STL Chalk Artist, Jim Pence, has been doing chalk programs in prison since the mid '90s. He recently spent four days in a Texas prison, reaching out to the inmates through chalk, music, and God's word. Here's Jim's account of his recent prison outreach.

I stand outside the prison gate, waiting to hear the electric buzz and clack of the latch. It is time to go inside the razor-wire-laced fences and begin a four-day chalk art outreach to the inmates in a Texas prison unit.

Before I ever get to the gate, I search my own pockets several times, trying to make sure that I’m not carrying in any contraband. Security in Texas prisons is tight, particularly since over the past few years there have been some notable breaches of that security. Thus, I have to make sure that I’ve locked my wallet in my car, that I’m not carrying any cash or items that can be used as weapons—and especially that I’m not carrying my cell phone.

A volunteer can get in big trouble for bringing a cell phone inside the gate.

The outside gate opens and I walk into the sally port and close the gate behind me.

Then I stand facing a security camera and hold up my driver’s license so the officer in the main control picket can see that my face matches my ID. A second or so later, I hear the familiar electric buzz and clack, and the inner gate opens.

I wheel the heavy case containing my chalk art equipment through the gate and pull it closed behind me.

The next step is getting through security.

First, I have to open the case containing all my chalk art equipment. An officer has a checklist of all the items I’m bringing in (I had to fax that in ahead of time). He stands over me and ticks off every item as I show it to him. I can only bring in items that were pre-approved.

Then I have to be “wanded” with a metal detector and after that, the officer pats me down.

Once I clear security, I turn my driver’s license over to the officer in the control picket and she gives me a visitor’s badge.

Then the chaplain and I make our way through another sally port—this time a set of heavy steel doors—and begin our walk back toward the chapel, near the back of the prison.

It is a beautiful, cool, sunny afternoon. All is quiet on the yard; only a few inmates here and there. Many of them will come out for recreation time soon.

Others, hopefully, will come to my chapel service.

The “chapel” is a long, narrow room that will seat about seventy-five men. Most prisons in Texas don’t have a dedicated building for church or chapel services. Usually classrooms in the education building have to do double duty. But this unit actually has a room set apart for church services. Nevertheless, it’s small and doesn’t have any ecclesiastical trappings.

For all intents and purposes, it looks like a classroom.

I begin to set up my easel and chalk while the chaplain goes back to his office to call out the praise team. In a very short time, the room will fill with inmates.

I’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years, so I don’t get nervous anymore.

Actually, I feel safer inside the prison than I do on the outside.

As I wait for the men to arrive, I pray.

“God, you know the hearts of all the men who will be here tonight. Please touch lives…”

(To be continued…on Thursday!)

by Jim & Laurel Pence

Tuesday's video tip was about how to draw a sunset in black light chalk. For this week's resource blog, Laurel has pulled together some "sun-related" art projects for children of all ages.

EASY SUN-MOON COLORING PAGES: Younger children will enjoy coloring these simple images of the sun and moon.

http://www.morningkids.net/coloring-pages-418-en-stars-sun-moon.html

ALUMINUM FOIL PROJECT: This project is easy to do and produces impressive results. All you need is some heavy duty aluminum foil, a towel, and a creative mind.

http://spaghettiboxkids.com/blog/kids-art-the-sun-part-2/

MORE COMPLEX COLORING PAGES: For children who are a little older, this Web site provides some more complex coloring pages related to the sun, weather, etc.

http://www.edupics.com/coloring-pages-weather-c252.html

SUN HANDPRINT CRAFT: You can do this fun craft with construction paper or paper plates (for more durability).

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/summer/msun.htm

SUN PHOTOS: Okay, this one's not an art project, but the site's still worth a visit. It is a collection of some awesome photos of the sun. Who knows? The budding artist(s) in your family might want to pull out their pastels and crayons and try to draw it.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/sun/

That's all the resources for this week. Check back next Tuesday for another video tip.

by Jim and Laurel Pence

This month in the video blogs, we're focusing on how to draw and paint clouds, skies, sunsets, and so on. So, on the Thursday resource page we're going to provide links to Web pages that are in keeping with that theme.

I love drawing clouds and skies, and I hope that this month you'll gain some insight in to how to translate what you see in the sky into a drawing or painting.

Here are several pages that hit on the general theme of drawing or painting clouds.

1. CLOUD ATLAS -- Although this page doesn't tell  you how to draw clouds, it is a great photographic reference resource. It lists the different kinds of clouds you might see in the sky and includes photos of each type.

http://www.cloudman.com/atlas.htm

2. WIKI-HOW "How to Draw Clouds -- The cloud exercise on this page results in a "cartoony-looking" cloud, but it is a good approach for teaching younger children how to draw a cloud.

http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-Clouds

3 MY HOW-TO-DRAW -- More cartoony clouds at this site, but still a good exercise in creating clouds with just a pencil.

http://www.my-how-to-draw.com/how-to-draw-clouds.html

4. LIFE-ART STUDIO -- This site shows how to do a realistic pencil sketch of clouds. Great tutorial for older or more advanced students

http://lifeartschool.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-draw-clouds-choose-your-h-south.html

5. CLOUDS WITH COLOR -- This is an oil-painting tutorial with an emphasis on the color in clouds. Often people's clouds don't look realistic because they're pure white. But if you take a good look at the sky, you'll see that this is rarely the case. Take some time to look at these cloud paintings and see how the artist uses color with his clouds.

http://www.draw-n-paint.com/Art.Work.History/Clouds/Clouds_with_Color/Clouds_with_Color.html

How do you enlarge a small picture? That's the topic of our first of six super short video tips!

ALL OF US AT SEE THE LIGHT WISH

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A BLESSED EASTER!

This is Easter week and, although this drawing is not specifically an Easter-themed drawing, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different for this week's video blog. So here is an "accelerated" version of my drawing "Lord of the Troubled Sea." This video is about 2 minutes in length and, although I draw quickly, I'm not quite as fast in real life as I am in this video.

A little chalk art trivia: This drawing was developed by my mentor, Rev. Ding Teuling. Ding is considered by many (including me) to be the Dean of modern chalk art. My version is a little different than his, but I'm honored to have studied under him over a period of 8 years. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a blessed Easter -- Jim Pence

We've almost finished the Easter project, but we still need to add the black light effect. Let's do that today!

YELLOW DAISY
© Kiankhoon | Dreamstime.com

by Jim and Laurel Pence

Spring is still in the air! Last week, that meant bunnies. This week it's flowers. Laurel has found some great sites with tutorials and demos on how to draw and paint spring flowers. Check out these Web sites:

GARDEN DRAWINGS -- This site has some easy projects that involve "garden drawings". Not really a "how to" site, but it's a great idea and younger children can easily adapt the idea for their own creations:

http://bookzoompa.wordpress.com/category/garden-drawings/

TOAD HOLLOW STUDIO -- Here's an easy step-by-step tutorial for drawing and sketching simple flowers. Be sure to click on the "Sketch a Wildflower" link for another step by step.

http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/easy-flowers-1.html

HOW STUFF WORKS (HOW TO DRAW FLOWERS) -- This is a great resource, with a lot of different step-by-step demos for drawing different kinds of flowers.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-to-draw-flowers-and-plants.htm

HOW TO DRAW A ROSE -- A very nice step-by-step on how to draw a rose.

http://www.my-how-to-draw.com/how-to-draw-a-rose.html

We've been working on an Easter watercolor project for the past few weeks. In today's video, I'll show you how to paint in the mountains and rocky hills, and next week we'll add the black light effect. So get out your paints and let's have some fun.

KEEP YOUR PIGGY BANK FULL! SAVE MONEY ON STL PRODUCTS DURING NEXT WEEK'S CONVENTION--EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT ATTENDING!

The Great Homeschool Convention Southeast  in Greenville, South Carolina is next week, from March 22 through the 24th, and we've got some great conference-only specials planned.

But we know that many of you will not be able to attend the convention, so we're making these specials available online for the duration of the conference. So, from next Thursday (the 22nd) through Saturday (the 24th) you will be able to get the following discounts online for these See the Light products:

• 10% off ART CLASS - ie. $89.99 - a fabulous offer for the complete 9DVD/36 lesson series of step-by-step lessons. (Discount Code: SAVENOW)

• All Bible story DVDs, including our newest - SHIPWRECKED - Story of the Apostle Paul - $12.50 rather than $14.99. (Discount Code: SAVENOW1)

• Also, an introductory price on TIFFANY PROJECT - the first in our series of ART PROJECTS DVDs, geared for ages 10+. Introductory convention special - $12.50 (retails on site for $14.99)  (Discount Code: SAVENOW1)
  

• Specials on Bible story Gift Sets:  All Deluxe Bible Story Gift sets include the DVD (Bible story + 3 complete art lessons + many bonus features including the Plan of Salvation) Black light (batteries included), eXtreme Fluorescent Pencil Set, and Fluorescent Chalk.  Retails for $29.99   Convention Special - $25.00!!!! (Shipping is not free for these discounted offers.) (Discount Code: SAVENOW2)

If you're planning to be at the convention next week, be sure and stop by the See the Light booth (#1206) to take advantage of these specials and meet Jim and Laurel Pence. Jim will have his chalks and watercolors and will be doing paintings and sketches throughout the convention. He plans to give these away when the convention is over, so come by and sign up for a chance to win a picture done by a See the Light artist!

by Jim & Laurel Pence

Spring is in the air and at the Pence ranch in North Texas, that means bunnies a plenty. Last week, our Thursday resource focused on how to draw horses. This week, it's bunnies (or rabbits if you want to be technically accurate). Research assistant extraordinaire, Laurel, has assembled a collection of Web sites that offer step-by-step tutorials on how to draw rabbits, along with a few sites that feature paintings and/or sketches of rabbits.

