 36"x48", acrylic on wrapped canvas, ©Dawn Eaton I created this commissioned portrait three years ago! Amidst the return to teaching in the public schools, I realized that I never posted the final piece:
The goal was to surprise his wife and their mom with a garden portrait, but the timing - well, to meet the birthday deadline, I needed to begin in the middle of winter! So, on a cold, blustery morning in February, I met up with these three great kids and their dad (yes, also great!) at the Lincoln Park Conservatory's Spring Garden Show. Though indoors, the natural lighting of the conservatory provided the perfect opportunity to create an outdoor garden scene, in the middle of winter. What a pleasure to greet these smiles and blooms in my studio during the gray winter days of Chicago!
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For the past few months, I have gotten to work on several commissioned surprises. I absolutely love being part of creating special gifts! This painting was created as a going away present for our gifted and appreciated worship leader at our church. She and her husband recently moved from Chicagoland down to Texas. To express the beauty of this transition, there are Texas bluebonnets (Texas state flower), purple violets (Illinois state flower), pecan trees (Texas state tree), white oaks (Illinois state tree) and a few Indian Paintbrushes (which bloom in both Texas and Illinois). The painting is also inspired by Psalm 23, full of promises for this young couple during this transition and their future ahead. Pulling all of these different components together into a cohesive piece was a challenge, but as is often the case, the process was a gift to me as well. Psalm 23 is such a popular passage, that I had begun to overlook its richness. I read and re-read the passage while I was constructing the painting's composition and again while I was working to balance the colors, values and shapes. Seriously, Psalm 23 is really good! It is loaded with references to God's character and the good gifts He offers.  'Psalm 23', 12"x24" acrylic on wrapped canvas, ©Dawn Eaton  'Legacy', 8"x8", acrylic on canvas, ©Dawn Eaton I have been struggling with titles and words lately, so I asked my friends on my Facebook page to share their thoughts and insights. What a great idea! :) Those who shared caught the essence of what began to surface during the painting process AND gave me a deeper appreciation for what was happening on the canvas. With their permission (Thank you!), here are a couple of those comments: "What stands out to me is not the pink in the flowers but rather the seeds in the center. It makes me think of how those "seeds" create new life and beauty." - Jonathan "The flowers shown are in a progression from immature to mature, so mature was the first thing I thought of...process, growth, maturation, but I also see self-confidence and joy and self-assurance. That flower in the front is like a matriarch...confident and sure." - Mary To leave a legacy - A life-giving, beautiful legacy... To sow seeds and intentionally invest in the next generation... Sounds like a life (a day!) well lived. Please share your own responses - they are such a gift! Click here for purchase information.
'Stand' is a conversation with God, much like the one recorded here in Exodus. I have cried out, "If You don't go with me, I can't do what You want me to do!" And it is such food for my soul (food that enables me to stand, to press forward) to believe God is saying back to me, "I will go with you, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name." (Psalm 139) I actually re-worked an earlier version of this painting. Here's a peak at the previous painting and my references laid out before me on my drawing table.
Fragrant Beauty  Fragrant Beauty, ©Dawn Eaton, 18x36in., acrylic on wrapped canvas Although I do stop and smell the roses (Really, I do.) and take photographs - up until now, I hadn't stopped to paint them. But then my friend, Dorota, commissioned me to paint a picture for her - a rose. I consider 'Fragrant Beauty' a portrait of Dorota in the form of a flower. The passionate red, the layers of color, the flowing lines and the light shining through - Beauty...Dorota. This lovely woman is the owner and sole beautician at DKN Salon in Glen Ellyn, IL. We met 3 years ago when my family moved to the area. During my first few appointments, other clients stopped in to just to say hello or to bring Dorota gifts. I thought to myself, "Don't these people have lives?" Well...now I understand. When you enter DKN, it's like being invited into Dorota's home. I am greeted with a hug and a "How are you, My Friend?" - I doubt that I am the only one. :) She offers coffee, tea, wine, water and european candies. She works her magic and our conversation begins. I am inspired by Dorota's life story: leaving her home country of Poland in her late teens, living in Germany for a couple of years as a young bride, moving to the United States, having 2 boys, then raising them as a single mom - and owning her own business. I am blessed by Dorota's warmth, generosity, servant heart, strength, openness to learning, faith and character. A fragrant beauty. Fall II - Drawing Class These kids amaze me.
