Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with one final art lesson for you.
As you know, all this week I’ve been talking about my paintings — as a quadriplegic, I hold the pens and brushes between my teeth, and, oh, has God taught me so many lessons over the years through my artwork. For instance this one...
A few years ago, I was working on designs for my Christmas cards, and I wanted to paint the star over Bethlehem. I really wanted the star to glow; to look as though light were emanating right off the canvas. Now I knew that if I wanted that star to glow with light, I would have to use (can you guess?) I would have to use color. That’s because light is comprised of color. We know that from nature. Every time it rains, and the sun comes out and the rays of the sun hit the droplets, the rain refracts that shaft of light, separating it into all the colors of the spectrum. And so we see a rainbow. A rainbow is merely the sunlight refracted through droplets of water. And so this is what I did…
In the middle of the star, I put a small touch of white, and then, with a very tiny, little paintbrush, with great subtlety the white into the yellow, blending it into light green, then working it out further into I began encircling that white with the various colors of the spectrum, all in their proper order. I shaded the canvas: dark green; then from green to blue; from blue to violet, and so I ultimately it blended with the night sky. I worked so carefully, with such great finesse, that even when you look close, you can’t tell where one color changes into the next. As a result, when you step back from the painting, it appears as though the star is glowing, like there’s this little iridescent light bulb behind the canvas, lighting up the star on the painting. And you know what’s really amazing? If you get the colors of the spectrum wrong; if you put them in the wrong order, then it will not glow. It doesn’t look like light. It just looks dull and gray. Isn’t God amazing?!
Now this trick of painting light is not original with me, or with Thomas Kinkade. It was the French impressionists during the turn of the last century who became very skilled at using color to convey light in a painting. I just borrowed their idea and made it my own. But I tell you something that is original. As I delighted in that glowing star, I thought about all the references in the Bible that talk about light. How God said in the beginning “Let there be light!” — God could have said, “Let there be color!” And remember when Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Well, right before He ascended into heaven, He turned to His disciples and said, “Now you are the light of the world.” But He could have been saying now you should bring color to this dark depressing world: bring joy, bring gladness, bring love in my name.
I’ve showed this painting of the glowing star to many visitors who come to the Joni and Friends International Disability Center and take a tour of my art studio. And I’d love to show you this same painting today. So when we’re done here, take a moment and visit my radio page today at joniandfriends.org where I have posted a picture of this painting. And, yes, you will see that it really does glow. And while you’re at it, ask for a copy of my art booklet, too — I would be pleased if you would show my paintings to your family and friends. And don’t forget to bring color — glorious color — by lighting up your dark world today with the light of the Savior’s joy.
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