Cobalt Iris
Painted for my “Faithful Thus Far” series, “Cobalt Iris”, was one of eight canvases that hung December 1st, 2020 through January 31st, 2021 in Gainesville, Ga.
Faithful Thus Far
On October 1st, 2020, I moved into a studio space with artist Theresa P-Tan at the 1703 Collective in Durham, NC. About a week before the move, I was attending NewHope Church in Durham, NC and Pastor Reece Whitehead had preached a sermon titled “Thus Far” from Joshua 4. Moses had passed away, and now Joshua was leading the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Before they could move forward, they had to cross another body of water, the Jordan River. As the priests took the Ark of the Covenant and carried it to the river’s edge, the waters flowing downstream started to pile up in a heap. The priests were able to cross over on dry ground opposite Jericho. After the entire nation had crossed the river, the Lord told Joshua to have 12 men, 1 from each tribe, take 12 stones from the middle of the river. In the future, when asked about the stones, they would serve as a memorial to the people that God had been faithful to bring them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Pastor Reece brought home the point by giving us an option to go to a station that had been set up with black sharpies and small stones. We were invited to write “Faithful thus far” and the scripture reference.
As I sat there in church that morning, I couldn’t help thinking about my upcoming show. Could I make paintings that were essentially monuments or “stones” representing God’s faithfulness in my life? Could the “stones” take the shape of flowers? Looking back on my life, various flowers could represent different seasons in my life. Could I really just completely switch gears and create a whole new body for my December show? YES. By the time I left church that morning, I had decided yes, this was what I needed to do. Typically an oil painter, I was going to do this series in acrylic to allow for drying time.
“Cobalt Iris”, was the first in my “Faithful Thus Far Series” and represented all the times God was faithful while I was at Penn State. It was one of the first paintings that I had finished in my new studio space at the 1703 Collective. For me, the iris represented my season at Penn State University and the color blue was chosen because of the Penn State’s logo being blue. Irises had originally become one of my favorite flowers because my grandmother used to paint them in her free time. Growing up, my mom also included bearded irises in all colors in her flower gardens. While at Penn State in my first oil painting class, I was learning how to create abstract paintings. I had selected the iris as subject matter because of my love for them. Over and over, through out my years there, irises flowed out of my brush and onto canvas and paper. Looking back, I saw God’s faithfulness for me at Penn State as He had provided for me as a single mom living with my parents. While I was at class, my mom helped watch my daughter. I had also been awarded an academic scholarship after my freshman year, so I was able to take 4 more years of classes and graduated with more credits than I needed. Additionally, I had made some amazing friendships that helped strengthen my faith. Just like the rock memorials in Joshua 4, I can use this season in my life as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.
“Cobalt Iris”, 36” x 24”, Acrylic on Canvas, 2020, Private Collection VA