STEP BY STEP TUTORIALS:

K-3

HOW TO DRAW THE RABBIT: STEP-BY-STEP FOR KIDS -- Here's a very easy project that will be good for younger children. Basically, you draw the outline of the bunny and then step by step add the details. The final product is cartoonish (as opposed to realistic) but it's simple and the frustration level should be low.

http://www.drawingforkids.net/how-to-draw-the-rabbit-step-by-step-for-kids/

HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY STEP BY STEP -- This one's cartoony, too, but it's also easy (perhaps even a little easier than the preceding tutorial). Instead of starting with an outline, you work from basic shapes to a finished drawing.

http://learn-how-to-draw-now.com/Bunny-Step-1.html

4th-6th GRADE

WALTER FOSTER - HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY RABBIT STEP BY STEP -- In this tutorial you work to recreate an existing drawing of a rabbit. This one is good for middle graders, as they will learn how to analyze the rabbit and identify the shapes that they need to create the drawing.

http://www.walterfoster.com/pages/art-tips-for-kids/68/how-to-draw-a-bunny-rabbit-step-by-step.html?page=0

7th AND UP

DRAWSKETCH.ABOUT.COM: DRAW A BUNNY -- This step-by-step tutorial follows a similar process, but you work from a photograph of a rabbit. It's a more challenging approach and the final result is a more refined drawing. Middle graders and up should find it a challenge.

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawanimalsstepbystep/ss/drawbunnyrabbit.htm

EASY DRAWINGS AND SKETCHES - HOW TO DRAW A RABBIT -- This is the most challenging of the step-by-step tutorials. However, it also offers you the opportunity to learn a little about drawing with a grid. Instead of using shapes, you sketch the rabbit by first drawing a 3x3 grid and then copying portions the image "box-by-box". This page also has clickable images that enlarge to give you a better visual to work from.

http://www.easy-drawings-and-sketches.com/draw-a-rabbit.html

RABBITS IN ART:

If you're interested in seeing a sampling of how rabbits are featured in art, check out the following Web sites:

http://www.linesandcolors.com/2011/04/22/jonathan-jones-top-five-rabbits-in-art/

http://www.sketchingeveryday.com/2008/08/more-rabbits-and-bunnies-oh-my.html

(This last one was a special favorite of Laurel's, and I have to admit, it's a beautiful picture!)

http://www.paintingsilove.com/image/show/135572/wild-bunnies?path=group&group=877

Last week, we began working on a watercolor project for Easter, and in the process learned a little bit about "masking". This week we'll take the project a bit further, and as we do, we'll learn about "transparency" and "glazing," and we'll also learn how to test our watercolors to see which colors are transparent. So get out your paints and paper, and let's have fun!

In less than two weeks, See the Light's Jim & Laurel Pence will be on the road and headed to Greenville, South Carolina for our first homeschool convention of the season.

We'll have a booth at the Great Homeschool Conventions Southeast Conference from March 22nd through the 24th. At this writing, our booth is #1206 (although that could change).

Here's a link to the convention Web site: http://www.southeasthomeschoolconvention.com

If you're going to be at the convention, we hope you'll stop by and visit us, but just in case you need some motivation, here are the top five reasons you should come by the See the Light booth:

#5 -- So we won't feel lonely and neglected. ;)

#4 -- To check out STL's newest Bible/Art DVDs, including Shipwrecked (the story of Paul), God's Runaway (Jonah), and our new Art Projects DVD by Pat Knepley (Tiffany Window).

#3 -- To pick up some really cool free stuff, including an STL Ruler/Bookmark and Pencil.

#2 -- To meet STL chalk artist Jim Pence, watch him draw and paint at the booth, and ask any art questions you want. (Jim will be giving away the pictures he does during the convention, so you'll also be able to sign up for the chance to win a picture.)

#1 -- To take advantage of some awesome convention specials. All of our products will be discounted during the convention and you'll be able to get some really special package deals (more about this next Saturday).

We're counting down to the convention and looking forward to seeing all our friends in less than two weeks! COME ON OUT!

by Jim and Laurel Pence

Laurel and I live in Texas and, although we don't have any horses, they are all around us. As a matter of fact, we occasionally feed our next door neighbors' horses when they are away, and it's always an amazing experience.

Our neighbors have a long driveway that crosses the horses' main pasture. When we walk over there, they know it's "goodie time". As we walk up that driveway, these two huge animals come up and walk right alongside us. Sometimes they'll even nuzzle our ears as we walk. It's an awe-inspiring experience. I'm 6'1" and they're both taller than I am!

This week's Thursday resource post is about how to draw horses. Laurel has pulled together some great Web resources for your homeschool art class, with suggestions for children from Kindergarten on up. So get out your pencils and let's have some fun.

STEP-BY-STEP 

"Cartoonish" Horse (for K-1) -- http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=27738

This is great for K-1st grade (and maybe a little older). It's a cartoonish style, but its simplicity is what makes it useful. Very easy for young children.

Easy Horse Line Drawing (Elementary to middle school) -- http://www.art-made-easy.com/horse-drawing.html

This step-by-step is a more realistic drawing, but it's still fairly easy. Good for middle graders.

More Challenging Step-by-Step -- http://www.susanjeffers-art.com/drwhorse1.html

The drawing on this page has more detail (in the last step) and would be good for older children. This site also has some nice printable coloring pages.

Advanced: Horse portrait -- http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodrawhorses/ss/draw-horse-head.htm

If you're children are up for a serious challenge, have them get out their colored pencils and  tackle this portrait of a horse's head.

PRINTABLES

Horse Activity Pages -- http://www.printactivities.com/Theme-Printables/Horse-Printables.html 

Here's a page full of "horse-themed" printable activity pages, including some coloring pages for younger children.

By James H. (Jim) Pence

Easter is only a month away, and we thought that you might enjoy putting some of your watercolor skills into practice on a special project that will combine watercolor and black light. So, over the next few weeks I'm going to show you how to do a picture similar to the Cross Hill picture that we did the last couple of weeks. However, in this one, you'll do one large cross rather than three small ones. This picture will also give you the chance to learn some new watercolor techniques: masking and glazing. 

So get out your watercolors and paper, and let's have some fun.

*     *    *

Click here to download a line-drawing of the Easter project.

by Jim & Laurel Pence

Back in 1984, Laurel and I went to the World's Fair in New Orleans. One of the headline exhibits was titled, "Treasures of the Vatican." We toured the exhibit and, to be sure, there were plenty of treasures there. But none have remained in my memory other than the amazing paintings of Michelangelo that were on display. It's difficult to describe these huge works of art other than to say that they were absolutely stunning. Someday I'd love to go to Italy and see some more his work in person. But, alas, that will have to wait. For now, however, we have the Internet. Thus, the artist of the month for February is Michelangelo Buonarotti or, as he is more commonly known, Michelangelo.

Laurel has pulled together several sites that have some excellent lesson plans. She's also found some good bio and resource sites. Take a little time to explore the information and enjoy one of the greatest artists who has ever lived.

LESSON PLANS:

VERY COOL HOMESCHOOL ART LESSON ON MICHELANGELO -- To give her daughter an idea of the "fun" Michaelangelo must have had over the four years he was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, this creative mother set up a miniature "ceiling" under their dining room table and had her daughter paint a mural, while lying on her back.

http://www.tableof4please.com/2010/01/michelangelo-homeschool-art-lesson.html

MICHELANGELO'S HANDS -- This lesson plan, done for a public scool system, is targeted at fifth graders and older. It includes a nice amount of biographical information, plus a drawing exercise. The students complete a drawing of their hand in a sign-language position, then cut it out and mount it so that it resembles a sculpture.

http://www.projectarticulate.org/lessons/michelangeloHands.pdf

ART OF THE RENAISSANCE ERA: MICHELANGELO -- The following two sites work in tandem. The first link is to a lesson plan that is based on the content of the second link. This lesson plan is for older students and explores Michaelangelo's "life, culture, and politics" as well as his art.

http://www.lessontutor.com/ms1.html     http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html

GENERAL RESOURCES

TIMELINE OF MICHEALANGELO'S LIFE -- http://www.finearttouch.com/Michelangelo_Buonarroti_Timeline.html

BRIEF BIO OF MICHELANGELO -- http://www.finearttouch.com/The_Life_of_Michelangelo_Buonarroti.html

MICHELANGELO GALLERY -- http://www.michelangelo-gallery.com/

*****
[Michelangelo Portrait -- Photo Credit: Duncan1890 / istockphoto.com]

Cross Hill, Pt. 2 from James Pence on Vimeo.

by Jim and Laurel Pence

On Tuesday's blog, Jim did a simple pen and ink sketch of "Cross Hill" and is going to finish it out with watercolor. Pen and ink is a great way to sketch, and (as you can see in the picture on the left) it's possible to do amazingly complex drawings with it. This week's Thursday Resource is going to focus on pen and ink. How do you do it, what materials do you need, and how to get started. Read on for several Web sites that will point you in the right way if you want to explore pen and ink in your homeschool art class.

As always, a special thanks goes to Laurel Pence, my wife and research assistant extraordinaire, for finding these sites. She makes my job a lot easier. I hope you'll find these sites helpful. Check them out and, remember, have fun!

BASIC:

The following site gives a very simple introduction to pen and ink. This is a good site for beginners and elementary grade children.
http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com/2009/09/pen-and-ink-drawing.html

This next site is targeted toward older children, but it's still fairly basic. It also has some very helpful illustrations.
http://www.kids.ct.gov/kids/cwp/view.asp?a=2571&q=313984

The following page is a complete lesson plan for teaching pen and ink in your homeschool art class.
http://www.kinderart.com/drawing/penink.shtml

FOR OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS:

The following site shows various shading techniques for pen and ink.
http://drawsketch.about.com/library/blinktexture.htm

This site shows how to shade using  pointillism (lots of little dots). It's a good reference site.
http://www.learntoart.com/index.php/archives/drawing/shading-techniques-hatching-scribbling-pointillism/

The next site is my favorite. It's actually got some step-by-step lessons for two really awesome pen-and-ink drawings. Definitely one worth visiting and working through.
http://www.homeschoolarts.com/penink.htm

Image Credit:  © Shane Kennedy | Dreamstime.com

By James H. Pence

We've been learning about controlling watercolor over the last few weeks, and in that time we've covered several practice exercises. But It's always more fun to practice on an actual picture. So this week and next week, we're going to work on an easy painting that I call "Cross Hill". This painting will incorporate a wet-in-wet wash and a graded wash. So get out your brushes, paints, and watercolor paper and let's have some fun.

