My mission is to discern, awaken, and inspire truth in myself and others. “May my tongue be the pen of a skillful writer, my pen be the tongue of a masterful orator, and my words be apples of gold in settings of silver.” ~ Janna
Watercolor Painting | Broken yet Beautiful.
What a gift we have been given, to be a light in a broken world, to surrender to love and compassion, to embrace the opportunity we have been given to choose to lay down our lives for our neighbors when it both does not suit us and is downright uncomfortable, to selflessly put others first for their benefit and not our own, and to surrender to that which above all is merciful, peaceful, and good. Their-in lies the inescapable, undeniable, unbeatable beauty of sacrificial love. My heart thrums with this image, as if somehow even in the considering, the idea of love itself breathes life and produces beauty.
“You are no stranger to the scar
So you can have my wounded heart
You weren’t protected from the pain
So you can hold me when I break
You seek me out and find me here
With a love that knows the taste of tears
So I will trust in who you are
You’re no stranger
No stranger to the scar
You are no stranger to the storm
You have calmed these winds before
Your voice still whispers, peace, be still
And the waves still do your will.”
~ Natalie Grant
Watercolor Painting | Hidden
I am drawn repeatedly to paint women peering through secret gardens, as if they are inviting me to enter their sacred sanctuaries where suffering, striving, competition, and inequality no longer exist. They live there, not because of something they have done, but simply because they “are.” In this haven of light, where love is the water of life, all are welcome and none are denied.
Watercolor Painting | Purple Pansies
May your roots sink deep Beside crystal streams. May your leaves climb high In sun-kissed bliss. May your blossoms spread wide Releasing sweetened breath And may you dance In windswept ecstasy.
Watercolor Painting | Lily of the Valley
Watercolor Painting | Lily of the Valley: I’ve been listening to Kari Kobe’s new song “Your Nature” on repeat. It is a salve to my soul. A lovely exhale summarizing the last ten years of painful deconstruction and rebirth. The beauty of it inspires me.
“You bring life to the barren places
Light to the darkest spaces
You bring joy to the broken hearted
Hope to the ones who’ve lost it
You bring peace to the war inside us
Speak and all fear is silenced
There is no desert that your streams can’t run to
There are no ruins that your love won’t make new
You tell the wasteland that it will bloom again
Cause it’s your nature
You will restore the years that shame has stolen
You keep the promises that you have spoken
I know the wasteland will be whole again
Cause it’s your nature.
Sing out o barren woman
Sing out o broken man
Stretch out your hands believing this is your promised land
Break out of disappointment
Break out of hopelessness
Stretch out your hands believing this is your promised land”
~ Your Nature by Kari Jobe
Mixed Media Painting | Rosalia
“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo
Mixed Media Painting | Garden of Light
The wind, the trees,
All bend their knees
As love flies next to me,
Like lightest air
It touches my hair
And slowly wakens me.
I sigh its name
The soft refrain
Like water, drenches me.
Its eyes meet mine
Warm flowers that shine
And knows the depths of me.
This garden of light
Where lovers delight
Has won the heart of me.
Mixed Media Painting | In Good Hands
You prepare a table
Within this valley of beauty
And my tears flow
For I know I am in good hands
You and me together.
Mixed Media Painting | Paradise
When you speak,
Wild things rise and shine,
All a flutter,
And my dreams flourish,
Golden in light.
MIXED MEDIA PAINTING | EDEN'S PROMISE
EDEN’S PROMISE
Golden light grows
In this secret garden green,
With verdant blossoming flowers
Dripping lush nectar sweet.
Tantalizing magic is its song,
Watercolor Painting | Green-haired Beauty:
“Knock, and he will open the door. Vanish, and he will make you shine like the sun. Fall, and he will raise you to the heavens. Become nothing, and he will turn you into everything.” ~ Rumi.
I completed this 8 x 10 painting using Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton Professional Watercolor Paints and Luminance Pencils by Caran D’ache.
Painting inspired by a photo taken of a ball-jointed doll created by artist Alisa Filippova
Watercolor Painting | Pretty Posies
Mankind is like a garden of blossoming wild flowers, beautiful as a whole, yet stunning with its unique parts and individual differences. May we continually see the beauty created by our differences and love with open arms. My watercolor study of Danielle Donaldson’s art.