 'Thistle Dew', ©Dawn Eaton, 11x14in., acrylic on canvas I was commissioned to paint a thistle as a special thank you gift. The painting is inspired by the family's ranch in Texas - Thistle Dew Ranch.
I had actually zoomed in and taken some photos of thistles over a year ago. I was excited to pull those out, observe and paint all those points and patterns and colors and textures...and then the dew drops! :) I did a little research on the Texas Thistle: It is heat and drought resistant (reminds me of the truths found in Jeremiah 17:7,8) and provides for Painted Lady butterflies, bumblebees, and goldfinches. I was personally struck by a simple statement I read: the thistle is "commonly recognized for its flower". It is known for its flower - the bloom - the beauty... not by its spikey ends (which do provide protection against hungry cattle). The thistle, in all it's intricacy, is a reminder...Creator God sees me as He created me. He knows me by my "bloom". Psalm 139.  ©Dawn Eaton, 'Being Filled', 30x30in. acrylic on wrapped canvas. I originally posted 'Being Filled' about 6 months ago. I hung it on the wall... and began to question if it was finished. I decided go back in with more layers and more contrast.
This painting is an expression of the desire to be filled. Some dark chocolate and a good book sound great (for you it may be chips, guacamole and a party! - the list is endless for ways we 'fill up'), but ultimately I want deep, life-giving, sustainable fullness. I imagine being filled in and around and through. Not lacking Overflowing Satisfied Content Full of peace and joy I keep coming back to God, asking Him to "Fill 'er up!" :) Here is my prayer for you (and for myself!): "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." - Ephesians 3:16-19 To comment if you are viewing this post via e-mail. For purchasing information. 
My parents retired to northeast Iowa - yes Iowa. :) They live on 19 acres of land out in the rolling countryside. On a few of those acres they have planted a prairie - always wonderful photo inspiration.
This article came out this month in The Calmar Courier. Thank you, Joyce E. Meyer (journalist and photographer). I looked at the tree branches outside my window and saw them! BRIGHT GREEN BUDS! (I did a double take to make sure they were really there.) At the first real signs of Spring, it hit me, "Whoo...it's been a long winter."  © Dawn Eaton, After Winter Comes Spring, 24x24in., acrylic on 1 1/2in. wrapped canvas. The hardest part of winter for me are the gray overcast days. (I'm writing from Chicagoland.)
Blah. It's like being in neutral - do you stop? do you go? Gray feels like indecision or a needling anxiety. Motivation starts to run low. A string of gray days can feel like a lingering sadness that you can't seem to shake loose. But Spring is here! (Did I forget that it was coming?!) Bright green buds on winter branches - it's a natural picture of hope. I've been listening to a podcast about hope, by a man named Kris Vallotton: Here are some of my notes: "Hope is the confident expectation that good is coming and faith is the ability to see the good that is not yet visible." "Hope is the seedbed that faith grows in...Once I lose hope, I stop believing." "Hope grabs my soul and tells me something good is going to happen to me." "Hope gets me off my couch and onto the front porch so I begin to seek... to look with earnest expectation and anticipation." "My hope is not in my ability, but in my God and who He is." "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10:23 "But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, 'You are my God! ... So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!" - Psalm 31:14, 24 Inspired by the desire to be filled.  © Dawn Eaton, Being Filled, 30x30in., acrylic on 1 1/2in. wrapped canvas "My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." - Psalm 63:5
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." - Ephesians 3:16-19 "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called--his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance." - Ephesians 1:18 Yeah - like that. |
Dawn Eaton
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