As of Wednesday, May 31, 2017, my artwork will no longer be available on Etsy.com… it is available on my website at: http://www.caroltaylorblackandwhite.com
Archive for the 'Christianity' Category
29
May
17
Leaving Etsy.com
Water-Related Imagery and Inspiration
I love the water… all water bodies including streams, ponds, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and the ocean. Even grey rainy days. The colorful stones and driftwood found along the shallow water and beaches of the Great Lakes, and the sea life and their shells found on the beaches of the ocean, are among my favorite things. I also love fish. The Lord has created such amazing inspiration for my water-related drawings below.
24
Dec
12
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
From our earliest childhood days, most of us were given a box of crayons and a coloring book, and asked to “sit down and color,” a quiet activity approved of by most parents.
We found that “coloring” was an interesting activity as we made colorful marks back and forth on the coloring book’s pages. Some of us were so delighted at our colorful marks that we extended them to other books, the walls, and ourselves (all no-no’s in most households).
When we experimented with crayons and paints in elementary school (or earlier) where we were admonished to “stay within the lines,” we learned a bit of color theory. We learned that the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, could not be made by mixing any of the other colors together. We also found that each of the secondary colors, orange, green and violet, could be made by combining two primary colors. An example would be that mixing red and yellow makes orange. Perhaps by experimenting further, we even discovered that the tertiary colors, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet, could be made by the mixing of a primary color and an adjacent secondary color (example: mixing red and orange makes red-orange) and that by adding white or black we could lighten or darken a color.
Color was everywhere in our environment and we tended to take its existence for granted. But have we stopped to consider just where those colors originated?
God the Creator
The King James Version (KJV) of the scriptures tell us that God is the Creator.
Genesis 1:1-2 states: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:3 – And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 1:4 – And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Because the following verse (Genesis 1:5) goes on to state that God called the light Day, and the darkness Night, it is common to consider light only as it relates to day and night. But there is more to light than this.
What is the Origin of Color?
In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton experimented with a ray of sunlight passing through a prism and observed that the sunlight ray broke into a spectrum of seven colors (this is called refracted light). These colors were arranged in the following order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, the colors of the rainbow.* He then used a second prism and discovered that he could recombine the colors of the rainbow into white light, like the light of the sunlight with which he had originally experimented. Newton’s experiments proved that colors are actually components of light.
Sir Isaac Newton’s experiment with refracted light proves that when God said, Let there be light (Genesis 1:3 KJV), He was creating color. By creating light, God was actually creating color.
First Mention of Colors in Scripture
The first mention of a color in the scriptures is the color green in the first book Moses called Genesis.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. Genesis 1:30 (KJV)
Other first mentions in scripture of specific colors include:
Genesis 25:25 Red
Genesis 30:35 White
Genesis 38:28 Scarlet
Exodus 25:4 Blue
Exodus 25:4 Purple
Leviticus 13:30 Yellow
Leviticus 13:31 Black
Not appearing in the King James Version of the scriptures are the colors orange, violet, or any of the tertiary colors, i.e., red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet.
In light, white is the presence of all colors and black is the absence of all colors. In pigments, however, white is the absence of all color whereas black is the presence of all colors. Of course, the purists among us would not include white or black as colors. I am including them here nevertheless as they are used in the making of art.
The word, colours is mentioned in Genesis 37:3, while colour appears later in Leviticus 13:55. The word, color, is not included in the King James Version.
A Bit of Color Theory
As a refresher on the subject of color, presented here is a bit of color theory.
The primary colors are red, yellow and blue. Primary colors cannot be made by any mixture of other colors.
The secondary colors are orange, green and violet. Each secondary color is made by combining two primary colors (example: mixing yellow and blue makes green).
The tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet. The tertiary colors are made by combining a primary color and an adjacent secondary color (example: mixing yellow with green makes yellow-green).
The Rainbow*
Have you ever noticed that the colors of the rainbow* are arranged in a pattern—a specific order? The next time you see a rainbow, observe the color arrangement. You will see that the colors, in order from the top of the rainbow’s curve, are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
It is interesting to note that with the exception of indigo (the “Newton” color often disputed by scientists), the rainbow is comprised of only primary and secondary colors.