Mixed Media | Hallowed Night
When the rocks cry out
And animals sing
They boast of love
And peaceful things.
Each hallowed night
With reverent tone
They linger in the embrace
Of their Holy Unknown.
This 16″ x 20″ painting was completed using Golden acrylics, FW inks, a variety of ephemera, chalk pastels, Derwent Inktense pencils, Caran D’ache watercolor crayons, and Luminance Pencils.
Mixed Media Painting | Blossoms of Light
Kindness intoxicates, its aroma smelling of unconditional love while its beauty rivals the most verdant of blossoming flowers. May we choose today to be intentional in our thoughts and actions as we live out lives of kindness.
Acrylic Mixed Media Painting | Lilacs and Roses
You flourish beneath my wings
And your beauty shines.
I call you my greatest treasure
And I name you wonderful,
For you are my beloved
And your worth knows no bounds.
This 16″x20″ painting was completed using Golden Acrylic paint, FW acrylic inks, Caran D’ache Neocolor II and Luminance Pencils, Derwent Inks, Tombow Markers, Ephemera, and Alcohol Inks.
Acrylic Mixed Media Painting | Rose Garden
As I was placing the final details on this painting, I had tears leaking down my cheeks. I’d been listening to a song on repeat for several hours and its words touched my heart, awakening a new vision of love in a powerful way.
“No lie, no fear, no tragedy, could keep you from loving me. From the mountain, to the earth below, your mercy won’t let me go. How great, how great, is your love for me. You call me free. I am yours, and you are mine.” (You Won For Me by Ken Reynolds, Jared Gregory, and Jasmine Hurtado).
In the garden I dwell,
Amidst the beauty of your creation I dance,
Beneath the lush covering of your grace and mercy I play,
I am yours and you are mine.
You awaken me to love.
This 16″x20″ painting was completed using Golden Acrylic paint, FW acrylic inks, Caran D’ache Neocolor II and Luminance Pencils, Ephemera, and Alcohol Inks
Mixed Media Painting | Star Walker
We are star walker’s, each and every one of us, wading through light and darkness, while awakening to goodness and love. In the darkness we feel alone, yet God entered our darkness so we would never be alone, and thus darkness is but an illusion. In the light, we see the truth of God’s goodness and we no longer fear the shadows, for we see that they also are illusions which dissipate in the presence of God’s goodness and love.
This 16″ by 20″ mixed media painting was completed using FW Daler Rowney Inks, acrylic paints, ephemera, Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens, Neocolor 2 Watercolor Crayons, and a variety of other mixed-media art supplies.
Special thanks to #LalyMille for the instruction on how to paint this piece. It is from Lesson 6 (Star Catcher) of her course Layers of Light.
Mixed Media Painting | French Roses
There are moments when I layer prose into my paintings. Amidst the layers of ephemera, inks, watercolors, and acrylics, I nestle words of encouragement, whispers of hope, and expressions of gratitude. I like the idea of hiding within each piece of art, a secret letter of love, that maybe some will see and others will feel. I scrawl my thoughts in French, since it’s considered the language of love and it’s appearance is beautiful. “I am thankful for family who is generous with love and compassionate in heart. I am grateful for friends who are loyal, who forgive easily, and who never leave. I pray good blessing will fall upon all, gifts will emerge within, and love will embrace you in its wings.”
Acrylic Painting | Mystery at Midnight
I followed a YouTube tutorial by Lucy Brydon, a Gel Printing master, to create this abstract-type, midnight landscape. It consists of many different layers of transparent colors. I used golden open paints, a Gelli plate, brayer, and Posca pens.
Mixed Media Painting | Penelope Bloom's Ballerina Bunny
Penelope Bloom has been on my mind again, along with her beloved toy bunny, reminding me of the purity and innocence of childhood. For a brief moment, I saw a Penelope Bloom bunny come to life, dancing in the light of the moon, free of everything that would weigh her down as she moved without constraints. Perhaps someday we will do the same.
I painted this on a 16 x 20 inch canvas using Daler Rowney Acrylic Inks, Stabilo Pencils, Golden Acrylic Heavy Body and Open paints, Ephemera, Pan Pastels, Oil Pastels, and Winsor Newton Artist Oil bars.
JANNA VANDERVEEN 