube.com. Good luck and tell me what your thoughts are.