Final Words
Although God is the Creator, and His creation is full of color, He didn’t find it necessary to reiterate those colors in the scriptures. It has been left to us, for the most part, to read and contemplate/meditate on God’s word in order to grasp the full meaning of scripture. I hope that this essay has been useful in that regard.
*The word, rainbow, is first alluded to in Genesis 9:13-16; the term is “bow.” The actual word, rainbow, however, appears later, in Revelation 4:3 and Revelation 10:1 (KJV).
Originally published May 31, 2009 in Chiaroscuro Magazine on WordPress.com at http://chiaroscuromagazine.wordpress.com
Find drawings, paintings, creative wonderment through ART here at caroltaylor.wordpress.com
27
Mar
09
Art History Changed My Direction
During my K-12 education, missing were the Biblical terminology, names and locations that I heard in Sunday school, church and at home. As for most of us, there was a distinct separation between church and state in my educational experience.
While attending community college, once I had changed my major from elementary education to fine art, I enrolled in a required art history course. For the first time in my entire educational experience, I was learning about Solomon’s temple and the Jericho wall. Names and locations that until now had been withheld from “school” were being spoken in my college classroom. I suddenly realized that I hadn’t completely believed the teachings that were taught at church–that my secular education carried more weight, was more credible–that I associated “truth” with the classroom. As a result of that art history course, I decided to learn “The Whole, Complete Truth” that semester, starting with a Christmas request for a Bible with a concordance. My art history course totally changed the direction of my life and the rest, as we say, is history.
Originally published in Chiaroscuro Magazine now located here at http://chiaroscuromagazine.wordpress.com/
Mary Magdalene and the Other Mary at the Tomb. Charcoal Pencil.
As a visual artist, once I became a Christian I was acutely aware of the absence of the visual arts in the lives, homes and churches of many Protestants. In my quest to find evidence of art and artists in the scriptures, my research led me to the book of Exodus. There, I found that God is a visual artist who had an aesthetic vision for the building and furnishing of the tabernacle, and that He commissioned artists to execute His vision.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, see, I have called by name Bezaleel… I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab… and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee: the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony… and all the furniture of the tabernacle… and the altar… and the holy garments for Aaron the priest… according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do. Exodus 31:1-11 KJV
In addition, I found that God commissioned the embroidery of pomegranates on the priests’ robes in the colors of blue, purple, and scarlet.
And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet… Exodus 28:33 KJV
In nature, pomegranates are purple and scarlet, but they are not blue. The fact that God commissioned blue pomegranates is evidence that He viewed them from an abstract point of view, altering their natural color in the embroidered representation on the priests’ robes from His vantage point as an abstract visual artist… definitely something to ponder.
Originally published in Chiaroscuro Magazine now located here at http://chiaroscuromagazine.wordpress.com/
Artistic Abstraction. Mixed Media.
WELCOME…
to Carol Taylor Black and White… The ART BLOG! I am a visual artist and I love drawing and painting. Although my preferred medium is charcoal pencil on Bristol paper, I enjoy working in Caran d’Ache Aquarelle and mixed media as well.
The exploration of scriptural references to art and artists is particularly interesting to me and I work both representationally and abstractly using the portrait, figure, living creatures and their artifacts, nature, and still life as my impetus. I marvel at God’s creation. My greatest desire is that the attention of those who view my artwork will be drawn to God and that they will see Him through my artwork.
My drawings, paintings, and pencil portraits can also be viewed at:
- My Web Site at Carol Taylor Black and White
- Carol Taylor on Deviant Art
- Carol’s New Art Times (for my experimental videos)
To commission a pencil portrait (children and/or adult, or pet), or to purchase my artwork, please visit:
Questions? E-mail me at CarolTaylorArt[@]gmail[dot]com
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Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CarolTaylorBAW
Thank you for visiting my blog and don’t hesitate to comment,
Carol Taylor
Carol Taylor Black and White (Not Everything is Black and White)
All Artwork on this web site © 2014 Carol Taylor
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