As I prepare for my upcoming April 30-May 2nd Spring Art Sale, I am grateful for a winter of painting. My workshops had been cancelled since March 2020, and as a person with my own mind, I have chosen not to teach workshops through a mask and plastic shield until such restrictions are lifted. Communication has been affected by mumbling through a mask and has eliminated the value of facial expression to convey emotion and affirmation for my students. I assure you I will teach workshops again. My future is bright because my faith is in Jesus alone, not in money, not success, not material things. This painting conveys that message. I painted this image in oil in 2007 and called it Birches: Looking Up. I painted another version of it last year on black watercolor paper and titled it, Birches: Still Looking Up. In the last 2 months, I painted this one in acrylic-“similar, but different”, as my mother used to say. In the past 14 years since my first Birches painting, my faith deepened, my trust deepened, my future became brighter because of a string of hardships I faced. Yes, through hardship, one has a choice: become bitter or become better. I chose to put on the armor of God and fight the battles and become better…one way is to continue to look up, trust in God, and share my faith with others. I cannot take credit for the work I do-it is divinely inspired and this painting is the punctuation mark of my belief that God is the “strength of my life and my portion forever”. That verse comes from Psalm 73:23-26. Read it and be blessed. I look forward to seeing you at the Spring Art Sale April 3–May 2nd, 2021, 12-6 pm in Moorhead, MN. Contact me for details at barbara@barbarabendanagle.com
Birches and a Psalm by Barbara Benda, 40″x30″,Acrylic on canvas, SOLD.