NOTE: I scanned a printable copy of my line drawing for this project and made it available as a .pdf file. Click on the link below to download it.

DOWNLOAD "CROSS HILL" LINE DRAWING

The Joy of Art: Cross Hill, pt. 1 from James Pence on Vimeo.

Here's the deal. For four days only (Sat-Tues) you can get this new DVD for $12.50 with FREE shipping. Just click on the Store tab, select the Shipwrecked DVD, and when you place your order use the special code: SNEAK

by Jim & Laurel Pence

Since we've been working with watercolor on Tuesdays for the past few weeks, I thought it might be helpful to give you some online watercolor resources. So, this week Laurel has scouted out some awesome Web sites that provide helpful resources for those who want to go a little deeper into watercolors.

Our first two pages offer suggestions for teaching children how to paint. The first site offers some fun things to do with watercolor (such as sprinkling salt on it to create a starburst effect). The second site provides suggestions for how to teach painting to different age groups from K through 6th grade. 

WATERCOLOR PROJECTS FOR CHILDREN -- http://www.kidsart.com/ttwatercolor.html

TEACH YOUR CHILD TO PAINT -- http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-how-to-paint/

The next group of sites will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about brushes. However, the more you know about brushes, the better you'll be able to work with watercolors. You may be surprised at the range of tools that a watercolorist has to work with.

ALL ABOUT BRUSHES -- http://www.watercolor-painting-tips.com/watercolor-brush-types.html

MORE ABOUT BRUSHES -- http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/brush1.html

And, of course, if you're going to work in watercolor, it would help to have an idea of what to look for in paints and paper. The next two sites will give you a pretty good feel of what you need to buy.

HOW TO CHOOSE WATERCOLOR PAPER -- http://painting.about.com/cs/watercolours/ht/Howto_WCpaper.htm

HOW TO CHOOSE WATERCOLOR PAINTS -- http://www.senzez.com/watercolor-painting/how-to-choose-watercolor-paints/

Check out these sites and have some fun!

by James H. Pence

In today's art tip we're taking one more look at how to control watercolors. This time, we'll focus on how to do four different types of washes: flat, graded, wet-in-wet, and drybrush. As you practice these different brush strokes, you will develop control and be able to make the watercolors do what you want them to. So, get out your paints and paper, and let's have some fun with watercolor.

Jim Pence at the STL Booth, Greenville, SC Homeschool Convention, 2011

The homeschool convention/conference season is warming up, and See the Light is coming to a convention near you. Listed below are all the conventions where STL will have a booth set up (or will somehow be represented). Also listed are the STL team members who will be present at the different conventions.

If you're going to be at any of these conventions, be sure and stop by our booth to say hi. We'll have some special convention discounts for you. Jim Pence will have his pastels and watercolors with him and will be doing artwork (not to mention some workshops) at five conventions this year. He will also be giving away the artwork he does at the conventions, so be sure to come by and sign up for the drawing.

SEE THE LIGHT CONVENTIONS – 2012

Greenville, S.C. – March 22-24 - Jim Pence --
http://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/

Memphis, Tenn – April 12-14   - Jim Pence --
http://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/

Cincinnati , Ohio –April 19-21 –Jim Pence --
http://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/

Long Beach, CA – May 24-26 – Jenna Shepard/Pat & Dave Holt
http://www.californiahomeschoolconvention.com/

Austin, Texas – June 22-24 – Jim Pence – CHEACT --
https://www.homeschool-life.com/sysfiles/member/custom_public/custom.cfm?memberid=641&customid=9392

Louisville, Ky – June 22-24 – Cynthia West – CHEK
http://www.chek.org/Events?eventId=344269&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Pasadena, CA – July 12-14 – Jenna Shepard/Pat & Dave Holt  - CHEA
http://www.cheaofca.org/

Modesto, CA – July 27 & 28 – Jenna Shepard - VHE
http://valleyhomeeducators.org/annual-homeschool-convention/

Woodlands, Tx – August 2-4 – Jim Pence - THSC (Jim will be a featured speaker at this convention.)
http://www.thsc.org/Categories3.aspx?Id=convention  

In addition to attendance at these conventions, SEE THE LIGHT is sponsoring Joy Ellis to attend the 2:1 Bloggers Conference held on April 27-29 in Sterling, Va.    

The Learning House in Canada, will be distributing SEE THE LIGHT products at various Canadian conferences during the spring and summer.    

HOW – During the April convention month, SEE THE LIGHT will have a banner on the HOW site, which entitles homeschoolers of Wyoming to a convention special. 

Photo Credit: © Elen/Dreamstime.com

by Jim & Laurel Pence

Valentine's Day is less than a week away, so this week our Thursday resource focuses on Valentine's crafts and art Web pages. Again, kudos to my lovely wife and research assistant, Laurel, for finding these awesome sites:

TEACH THE ELEMENTS OF ART WITH HEARTS -- The following three pages (all from the same site) are unique in that they are Valentine's Day themed lesson plans for teaching some of the elements of art--using hearts.

Color and Value - http://r-carver.suite101.com/teach-art-elements-color-and-value-with-hearts-a93992

Texture - http://r-carver.suite101.com/teach-art-element-texture-with-hearts-a94138

Form and Space - http://r-carver.suite101.com/teach-art-elements-form-and-space-with-hearts-a94222

FOLDING HEART ART PROJECT FOR K-6 - http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/val5.shtml

This site gives a simple and fun project called Heart Blottos. It includes an easy-to follow video.

HEART BOOKMARK - http://craftsideasforkids.com/make-page-bookmark-with-hearts.html#more-856

For the child who would like to create a Valentine's gift for someone, this page offers a very creative and attractive bookmark project. 

HANGING PAPER HEARTS CHANDELIER - http://www.chesapeakefamily.com/blog/breaking-eggs-food/1952-at-home-style-valentines-day-paper-crafts-with-kids

This is a little more complex project, but it is awesome. This is a good one for an older child who wants to create something challenging and unique.

by James H. Pence

In last week's video tip we learned a simple technique for controlling watercolor. Today, we'll apply that technique to a painting of a series of overlapping mountain ranges. So, get out your watercolors and let's have some fun. 

by James H. Pence

When we talk about "value" in art, many people might think that we're discussing how much a painting is worth. Although that can be true, more often than not the word value is referring to how light or dark a particular color or shade is. One weakness that many beginning artists have in common is a failure to use value well. So today's resource blog is devoted to Web pages that discuss value as well as shading techniques. Value is one of the seven elements of art, and a mastery of this element will go a long way toward enabling you to create pictures, drawings, and paintings that "pop".

Since the sites I'm listing are all pretty similar, I'm going to summarize them as groups, rather than individually.

The first two Web sites below will give you a bit of the theory behind value, and why it's important in art:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/drawing-light-and-shadows.html

http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/pencilgraphite/a/tonal_drawing.htm

The next four sites provide a variety of tutorials for learning to shade with pencil:

http://www.artyfactory.com/portraits/drawing_techniques/pencil_shading.htm

http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/ss/pencilshading.htm

http://www.toadhollowstudio.com/drawing_workshops/Advanced_Shading_1.html

http://www.drawcentral.com/2010/09/pencil-shading-techniques.html

The final site offers a pretty cool exercise in color value, using oil pastels:

http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/dine's-dark--light-delights-lesson-plan/

by James H. Pence

Watercolors are hard to control! That's usually the reason people say that they don't like to use them. However, with a little practice, you'll find that watercolors aren't all that difficult to work with. Better yet, they can be a lot of fun. In today's video tip, I'll give you a simple practice exercise that will help you learn how to control watercolors.

The Joy of Art: Controlling Watercolor from James Pence on Vimeo.

By James H. Pence

Art appreciation is a key part of any well-rounded art curriculum. With that in mind, the last Thursday of each month we will feature a different "artist of the month."

Our artist of the month for January is the great Dutch painter, Rembrandt. We've listed below several Web pages with lots of free resources, pictures, lesson plans, and even some fun activities for younger children. 

Special thanks goes to my research assistant (and lovely wife), Laurel, for finding these awesome sites.

REMBRANDT RESOURCES

1. Rembrandt Gallery -- http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rembrandt/rembrandt.html

2. One-page Biography -- http://www.myreproductions.com/rembrandt_van_rijn_biography.php

3. Timeline of Rembrandt's Life -- http://rembrandt.parkwestgallery.com/rembrandt-biography/rembrandt-timeline.html

4. The Rembrandt Teaching Project -- http://locicero.net/teachrembrandt/

This is a very extensive site with a lot of different resources, including lesson plans and activity sheets. 

5. Teaching Rembrandt: Why Introduce Children to Masterpieces -- http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2007-11/Teaching_Rembrandt.html

A very good article about why it is important to teach children about the great masters.

6. Rembrandt & Kids' Art Activities -- http://www.ehow.com/way_5398823_rembrandt-kids-art-activities.html

This page is great for younger children. It links to a brief video about Rembrandt's life. It also has some fun "Rembrandt-related" art activities.

The Joy of Art: Paint a Color Triangle from James Pence on Vimeo.

by James H. Pence

Next Tuesday, I'm going to show you how to make your own color wheel. In anticipation of that, I've listed some web sites that focus on color theory. The sites listed below offer something for all ages. 

An important part of learning art is learning how to mix and create colors. The better you understand how color works, the more you will be able to do. Plus, playing with color is just plain fun!

So here are my top five "color theory" web sites:

1. Super-easy Color Wheel Page for Young Children -- http://www.kidzone.ws/science/colorwheel.htm

This one is great for very young children. Nothing complex, just the basic primary and complementory colors and how they relate to one another.

2. Easy and Fun Color-mixing Tutorial -- http://www.artgraphica.net/free-art-lessons/watercolor/watercolor-color-wheel.html

I'd recommend this site for middle graders. There's a little more in-depth explanation of how colors work and relate, plus an easy exercise in color mixing using one brush, watercolors, and paper plates.

3. Color Theory Tutorial -- http://www.worqx.com/color/color_wheel.htm

Send your jr. high and high-schoolers to this site. It's still very concise, but provides more detail than the other sites and is a bit more complex.

