The Yellow Ochre Newsletter
A weekly curation of encouragement and practical wisdom to turn your art from a hobby into a purposeful blessing for your community and culture.
No One Person…
So, I possess an unusual amount of pencils.
These don’t even including the common #2 pencils we have around the house. It’s not that I’m a lover of pencils, though. They all serve different purposes. Usually, I underline and write notes in books with a pencil. Other times, I’ve done drawings with them.
Papa Gani (2014). Graphite (pencil). Matt Taylor
But this blurb isn’t merely about pencils. It’s about community and what individuals within that community choose to do.
Did you know no one person can make a pencil.
Actually, it takes an entire global workforce to make one.
Consider this. This global unity project, known as the pencil, is an effort to create one simple, graphite, tool for our lives.
With the invention of the pencil, we can create worlds, jot down tasks, scribble notes, or make a piece of art. When the gift of the pencil is used, it multiplies into many streams of gifts to continually impact the world.
If you are part of the pencil-making process, thanks.
If you are the pencil, use it to bless others.
Two Kinds of People in the End
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”
C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, 75
Cali Surf With My Brother
Cali Surf with My Brother (Digital painting, 2022)
It is always a wonderful thing to encapsulate memories into art.
A couple years ago, I visited my brother who lives in California—a place I’ve always desired to explore. Knowing this, my wife gifted me with that opportunity for Christmas. My time with my brother was wonderful. He was a great host who showed me all his favorite spots around the city.
Surfing happens to be one of his newfound hobbies. I was eager to learn from him.
This painting reminds me of that visit. It reminds me of the joy of learning something new (like surfing) and relearning something unclear (like playing with colors in a painting). It reminds me of the beauties of God’s world, of glories difficult to describe with words.
My 16 Favorite Online Painters
A few years ago, I began following more artists on social media. I quickly observed that an unconscious decision to do so resulted in inspiration for creating more art just for the joy of it. It ignited a strong yearning to continue learning and to follow curiosity in the making of art.
After several years, here are sixteen of the most enjoyable and helpful painters I’ve gleaned from. Learning from each of these artists has been like a second art degree program! To be clear, these reflect artists I’ve found personally helpful in my ongoing development in visual arts. They do not represent all artists I look up to or enjoy. They are not all who freely give away tutorials. They are simply ones I’ve come across and go back to. I’m thankful each of them chose to show and tell their work.
If you have any interest in visual arts, check out all of the videos you can by each of these terrific people. These are rabbit trails you want to go down!
Lixin yin
Something clicked in color theory by watching and listening to Lixin Yin. His loosened use of texture, color, and shapes freed me from some of my “stuck-ness” in painting. YouTube. Twitter. Instagram.
Aaron Blaise
Aaron Blaise (The Lion King, Brother Bear) is one of the G.O.A.T. in the animation world. I would say Blaise is responsible for reigniting my love for painting. I also feel like I am watching a 90s Disney movie every time I listen to him. He’s the kind of guy I would love to spend a day with painting, grilling, and asking about his life. Youtube. Instagram. Twitter.
Nathan Fowkes
I should stop saying “G.O.A.T.” because there’s too many on this list. Yet, Nathan Fowkes (The Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Shrek Universe, How to Train Your Dragon, The Legend of Puss in Boots) is one of them! Fowkes unlocked for me even more unconventional rules of color theory. I don’t think I retweet anyone more than I do of Fowkes. YouTube. Instagram. Twitter.
James Gurney
If you have any interest in gouache, illustrator James Gurney is your guy! You’ll find a plethora of Gurney’s material all around the internet. His do-it-yourself mentality helped me break out of my own do-it-by-the-rules mode of art-making. Want to make your own easel? Go for it! Gurney helped me also understand that limitations are a good thing in art. Small sketchbook? Details with small brushes? Limited color palette? Limitations are a path to artistic freedom. YouTube. Instgram. Twitter.
Craig Mullins
Craig Mullins is the guy the G.O.A.T.s look up to. I had forgotten about Mullins. About 20-25 years ago, I saw his digital paintings. I was hooked. It might be one of the top contributions which led me to take art as a serious major in art school. Ask any digital artist, they might say the same. I only wish he had more tutorials online! YouTube. Instagram. Twitter.
Devin Korwin
I came across Devin Korwin via a helpful Twitter thread with some excellent art tips. His use of brushwork inspired me to return to the simplicity of default photoshop brushes. Instagram. Twitter.
Joseph Zbukvic
Watercolor master Joseph Zbukvic leaves me speechless. Watching him is like watching art history in action. Even if you don’t paint, gather the family around your streaming device, grab some popcorn, and watch him work! Instagram. Just YouTube his name!
Stan Miller
Last, but certainly not least, is Stan Miller. Miller’s work is the kind of work I often pull out my phone, show my wife, and with my jaw slightly dropped say, “Isn’t this amazing?!” Miller, a master watercolor artist, has done the the visual artist world a service with some terrific tutorials. Miller, more than more, showed me how you can use really any color so long as the value is correct. YouTube. Instagram.
Works Make Faith Alive!
Recently, I preached on James 2:14-26.
The passage contains one of the Reformation’s most famous texts: Faith without works is dead. Martin Luther depended strongly on this verse as a response to Rome’s salvation-comes-by-works theology. His heart was to say faith alone is all God requires for salvation.
500 years later, the same idea remains: we do not achieve salvation by our works. Jesus’ work on the cross accomplished what we could not on our own. So what is the place for our works?
As I prepared my message, I resonated in a fresh way with this text. I reflected on it as an artist, as a worker. I know James’ concept of works was not exactly art-making. And yet, I wondered how art-making might shed some light on this.
I wondered what would happen with a simple rewording. Instead of “faith without works is dead” (which sounds kind of negative to me), what if we made it sound more proactive? “Works make faith alive!” Something about this rewording gets me moving. This rewording helps me understand God’s heart and the heart of what His word says in a fresh way.
In light of the “works make faith alive” idea, how is all our life’s work impacted?
As we serve our families, friends, and neighbors, God's life permeates our imperfect efforts. With each moment of our day, we can choose to believe we are children of God and stewards of that which he has given us. What if we operated with that M.O. every 5-minutes? What if your next decision were guided by that in both your belief and imagination?
God has already created us as makers. We make moments. We make stuff. At the end of the day, we look back on our day’s creation(s). We look and we see our words and actions have constructed a manifestation of our values, beliefs, and worldviews. Whatever story we believe about who we are found itself in that day’s efforts.
Metaphor: The Marriage of Thought and Imagination
C.S. Lewis provided three guiding principles concerning the interplay between thoughts and the imagination. I’ll just call this the marriage which metaphor provides:
We have now three guiding principles before us:
1. That thought is distinct from the imagination which accompanies it.
2. That thought may be in the main sound even when the false images that accompany it are mistaken by the thinker for true ones.
3. That anyone who talks about things that cannot be seen, or touched, or heard, or the like [the other senses], must inevitably talk as if they could be seen or touched or heard [i.e. metaphor].
From chapter 10. “Horrid Red Things” in Miracles by C.S. Lewis.
“…In The West”
Considering the present global context, particularly the increasing influence of globalization, imagine if the majority of opinion-based comments from Christians on social media were qualified with the ending "...in the West."