I don’t sing all that well, so part of my worship to God is to paint. I do not paint as a form of self expression per se, I try to paint as an expression of my joy for God and what He’s doing. For me, it’s like recording a worship song which can be played again and again. I believe art should point to the ultimate creator because creativity is one of the character traits of God, which He instilled in us.
It wasn’t always about God for me. I spent many years painting in a completely different mindset. Paintings of my past were not acts of worship but closer to a form of bloodletting. I would become obsessed with an idea and then the darkness would envelope me. I would put on some emotional music and hash out pieces of a shattered soul and life on canvas, or in a sketchbook. But then Jesus set me free. I no longer paint from a place of darkness trying to measure the lint in my navel. I paint from a place of joy – and the paintings bear no resemblance to the tortured works of the past either physically or emotionally.