4. The History of the Color Wheel -- http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2008/05/08/history-of-the-color-wheel/

Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton was influential in the development of the color wheel? Neither did I until I visited this page. If you're interested not only in color theory, but also the history of color theory, check out this site.
 

5. Basic Watercolor Supplies -- http://www.watercolorpainting.com/beginners_guide_to_watercolor.htm

Okay, strictly speaking this site isn't about color theory. It's more of a follow-up to my Tuesday video tip. The author of this site provides a very nice summary (with photos) of what you need to buy if you want to get started with watercolor. Couldn't have done it better myself.

See the Light Art Tip - Watercolor Basics from James Pence on Vimeo.

by James H. Pence

As parents, we all enjoy displaying our children's artwork around the house. Often, the gallery of choice is the refrigerator. And, as galleries go, that's a pretty good location. It's certainly a place that's visited many times during the day by all the members of the family. What could be better?

While it's true that the kitchen refrigerator is a great gallery for young artists, why stop there?

This week I set out to find some online galleries where children could upload and display their work, and it was a much bigger challenge than I'd expected. There are a lot of online galleries, but many of them are no longer being updated. As far as I can tell, all the sites I've listed in today's post are currently accepting submissions of artwork from children.  

How exciting will it be for your children when they see their work displayed online alongside of other young artists? Check out these sites:
 

ARTSONIA KIDS ART MUSEUM - http://www.artsonia.com/museum/

This is a very extensive site with lots of different galleries, sorted by age, media, school (Yes, they have a homeschool category!). They also feature an "artist of the week" contest (along with several other art contests).


THE KIDART PROJECT - http://www.kidlink.org/KIDART

This site isn't nearly as extensive as Artsonia, but it does have some nice artwork. One challenge: the site is in Italian (although the home page was in English). However, it wasn't any problem with the Google Chrome browser. It asked if I wanted to translate it and with one click, the site was in English.


KID CARTOONISTS - http://ohbrothercomics.com/art-gallery/art-by-you

If you have a budding cartoonist in the family, you might check out this page done by the producers of the "Oh Brother" comic strip. In addition to a lot of fun activities, the site features a gallery where young artists can upload their work.


LITTLE SKETCHERS - http://littlesketchers.com/

This is a beautifully-done site; however, was slow to load (and I've got a pretty good broadband connection!). The site is meant to encourage parents to understand the importance of art in their child's creative and emotional development. This is a great site if you have a prolific young artist. Thechild who uploads the most sketches between the 1st and 9th of each month is featured as the "Super Little Sketcher of the Month."


KIDSART - http://www.kidsart.com/Gallery/

This is a commercial site, and although they accept submissions of artwork, they do not accept everything that is sent to them. Their gallery page says "Send us an example of art you have created and maybe your art will end up in our Gallery." Even if your child's art isn't accepted, this is a great resource site. In addition to the gallery, they offer art supplies, lesson plans, activities and more.

I hope you get a chance to explore some of these sites. And if your child's work ends up in one of these galleries, be sure and send me an email (jim.pence@seethelightshine.com) and I'll post a link to it in a future blog!

Keep drawing, and have fun!

Last week's "Joy of Art" video tip focused on the first element of art: line. This week, we'll take it a step further by thinking about shape.

Everything around us is made up of shapes, and if you'll learn to observe the shapes in the different objects you see every day, you'll be surprised at how easy it is to learn to draw them.

In today's video you'll learn how to go on a "shape scavenger hunt" and draw a picture of an object that's not used so much anymore, but that you (or your parents, at least) have lying around the house: an audio cassette.

Why draw an audio cassette? Mostly because it's a collection of a lot of interesting shapes. Watch the video to learn more...

The Joy of Art: Shape Scavenger Hunt from James Pence on Vimeo.

by James H. Pence

On the See the Light blog this year, our goal is to provide useful and practical tips and resources for your homeschool art class.

On Tuesdays, the focus will be on practical tips and instruction. My "Joy of Art" video tip this past Tuesday was about "lines," one of the seven elements of art. On Thursdays this year, my posts will point you to free online resources that you can take advantage of in teaching art to your children. Often, the resource post will tie in with the tip given the preceding Tuesday. 

This week's online resources/Web sites will help you take your lessons on line a few steps further. I hope you find them helpful.

THREE FAMILIES OF LINES --

http://www.drawspace.com/lessons/c02/three-families-of-lines

Here's an excellent lesson on lines as they relate to art, along with some good exercises for cultivating your ability to work with lines. The author identifies three families of lines (as opposed to the five that I described). This lesson can be viewed online or downloaded as a free PDF.

TYPES OF LINE (Short video) -- 

http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/watch_types_line.cfm

This one is great for younger children. It's a very short (1-2 min) animated video that shows how different types of lines combine to form a single picture.

FOUNDATIONS: LINE --

http://www.mmwindowtoart.com/foundations/foundationsline.html

This page will give you a very consise summary of line and its place in the elements of art. It also has some easy to follow practice excercises.
 

LINE GAMES -- 

http://gbeart.edublogs.org/category/elements-of-art/

The "line games" blog page is targeted at 3rd and 4th graders and gives some simple suggestions for playing with lines.
 

ART LESSONS FOR KIDS -- 

http://artlessonsforkids.me/tag/elements-of-art/

This page is definitely one of my favorites. It has some very creative art projects, some targeted at children as young as first graders. All the projects involve the creative and colorful use of line.

The Joy of Art: Fun with Lines from James Pence on Vimeo.

"Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu"

is "Happy New Year" in Japanese.

Happy New Year from all of us at See the Light! 

For a list of how they say "Happy New Year" in 18 different countries, check out the following link: 

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/new-years-day/around-the-world.html

by James H. Pence

It's almost time to ring in 2012. And with New Year's Day just a few days away, here are some fun craft ideas to make that New Year's party extra special. As always, all of these ideas are from other Web sites, so take some time to explore them when you get there. You'll find a lot more projects if these ones don't work for you. 

CONFETTI POPPERS -- What's a New Year's celebration without confetti? This page has several different varieties of poppers to choose from (using toilet paper rolls, paper bags, or balloons). 

http://www.cool-kids-craft-ideas.com/confetti-poppers.html

PAPER PLATE PARTY HAT -- If you have some stiff paper plates (e.g., Chinette) and some acrylic paint and other decorative supplies around the house, you can make some awesome party hats. 

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Paper-Plate-Party-Hat.html

CHINESE NEW YEAR FAN -- Chinese New Year is January 23rd. (I'll be doing a chalk drawing at a Chinese church for their new year celebration on the 22nd!). The following Web site will show you how to make a really easy fan for Chinese New Year. At the bottom of the page there are several other crafts for Chinese New Year that you might want to explore.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/chinese-new-year-fan.html

SPIN DRUM -- This is also a Chinese New Year craft, but it's a little more complex. However, if you have older children who want a craft that is more challenging, this is the one. And, even though it's for Chinese New Year, it's still a great "noisemaker" and will work fine for any celebration.

http://familyfun.go.com/new-years/new-years-crafts/make-a-spin-drum-1030072/

2012 CALENDAR -- Younger children will enjoy coloring their own 2012 calendar with these printable calendar templates. 

http://printablecalendars.resources2u.com/?p=20959

Check out these crafts, and if you and your children do any of them, send me a photo at jim.pence@seethelightshine.com and I'll post them on our Facebook page.

I love to draw Christmas trees--with lots of lights. And what better way to do that than with black light chalk? Here's a short video tip that will show you how to draw an evergreen tree and then load it with lights that will glow under a black light.

Have fun!

And Merry Christmas!

See the Light Video Tip: How to Draw a Lighted Christmas Tree from James Pence on Vimeo.

Christmas is less than a week away, so I thought it might be fun to put up a couple of Christmas chalk / black-light video tips. Today's tip is about how to use black-light chalk to transform a Star of Bethlehem into a cross. 

Have fun!

And Merry Christmas!

See the Light Video Tip: Star of Bethlehem to Cross from James Pence on Vimeo.

by James H. Pence

In Tuesday’s blog I mentioned something called “negative space.”

Negative space drawing almost sounds like some weird, astronomical concept that you need a Ph.D. to understand. Actually, it’s a pretty simple idea. Instead of drawing an object, you draw the space in and around the object.

Scratching your head?

Let me give you an illustration that will make it crystal clear.

I stumbled upon negative space drawing when I was a boy, and I didn’t even know what I was doing. How did I do it? Actually, it’s a little embarrassing.

When I was little, I loved Superman. I ran around the house, using a bath towel as a cape, leaping tall buildings with a single bound. Sort of. Anyway, I had a blast being Superman and saving the world every day. So great was my obsession that eventually my mother replaced my towel-cape with a real (homemade) red Superman cape. It even had the iconic “S” logo on it.

I was in heaven!

But, alas, I grew older and eventually became too embarrassed to run around with my cape. But I still loved Superman. But now (among other things) I wanted to draw the famous “S” logo. I tried and tried, but just couldn’t get the S to look right. It should have been easy, but it wasn’t.

I could get the diamond shape that formed the outside of the logo, but whenever I tried to draw the S, it came out misshapen. After repeated failures, I became frustrated and almost gave up.

Then I had a moment of inspiration.

Rather than draw the S, I decided to try drawing the spaces and shapes around the S. I figured that if I drew those shapes correctly, then I would wind up with a correctly drawn Superman “S”.

And I was right.

For trademark and copyright reasons, I can’t reproduce a Superman logo here as an example.

(However, if you go to the following link, you can see one for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_logo.)

Instead, let’s work from a stock photo of a red deck chair.

If you try to draw the chair, you might find yourself struggling to reproduce the image accurately. But if you will focus on the spaces and shapes around and under the chair, you may be surprised at how easy it is to draw.

To make it easier, I have blacked out the image of the chair so that you can look at the various shapes that occur around it, and I've colored those shapes gold. Try focusing on the shapes and draw them. If you draw the shapes correctly (and in the right proportion to one another), you will, by default, draw the chair.

Give it a try.

Better yet, get a copy of the Superman logo and try drawing the “S” for yourself.

