Our first 11″x15″ art piece of the quarter took four Sabbath’s to complete. One Sabbath we drew in the seagull, the river, the mountains and painted the underlying sand in yellow ochre. The next two Sabbaths the children used a pallet knife to mix complimentary grays using cad red and cerulean blue hue. From these two colors, we were able to make, with the addition of tinting with white, 21 colors to paint the seagull, his long evening shadow and the second layer of seashore and river. These complimentary colors can not be squeezed out of a tube, but must be hand mixed.

It’s a hard thing to leave God out of the picture. He has so much to say about birds, mountains, and water. He is still inviting: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of him shall flow rivers of living water.” I hope this is strikingly evident in the lives of our children presenting what we have learned this quarter in Sabbath School. I believe we have the best school in Georgia, not because of our talented teachers, Madonna, Kayla, Maritza, Katrina and Marva, but because we have a teacher sent from God, Jesus himself. And again, “The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life.” John 7:37-38; 4:14b, R.V.

The fourth and final Sabbath, we painted the hills in the background. These are a couple examples of our “Seagull on Seashore” in acrylic paint after my art instructor, Chris DiDomizio, who is currently painting a portrait series of President Jimmy Carter here in Plains, GA. Hold onto this framed art piece!

Oursecond art piece, we went outside on neighbor appreciation day to learn about plein air painting. Plein Air is a French word meaning the act of painting outdoors. Famous painters like John Singer Sargent and Claude Monet who employed the plein air method were not just painting outside. They were more accurately capturing the appearance of outdoor settings in various light and weather conditions.

Nature communicates something to us – the presence of God! He speaks loudly in all that he created. This time of year God is preaching louder than ever before. And the Lord appeared and answered us by sending thunder, lightening, rain and wind that Sabbath morning! We were so excited, the moment was so vibrant, and we were in awe, in contact with God! Here we have a couple framed 8″x10″ pieces entitled, “Brick Columns and Red Roses,” an original piece in soft pastels. This art piece is also framed, infused with God, that we will always remember this sacred day of plein air painting with God.

Stacy Sweeney, Primary and Junior Sabbath School Art Teacher