Taking a break from the maker series for a little project with silver leaf. The leaf is applied to the panel before any of the oil paints. The silvery blue of the laurel leaves is such an elegant color and with the silver leaf, the laurels create a stunning contrast against the warm neutrals of the rocks and sand under the running water. 

This little painting was one of those stubborn ones that tells you what it is going to be and just refuses to let you do anything else until it is brought into existence. I wanted to work on a different painting. I wanted to work in watercolor, not oil. Didn't want to paint moss. None of that mattered. This had to be. 
I brought these thorns out of the woods on a cathartic hike a few weeks back. The birch and oak leaves and moss came from my dear grandmother's grave, where I go when I need direction or to let something go. This is the same sparrow that came to visit the day of Shane's funeral and took away my sadness. Sheltered by brambles, the Sparrow simply trusts. 
 
Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

Happy New Year!!!

Somehow this song, almost as old as the English language, tells this story in another way. Enjoy.