You’ll have a super time! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

by James H. Pence

Have you ever heard of the seven elements of art?  

Actually, there's a difference of opinion on the number of elements. Some people suggest only five, others six, but most lists include seven. If I were to give you a pop quiz right now, could you list them?

If you plan to teach art at home, the elements of art are foundational. So today's blog is focused on helping you understand the elements and incorporate them into your homeschool art curriculum.

Here's a list of the elements. Some of the terms are self-explanatory, but others might need a bit of explanation:

Line - Just look around you and you'll see lines everywhere. Thick and thin. Short and long. Straight and curved. Zig-zagged.

Shape - The next step up from a line is a shape. Circle. Triangle. Square. Trapezoid. (Sounds like we're back in geometry class!)

Form - A form is a shape with dimension. Whether it's an actual object or a drawing of something that is rendered to look like it's 3-D.

Texture - Smooth, rough, bumpy, jagged, shiny, dull.

Space - Space is a bit tricky, especially when you're thinking in terms of a "flat" painting. Essentially, space is the area taken up by an object. However, often artists will use "negative space" (the space around an object) in their work. 

Color - As opposed to a "neutral" such as gray, black, or white.

Value - The lightness or darkness of a color.

Now that you know the basic elements of art, how do you teach them to your children? Here are several Web sites and videos that may be of help. Check them out:

• This link will take you to a brief "slide show" that covers the basic elements: 

http://www.slideshare.net/kpikuet/elements-and-principles-of-art-presentation

• The following is a link to a YouTube video clip on the elements of art:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBem1EeO88w

• This Web page lists the elements and links to some examples of each:

http://gigaweb.brigantine.atlnet.org/ARTiculationFinal/MainPages/ElementsMain.htm

• This page from the National Gallery of Art lists five of the elements and illustrates them with paintings from the great masters:

http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/elements/index.shtm

• The following article from arthistory.about.com explains why the elements are important.

http://arthistory.about.com/cs/reference/f/elements.htm

by James H. Pence

On Tuesday, we shared some easy Christmas craft ideas for you and your children to work on. If those weren't enough to keep you busy, here are five more. With a couple of these, a little imagination, some fluorescent paint, and a black light, you could have some real fun.

PAPER CHRISTMAS TREE -- If you've got some green construction paper around the house, you can make a really good-looking Christmas tree. It's easy to make, and looks great as a centerpiece on a table or in a window. If you've got a black light around the house and some fluorescent acrylic paint, you can dab "lights" on the tree that will shine brightly when the black light is on (and the room lights are off!). BTW, if you don't have a black light, you can order one from See the Light. Just click on the "Store" tab and select "Materials" from the left menu.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/papertree/

CHRISTMAS ANGEL PAPER CHAIN -- If you're doing a lesson about the proclamation of Christ's birth to shepherds by a host of angels, why not have the children make a chain of paper "angels" to hang like a banner somewhere in your house? This craft is easy and fun--it comes with a pattern you can print out--and your children will love it.

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/Bible_themes_-_Christmas.html#anglechain

HOLLY JOLLY HANDMADE CHRISTMAS CARDS -- Older children will enjoy making their own Christmas cards, using scrapbook paper, green and red acrylic paint and a cut-out sponge to stamp holly leaves and berries. With a little modification, this idea could also work for decorative place settings for your Christmas dinner.

http://www.holiday-crafts-and-creations.com/handmade-christmas-card-ideas-sponge.html

HOMEMADE BOOK MARKS -- Children who want to be able to give gifts, but who don't have a lot of money, might enjoy making bookmarks to give away. The page listed below has thirteen different design ideas. No matter how old they are, your children should find a design or two that will be within their abilities.

http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Make-Bookmarks-with-Kids.aspx

CRAFT-STICK NATIVITY SCENE ORNAMENT -- There are a bunch of Bible-themed craft ideas on the page listed below, but I'm particularly partial to the craft-stick nativity scene. (You'll need to scroll about halfway down the page to find it. It's the 11th item on the page.) I like this craft because with a little imagination, some fluorescent items, and a black light, you could make something that glows in the dark when a blacklight is on it. Instead of using yellow paper (as the craft page recommends), I'd suggest using yellow fluorescent card stock (you can get it at Walmart) as the background. Could be very interesting. 

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/Bible_themes_-_Christmas.html

I hope you find something in this bunch that will spark an idea and get your creative juices flowing. If you and your children do any of these crafts, send me a picture at: james@pence.com and I'll post it on a future blog.

Until next week, have fun!

By James H. Pence

It's hard to believe, but there are only about three weeks left till Christmas. And I don't know about you, but I love Christmas decorations and crafts. Our children are grown now, but we still have many of the crafts and ornaments they made when they were growing up. With that in mind, I thought I'd sift through the Internet and share some easy Christmas craft ideas that you and your children can do together. 

Of course, there are thousands of good ideas out there, but here are five of my favorites:

(As with the Thanksgiving crafts, these aren't original to me. I've linked to the Web sites where I found the crafts.)

1. SALT DOUGH ORNAMENTS -- My kiddos did these every year for several years running. Salt dough is easy to make, and when it hardens, it's like concrete. Believe me, if you make ornaments out of this stuff, you'll probably be passing them on to your great-grandchildren some day.

Salt Dough Snowman Ornament Craft- Christmas Crafts for Kids & Decorations - Kaboose.com

2. CHRISTMAS CARD GIFT BOXES  -- Most of us have old Christmas cards left over from previous years. With a little creative cutting and folding, these leftover cards can be recycled and made into gift boxes for small items. This might be a little difficult for younger children, but it's perfect for kids in the 8 and up range.

Recycling Greeting Cards - Christmas Card Gift Box

3. ANGEL ORNAMENT -- What's a Christmas tree without an angel? This is an easy craft that looks great. You use paper doilies to create the body and wings, and some small pieces of felt for the head and face. Younger children won't find this one too difficult, and these angels look awesome when you get them on the tree.

Angel Ornament Craft - Christmas Crafts - Arts and Crafts Projects for Kids - Amazing Moms

4. PAPER PLATE HOLIDAY WREATH -- Your children will enjoy making their own holiday wreaths out of paper plates. They can hang these in windows or on their doors. One of the nice things about this craft page is that there are three different versions, for younger, middle, and older children. 

 Paper Plate Holiday Wreaths (versions for kids 2-4, 5-7, 8-12 years old) - Christmas Crafts for Kids

5. PICTURE FRAME ORNAMENT -- Photos are always good gifts for grandparents, and if your children make the frames to go with them, they're gifts that will be treasured for years. All it takes is a little construction paper, a glue stick, and some decorating material. Younger children may need some help with this one, but they'll be very proud of the finished product.

Picture Frame Ornament Craft

Try some of these out, and if you take some pictures of your finished crafts, send them to me (james@pence.com) and I'll post them on a future blog. 

Have fun!

Do you know what it feels like to be an exile?

It was the summer of 1975. I was nineteen years old and I had signed on to a program called Practical Missionary Training (PMT). Co-sponsored by CAM International and Wycliffe Bible Translators, PMT was an eight-week missionary life “sampler” for people who wanted to explore whether God was calling them to the mission field. Rather than being a simple “mission trip,” PMT was structured to give a broad sampling of different aspects of missionary life. Even though it was a “sampler,” each participant’s experience was individualized to a certain degree.

Because I (at that time) was interested in teaching in a seminary or Bible college, during my eight weeks as a member of PMT, I stayed with a missionary family in Guatemala City. My host was a professor at the Central American Theological Seminary. I also lived for two weeks at a Bible institute. The rest of the eight weeks was punctuated with missionary adventures such as two weeks of rustic living at Wycliffe Bible Translators’ “jungle camp” in southern Mexico, spending a night in a Tzeltal Indian village, and much, much more.

PMT was influential in helping me determine that my ministry call was not to the mission field. It was a great time and it opened my eyes to many things, but after eight weeks in Mexico and Guatemala, I knew that my ministry would be along another path. However, although I concluded that I was not called to missions, PMT taught me something priceless.

It taught me a little of what it feels like to be an exile.

I had taken four years of high school Spanish, but retained little of it. So as we traveled—by bus!—the entire length of Mexico, then rolled (in a smaller bus) into Guatemala, I felt more and more estranged from my surroundings. I could speak enough Spanish to find the bathroom and order a “Coca” (Coca-Cola), but that was about it. All around me, people were speaking a language I didn’t understand. Billboards and stores had signs that I couldn’t read.

I couldn’t even watch TV.

It was several weeks into my trip when I realized just how “English-starved” I was.

The missionary couple I stayed with in Guatemala City took me out one evening to a local theatre group’s production of Agatha Christie’s “Mousetrap.” The production was in English, and I was like someone who had crossed a desert and just come upon an oasis. For two to three hours, I soaked it in as the actors performed. I’m a fan of mysteries, but I wouldn’t have cared what the story was about—just as long as I could understand it.

They were speaking my language.

My strongest memory from that entire trip is when I was on a bus and we had just crossed the border back into the United States.

I read every billboard, every street sign, every business sign, you name it. If it was in English, I read it.

I was home. I was back in my native country.

Part of living like an exile is that there is a natural and ongoing homesickness. Even if things are going well, home is always in the back of your mind.

That’s part of what it means for a Christian to live as an exile. We live in this world, but readily understand and admit that we can never be truly “at home” here. The world speaks a different language, has a different culture, values different things.

Are you living as an exile?

I hope so.

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own” (Hebrews 11:13b-14, NIV).

By James H. Pence

 What do you think of when you hear the word pilgrim?

In America most of us probably form a mental picture of the people who celebrated the first Thanksgiving, dressed in their austere black clothing, complete with funny hats. For some, the word might bring to mind John Bunyan’s allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress. Others may think about the pilgrimage that Muslims must make to Mecca once in a lifetime.

Each of those mental pictures evokes a similar concept.

When we think of the “Thanksgiving Pilgrims”, the ones who came to America on the Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock, we generally are thinking about people who left everything and endured great hardship in order to come to a land where they would have religious freedom. On the other hand, Pilgrim’s Progress focuses on a different kind of journey, a journey to the “Heavenly City”. And the Muslims’ pilgrimage to Mecca is also a journey. For some, it is a short distance; for others, it involves great expense and a trip to the other side of the world.

Generally speaking, when we think of a pilgrim, we think of someone who is on a journey.

But that’s not the Biblical picture.

In Hebrews 11:13, the King James Version reads, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb 11:13 KJV).

But the word that is translated “pilgrims” here is better translated as “resident aliens”, “sojourners”, or even “exiles”.

Peter uses the same word to describe Christians when he writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul,” (1Pe 2:11 ESV).

How do you view your life here on Earth?

Do you see yourself as a resident alien, a sojourner, an exile?

What does that even look like?

For the next few blog posts, we’re going to consider what it means to live in today’s world as a “resident alien”.

Why?

Because it seems to me that most Christians in America (myself included) live lives that don’t remotely resemble the lifestyle of a sojourner or exile.

The old hymn lyric goes, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” The way most Christians live today, it might be more accurate to sing, “This world is not my home, but I’m going to enjoy it as long and as much as I can.”

Are you an exile?

I hope so.

On behalf of everyone at See the Light, we want to wish you and your family a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

by James H. Pence

I go into prisons frequently to do chalk art, and I almost never get through a service without hearing the inmates proclaim God’s goodness. It usually goes like this:

One inmate will call out, “God is good!”

The others will reply in unison, “All the time.”

Then the first inmate will say, “All the time.”

And the rest of them will reply, “God is good!”

I never cease to be amazed at this vocal expression of thanksgiving by groups of men and women who, by and large, don’t have a whole lot to be thankful for.

This week, many families will gather together to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Undoubtedly, in some of those households, time will be set aside for expressing thanks for God’s blessings over the past year. Family members will reflect on the good things that have happened. There will be statements such as:

“I’m thankful for our family.”

“I’m thankful I have a job.”

“We’re thankful for good health.”

And so on.

There will be many other people this week who will give thanks through tear-filled eyes.

Families who have lost loved ones.

People who have no jobs or houses.

People who are facing terminal illnesses, their own or that of a loved one.

It’s easy to give thanks when things are going well, but the real evidence of a thankful heart is when you can give thanks when things are not going well at all. The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church,  “Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (I Thess. 5:16-18, NIV).

What I find most striking in those three verses is that Paul tells us that it is God’s will for us to give thanks in all circumstances.

In other words, thanksgiving is not optional. It’s not something to do only when we feel good or when we have been particularly blessed.

We are called to give thanks in all circumstances: good, bad, and in between.

Why?

Because that kind of thanksgiving expresses a confidence in both the sovereignty and the goodness of God in the events of our lives. It is an affirmation of what Paul says in Romans chapter eight: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, NIV).

In a few days, we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving.

As we all gather around the table, let’s take time to thank God for the abundance of blessings He has poured out on us.

But let us also remember that,

God is good, all the time.

All the time, God is good.

Last Thursday we looked at five easy Thanksgiving craft ideas for you and your children to have fun with. Well, there's still a week to go before Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd see if I could find some more interesting (and easy) ways to brighten up your thanksgiving dinner.

Here are five more fun Thanksgiving crafts. As with the others, these are not original to me; I found them from various sites on the Internet. Links to those sites are included below.

Napkin holders are always useful, and these ACORN NAPKIN HOLDERS are particularly easy to make. All you need are some acorns, along with some brown and tan pipe cleaners, and you're ready to go. Check them out at: http://www.freekidscrafts.com/acorn_napkin_holder-e567.html

If you want some fun and easy table decorations, I'd suggest the PLASTIC-BAG TURKEY craft. You'll need some craft supplies for this one (colorful plastic bags, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc.), but your kids will have a blast creating their very own turkey to place on the table out of little more than plastic bags. This craft is offered at: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/plastic-bag-turkey-1027147/

CRAFT STICK CENTERPIECE -- If you've got craft sticks around the house (when I was a kid, they called them Popsicle sticks!), you can make a very nice Thanksgiving centerpiece (or placecard). All you need are the sticks, some white glue, markers and/or crayons, and a little tape. You can find the instructions at: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/2009/10/thanksgiving-popsicle-sticks-decorational-centerpiece-or-place-setting-card-craft-for-kids/

NATIVE AMERICAN TEEPEE TABLE DECORATION -- The first Thanksgiving was a celebration with Native Americans for God's abundant provision. You can echo that theme by having your children make some teepees to adorn your dinner table. They're easy to make and don't require a lot of supplies. The instructions for this craft are at: http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/native/mteepee.htm

THANKSGIVING "CANDLE" CRAFT -- If you've got some empty toilet paper rolls around the house, here's a great little "candle" craft. It's not a real candle, so don't worry about burning the house down. This site provides a printable decorative template (complete with flame) that will go around the outside of the t-p roll. The templates come in color or B&W (if you want to do the coloring yourself). Go to http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/mtcandle.html to learn how to creat this little table decoration.

Well, that it for today. I hope you'll try out some of these craft ideas. If you do, be sure to send me some photos at: jim.pence@seethelightshine.com, and I'll post them in a future blog. 

Is it just me, or are we seeing less and less “thanks” on Thanksgiving?

It seems that with every passing year the last Thursday in November has less to do with thankfulness and more to do with consumerism. That trend is most dramatically illustrated in the morphing of the holiday name from “Thanksgiving” into “Turkey Day”.

I remember a few years back the first time I heard Thanksgiving referred to as “Turkey Day”. At first, I was taken aback by the reference, but the more I thought about it, the more I began to feel that “Turkey Day” might be precisely the right name for what we used to call Thanksgiving.

Of course, we could also call it Football Day.

Or perhaps: Black Friday Eve.

And now that more and more stores are staying open on Thanksgiving to get a jump on the pre-Christmas business, maybe we should just start calling it Black Thursday.

It seems that somewhere, Thanksgiving got lost in the shuffle.

I know I may sound as if I’m pointing fingers, but as I look at myself I can often see a profound lack of thankfulness in my own life. It is very easy to look at the state of the world and be anything but thankful. The world’s economy is in shambles. Young men and women are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is political uncertainty all around us and the increasing threat from countries such as Iran.

What’s to give thanks for, anyway?

It’s when I’m feeling like this that I remember my favorite Bible verses. They come at the end of the book of Habakkuk. When the prophet Habakkuk faces the impending destruction of his own nation by the Babylonians, a destruction that is coming as a direct result of God’s judgment, he says: “Though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines. Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food. Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in God my savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to walk on the heights (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

It is when things are darkest that we must give thanks. For only thanksgiving removes our gaze from the circumstances and lifts it to the Lord of the circumstances.

In this week before Thanksgiving, take time to lift your eyes to God and thank Him for all the good things in your life.

Don’t celebrate Turkey Day this year.

Give thanks.

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. With that in mind, I thought it would be nice to share all of my awesome Thanksgiving craft ideas with you. Unfortunately, I'm not very "crafty". And so instead, I decided to look around the Internet for Web sites with ideas for crafts that you and your children can make for this Thanksgiving. 

I could easily give you hundreds of links, but here are my top five suggestions:

1. When I was growing up, every Christmas I would make red and green paper chains, but I never thought of doing one for Thanksgiving. Here's a link to a site that shows how to make a really awesome Thanksgiving paper chain with each link representing something you're thankful for: THANKSGIVING PAPER CHAIN.

2. We usually have lots of food boxes lying around the house, especially during the holidays. Here's a great idea for taking those boxes and turning them into a turkey. Okay, you can't eat this kind of turkey, but the kids will have a blast making it: RECYCLED TURKEY ON A STICK.

3. Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal around our house. Well, actually we all pile in the car and head over to my sister's, so it's a big deal around her house. But in any case, we have a ton of people there every year, all sitting at this long, long table. And every year we have some kind of placecard so that everyone knows where to sit. Here's a page that will show you how your children can make some really awesome THANKSGIVING PLACE CARDS. 

4. Our children always used to make Christmas cards and birthday cards for us. So why not Thanksgiving cards? Here's an easy little craft that produces awesome results. Don't be surprised if your children want to do this one again and again after they try WAX PAINTING THANKSGIVING CARDS.

5. This last one is a bit more complicated, but if your children want to do something special for a table decoration, this is definitely one worth trying. I can promise that they'll be beaming with pride when they show everyone their HARVEST CELEBRATION GLASS JAR.

I hope you'll check out these Web sites and try out some of these crafts. If you do, be sure and take some photos and send them to me at jim.pence@seethelightshine.com. I'll put some of them up on a future blog or on our Facebook page.

Until next week, keep drawing. And have fun!

by James H. Pence

What is it that makes you say, “Wow!”

You know what I mean. There are times in all of our lives when we see something so amazing, so incredible, so jaw-dropping that, if we can say anything, it’s usually just one word. Wow!

Fireworks displays do it for me.

And star-filled skies.

The birth of my children.

My first visit to the Rocky Mountains.

I could go on, but you get the point.

We usually use the word “awestruck” to describe such an experience. What we’re seeing is so beautiful, so majestic, so awe-inspiring that we’re practically left speechless.

One type of “awestruck” experience that I miss is seeing fall colors. I live in Texas, and around here the average fall color tends to be brown. We occasionally will get a smattering of yellow and (rarely) some red.

Mostly it’s brown.

I grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and every Thanksgiving as we drove to my grandparents’ house, I enjoyed looking out of the car windows and taking in the beautiful, majestic fall colors. A few years back, my wife and I took a vacation up to Virginia and Washington D.C. in October. It was all I could do to keep the car on the road, because I was spending most of my time trying to gaze at the beautiful colors as we drove.

I miss seeing that beauty and majesty every year. Do you know why?

Seeing the beauty of autumn trees (like all my other awestruck experiences) is a small foreshadowing of the awe we will experience when we see Jesus Christ in his glory. Paul the Apostle spoke of this when he wrote to the Thessalonian Christians about “…the day he [Jesus] comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10b).

Paul says that when Jesus comes back, we will marvel at him. In other words, we’ll have a jaw-dropping, awestruck experience like no other. Words will fail us as we behold his beauty, majesty, and glory.

And I imagine a few of us will say, “Wow.”

If you live where you can see the beauty of fall colors, enjoy the experience and let it remind you of how wonderful it will be when Christ comes.

If you live somewhere where the fall colors are brown, I’ve included one picture to help you reflect on the beauty and majesty of our God and His creation.

By James H. Pence

If you had asked me about twenty years ago to give you my thoughts about the future of chalk art (chalk talk), I would have told you that it was a dying art. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I told people back in the mid to late 1980s. And I wasn’t the only one saying it.

Back then, the only way someone could get started in chalk art was by knowing another chalk artist. After all, it wasn’t possible to go into art supply stores and purchase the chalk and paper. To this day, brick and mortar art stores don’t sell lecturer’s chalk or bogus paper. Not only do they not sell it, they don’t even know what it is. Also, back in the eighties it was very difficult to find suitable black lights. They were available, but also were usually expensive and had to be specially ordered.

To make matters worse, the big manufacturing companies were setting aside the lecturer’s chalk and bogus paper business in favor of more profitable endeavors.

Another problem is that back then there were very few ways to learn how to be a chalk artist. There were a handful of people teaching chalk art, but you either needed to live near where a class was being held or have enough money to pay for your travel as well as the class. I drew for seven years before I was finally able to attend Ding Teuling’s chalk art workshop.

So back in the ‘80s, things looked pretty grim. Supplies were difficult to find and so were But beginning in the early ‘90s, things changed dramatically. Today, chalk art is not only surviving as an art and communication form, it is thriving.

What caused the change?

First, the Internet came on the scene, making it possible for chalk artists to communicate, network, and find supplies. For the first time, someone who was interested in becoming a chalk artist could find the supplies and materials they needed, just by going to a search engine.

Second, home video, DVDs, etc., made it possible for chalk artists to produce teaching materials to help new artists come along. Now you can learn at least the basics of chalk art in the comfort of your own home, with a minimum of expense.

In other words, and somewhat ironically, technology has breathed new life into a rather old art form.

But technology has not only affected the art form, it has affected the audience.

Today we live in a world dominated by pictures and sound. The next time you’re in a public place, look around you and take note of how many people are “plugged in”, carrying iPads, iPhones, and a host of other devices. People today respond to media, to things visual and auditory.

That means that chalk art is a perfect form of communication for today’s world, because it reaches people with both pictures and sound.

I remember hearing Pat Holt, the founder of See the Light say that chalk art is so old, it’s new.

That’s spot on.

And as I look at a generation of young people who are less and less responsive to traditional means for communicating the gospel, I can’t help but wonder if chalk art came along for such a time as this.

by James H. Pence

I’ve always known that chalk art is a powerful means of communication, but until this past Sunday night, I never realized just how powerful it actually is.

I did a chalk drawing in prison Sunday night and the instant my wife and I arrived at the classroom that functions as a chapel, I sensed that something was up. Normally when we enter a prison, we’re accompanied by a correctional officer from the time we get inside the gate until the time we leave. This time there were four officers, two of whom were exceptionally large.

I also noticed that the correctional officers were all business. Usually we chat and exchange pleasantries. Sunday evening they appeared tense.

Most of the time, the inmates are allowed to sit wherever they want. Last night the officers did not allow them to choose their own chairs. If one went somewhere that he was not supposed to go, the officers made him get up and move to the seat they wanted him to be in.

Then just before the chapel service started all four officers positioned themselves in the room and gave the inmates a stern pre-chapel lecture. Without going into all the details let's just say they told them that they were there to worship and should behave.

Since every prison conducts things a bit differently—and I hadn't been in this unit in quite a while—I didn't find what was going on particularly unusual. I’ve heard the “behave lecture” before, so I didn’t find that unnerving. Even if I had, I couldn’t let it bother me.  We were there for a purpose. Laurel and I had come to sing, do a chalk drawing, and share Christ. Once we were introduced, the service went on and we had a great time of worship.

At the end of the service, the correctional officers gathered again and asked me to pack up as quickly as I could. They kept the inmates in their seats as we quickly dismantled my easel, waved at the inmates one more time, and went on our way. Then another unusual thing happened.

In Texas prisons volunteers are not supposed to go anywhere on the prison grounds unaccompanied. The chaplain wasn't there that night, so I expected one of the officers to walk with us as we went back to the main control picket. Instead, he walked with us to the door of the education building and then told us we could go back to the main building on our own. That was unusual.

Laurel and I walked by ourselves to the main building, wondering what was going on.

The mystery was solved when we entered the sally port at the main control picket. As we handed our visitors tags back to the lady officer in the control room, she said "I'm glad y’all were here tonight."

"Why?" we asked.

"There was some chatter earlier today," she said. "Some of the inmates were planning on causing some trouble. But they all like you. They'd never cause trouble in one of your services."

"I guess God had us here for a reason," I said. "He knew we needed to be here tonight."

I've always known that chalk art is a powerful means of communication. But last night I learned just how powerful it is. I don't know what kind of trouble the inmates had planned. It may have been a fight between gangs. Or maybe they were planning on harassing the chapel speaker. I'll never know. All I know is that Laurel told me that every single inmate was watching me draw. Nobody was being disrespectful or causing problems.

There were some people in chapel last night who came for the wrong reason, but in doing so they placed themselves under the hearing of the Word of God.

I pray that God will use what they saw last night and bring fruit in their lives.

Arguably, the “reveal” of the invisible black light picture at the end of a chalk drawing is the most important part of the drawing. Often—in my pictures at least—it is the climax, the place where the message of the drawing hits home. Thus, you want to make the most of every black light picture. Here are several tips on how to maximize the invisible picture’s impact.

1. Make sure you buy a black light fluorescent tube rather than an incandescent bulb or the new LED black lights.

I began drawing in the late 1970s and immediately encountered a problem. After the passing of the hippie era of the sixties and early seventies, psychedelic black light posters went out of fashion. It became difficult to even find fluorescent black light tubes. Often they had to be special ordered and you would pay a premium price. On occasion I paid over forty dollars for one 4’ tube—without the fixture. So you can imagine how happy I was to discover black-light incandescent bulbs. They were much cheaper, so as soon as I saw them in a store I snapped them up. I couldn’t wait to get home and try them out in my easel.

I was very disappointed. Even in a pitch black room, the bulbs wouldn’t make the invisible picture appear. I’m not a lighting technician, so I don’t know the technical reasons for this. I just know that if you buy a black light “bulb” rather than a tube, you’ll be seriously disappointed with the results.

This is also true for the new LED black lights. I haven’t personally tried these out, but the reports from other chalk artists have been discouraging.

The good news is that fluorescent black lights have become much less expensive in recent years. So, spend the extra money and get a fluorescent tube black light.

2. Always have a backup black light handy.

There’s nothing more frustrating than getting to the end of a drawing and turning on your black light, only to have nothing happen. Your whole program has been building up to the big “reveal” and then it all fizzles. This has happened to me a couple of times, and it’s especially disappointing if your audience has seen you (or another chalk artist) before. They’re anticipating the black light picture, too. What a letdown when it doesn’t appear.

A simple solution to this problem is to ALWAYS have a hand-held black light plugged in and ready. That way, if your main light fails, you can quickly pick up the hand-held and put it up to the drawing. You can buy 18-24” black lights in “under cabinet” fixtures at most home supply stores (e.g. Home Depot, Lowes), and even at WalMart. You can also buy them online. (Just Google black light for online sources).

3. Darken the room as much as possible.

I went. I wanted the auditorium where I drew to be as close to pitch black as possible. Ever since I started drawing in prisons (where I’m not allowed to darken the room), I haven’t been quite so picky about it. Nevertheless, it almost goes without saying, but the darker you can get the auditorium or room where you are drawing, the more dramatic your black light will appear. I used to carry a roll of heavy black plastic and masking tape wherever I went. Nowadays, I kick that responsibility back to my hosts. I tell them that if they want to get the maximum effect from the black light, they’ll need to darken the room.

However, it’s not a bad idea to bring a roll of black plastic, masking tape, and a Stanley knife.

Just in case they forget.

4. Add reflective material around your black light.

There are going to be times when you can’t get a room as dark as you’d like. You can compensate by getting rid of black light “leaks” by positioning reflective material behind the light.

If you focus and direct your black light down toward your paper by putting reflective material behind it, you can increase the brightness of your invisible picture. This doesn’t need to be expensive. Aluminum foil works well. I’ve also used a reflective “sun shield” (the kind you put inside your car windshield during the hot summer months). Both of these help minimize black light “leaks” and direct that UV energy down toward your paper. If you want to spend a bit more money, you can buy Coilzak from Eternity Arts (eternityarts.com). It’s a high quality reflective material that can significantly increase the output of your black light.

5. Draw a large black light picture.

Always take into account the size of your venue and audience and adjust the size of your black light effect accordingly. If you’re drawing in a large auditorium but the figures, faces, objects in your picture are too small, your black light effect will look like a very colorful blob to the people sitting in back. I always try to draw my invisible picture large enough so that someone in the very back row will have no difficulty figuring out what the picture is.

Hope these tips help.

Remember to keep drawing. And have fun.

by James H. Pence

A key component of any chalk artist’s presentation is the lighting.

In the past, when drawings were mostly “chalk talks”, there wasn’t much need for lighting beyond white lights. The surprise at the end of the drawing (which also functioned as the punch line or application) was usually accomplished through the clever manipulation of lines. The artist would appear to be drawing one thing and then it would suddenly turn into something different.

In time, and because of the availability of a larger range of chalk colors, chalk artists began to draw more complex pictures such as landscapes and seascapes. Often these drawings would be highlighted with colored lighting. Years ago I saw a photo of a chalk artist’s setup that used a rotating color wheel, like the kind used to shine light on white or aluminum Christmas trees. The different colored lights would react with the chalk to create some interesting and beautiful effects.

But when black lights came on the scene, the possibilities exploded. Ultraviolet (black) light, in combination with fluorescent and invisible fluorescent chalk makes it possible for a chalk artist to create a “hidden” picture with great detail.

Is having a black light effect really necessary?

It depends on how memorable you want your drawings to be.

When I first started drawing in prisons I had to make an adjustment. I had difficulty using a black light because in most of the prisons the correctional officers wouldn’t let me turn out the lights. Since many of the chapel services took place in classrooms with bright fluorescent lighting, my black light pictures were almost invisible. So for a brief time I decided to try doing some drawings that didn’t rely on black light. I did these both in prisons and churches because I wanted to gauge the reaction of people in different audiences.

The reviews were mixed.

People enjoyed the drawings, but overall they missed having the surprise of a black light effect at the end.

To tell you the truth, I missed it too. There’s something about having a black light picture at the end of a drawing that completes the message. It’s the punch line, the application. It drives the message home.

However you want to say it, I believe that black light that makes a chalk drawing memorable.

My audience will remember very little of what I say, but if I can associate a scripture verse and theme with a dramatic black light picture, they will remember that for a long time. I’ve had people write to me twenty years after the fact and tell me that they remember my drawing and black light. That’s exciting, but what’s even better is when they tell me that they came to Christ as a result of that picture.

That makes all the hard work worthwhile.

In chalk art, the medium and the message are bound together. Thus, you the chalk artist must decide how you plan to communicate the message through your art. Although it is possible to draw in silence, not talking and with no backup music, it’s not a very effective way to communicate. So, virtually all chalk artists choose to engage their audiences one way or another while they are drawing.

On Tuesday’s blog we listed the options as:

1. Talking while you draw

2. Having someone else talk while you draw.

3. Recording your talk in advance and having it play while you draw.

4. Drawing to live music (instrumental, vocal, or both)

5. Drawing to recorded music (instrumental, vocal, or both)

Since we covered option #1 on Tuesday, I won’t recap it here. Let’s move forward and discuss the other four possibilities.

2. Having someone else talk while you draw – I confess that I’ve never tried this, although I know of some chalk artists do it this way. This works well with a husband-wife team where one person is the artist and the other is the speaker. However, in a family setting I could see where perhaps a team of siblings or a parent-child team could pull this off.

Pros: With this approach you don’t have to worry so much about the “fog factor,” i.e. getting so involved in your drawing that you forget to talk or vice versa.

Cons: What you might have to worry about is losing track of where the other person (particularly the artist) is. If the speaker goes too fast and runs out of material, she might end up rambling to kill time until the artist is finished.

Recommendation: If you take this approach, each member of the team need to be solidly in touch with what the other is doing, and the presentation needs to be well-rehearsed. Otherwise the program will appear disorganized.

3. Recording your talk in advance and having it play while you draw – I’ve never tried this approach either, but if I were inclined to do chalk talks, this is how I would approach it.

Pros: By pre-recording your message, you can make sure that it’s exactly the length you need to complete your drawing. You also don’t have to worry about losing track of your outline or forgetting important points.

Cons: Unless you’re very comfortable with speaking into a microphone and recording your voice, you could end up sounding wooden. Also, unless you have good recording equipment the sound quality will probably suffer.

Recommendation: If you’ve already done some voice recording, narration, etc., and you have the recording equipment. Give it a try. I’d still recommend writing out your message and working from a script, though. You want your recording to sound as good as possible.

4. Drawing to Live Music (instrumental, vocal, or both) – I’ve done this a few times and it’s been fun.

Pros and Cons: About the same as having someone speak while you draw.

5. Drawing to pre-recorded music (instrumental, vocal, or both). – This is my preferred form of accompaniment for several reasons.

Pros: First, I have a much larger range of content. When I do a chalk drawing, I choose the music that I feel will best express the message I want to communicate. With pre-recorded music, I have a lot more options to choose from. Second, with a pre-recorded track, my timing is consistent every time I draw. I know exactly where I should be in my drawing, just by listening to the soundtrack. It is a lot easier to pace myself with a background track. Third, I can use a large variety of music, orchestration, styles, etc.

Cons: If you’re using pre-recorded music, then you either need to bring your own sound system or make sure the church or venue where you’re drawing has something that is adequate. Don’t assume that they’ll have a CD player. I’ve gotten burned a few times. Also, be prepared for something to go wrong with your music (CD won’t play or a track gets stuck, etc). It’s happened to me several times over the years, and it always makes life interesting. Still, overall I feel that using pre-recorded music is the best overall approach.

The decision of whether or not to talk when you draw is a big one, and only you know what is going to work best for you. If you’re just getting started in chalk art, you might want to experiment with several approaches until you find your niche.

Next week, we’ll talk about lighting and black lights.

Until then, keep drawing. And have fun!

by James H. Pence

The use of chalk to communicate a message goes all the way back to the late 1800s. Back in those days, people called it “chalk talk.” That was because most chalk drawings were done either on blackboards with white chalk or white paper with black chalk. Most of the time, the artists didn’t draw what we would consider “artistic” pictures (e.g. landscapes, seascapes, still life); rather, they would do line art—more like a cartoon.

And as the artists drew, they would talk.

Chalk-talk artists communicated their message at the same time they drew their picture. And often, at the end of the picture there would be some sort of surprise that delivered the “punch line”. Sometimes they would turn the picture upside down and it would be a completely different. Other times, through clever manipulation of the lines, they would change the picture into something different right before the audience’s eyes.

As you begin your journey as a chalk artist, you will have to make a decision. Will you talk when you draw? Or will you use some other medium (recorded music, etc.) to get the point across as you focus on your picture? You’ll have to decide which option is best for you. To help you make that decision, I’ll share a few lessons I’ve learned over thirty-three years of doing chalk art.

Simplified, the main options are:

1. Talking while you draw

2. Having someone else talk while you draw.

3. Recording your talk in advance and having it play while you draw.

4. Drawing to live music (instrumental, vocal, or both)

5. Drawing to recorded music (instrumental, vocal, or both)

Let’s consider the pros and cons of each method:

Talking while you draw

I’ve only tried it a few times, and most of the time it hasn’t gone well. One summer I was at a youth camp and had to draw twice a day, for morning and evening chapel. I’d always used music for my chalk drawings, but decided that I’d like to try doing chalk-talks in the mornings. I discovered that I can either draw a good picture or say something intelligent, but I can’t do them both at the same time. On the one hand, if I focused on what I was drawing, I forgot I was supposed to be speaking. On the other hand, if I got involved with my “talk”, I’d forget to draw.  I decided after that week to abandon the idea of doing chalk-talks.

Pros:

--If you can talk and draw at the same time, you can tailor every message to the specific needs of your audience.

--You don’t need to worry about special sound or recording equipment.

--You don’t need to worry about forgetting to your CD and having no background music while you're drawing.

Cons:

--Unless you are a very engaging speaker, your audience might become bored.

--If you talk and draw simultaneously, your back will be to your audience while you are speaking to them. Not the best position for effective communication.

--You won’t have the built-in time constraint that comes with a recorded soundtrack. Thus, you will need to watch your time closely so that you don’t ramble and go over your allotted speaking time. Some churches don't mind if you go over, but others do. Always be considerate of your audience.

Recommendation: Talking while you draw can still be a very effective means of communication. However, unless you are naturally gifted at talking and drawing simultaneously, I suggest that you write out your message in advance and memorize it (or at least the basic outline points). If you don’t have to think so much about what you’re saying, you should be able to stay focused on both the drawing and your message.

On Thursday, we’ll consider the other four options for getting your chalk art message across.

(Note: If you would like to learn more about the history of chalk-talk, check out the following Web site: http://goldenchalkclassics.blogspot.com/)

See the Light Video Tip: Invisible Fluorescent Chalk from James Pence on Vimeo.

See the Light Video Tip: Lecturer's Chalk from James Pence on Vimeo.

If you are going to be a chalk artist, obviously you will need the right kind of chalk and paper. Unfortunately you can’t just run out to your local art supply store and buy a set. In fact, most art supply houses not only don’t carry the right kind of chalk, most of them haven’t even heard of it. The chalk you need is called “lecturer’s chalk”, but if you go into your local arts and crafts store and ask for it, they’ll look at you as though you told them you just flew in from Mars.

Lecturer’s chalk has been around for a long time, and for most of that time was commercially manufactured by Prang. However, a few years back Prang decided that the market for this chalk wasn’t large enough and they decided to stop producing it. Chalk Artist Matt Bowman of Eternity Arts (www.eternityarts.com) stepped up to the plate, invested a lot of money, and began making lecturer’s chalk by hand. Now Matt takes about two months out of his own ministry schedule every year and devotes that time to making the chalk.

When Matt began making the chalk, he was not content to sit back and be a “caretaker”. Matt approached the challenge as an innovator. One of the frustrations most chalk artists used to experience was a very limited palette. Only twenty-four colors were available, and many of them were bright colors, not well suited to drawing landscapes. Matt has expanded the chalk artist’s palette to forty-one different shades and has thus made it possible for chalk artists to improve the range of colors in their drawings.

Matt isn’t the only chalk artist who has sacrificed so that the rest of us can continue to share the gospel through art. Rev. Ding Teuling (www.teulingenterprises.com), considered to be the dean of modern-day chalk artists, began making invisible fluorescent chalk back in the 70s when the BlakRay company stopped producing it. And when it looked like bogus paper was no longer going to be available (unless you wanted to buy it in 2-ton lots!), Rev. Teuling bought, packaged, and sold the paper himself.

Why this history lesson?

Chalk art as we know it is a unique medium dependent upon a unique set of supplies, none of which are commercially profitable. Had it not been for Ding Teuling, Matt Bowman, and other chalk artists who sacrificed their time and money and began producing those supplies, the ministry of chalk art would have died out decades ago.

Every stick of chalk you use is not only a tool for ministry, it is a labor of love.

NEXT WEEK: How much chalk do you need to buy? And which colors should you start with?

There are two types of easels that chalk artists use: free-standing and tripod. A third variety, the bed-sheet easel, is more of a specialty easel that enables you to draw in a very large format (about 4 by 8 feet). However, this type of easel isn’t great for beginners, so I won't be covering it in this post.

A new free-standing or tripod chalk art easel will cost somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500. If you can find a used one, your cost will probably be about half that, depending on the condition of the easel. If you’re handy at building things—or you know someone who is—you can also save money by building your own easel.

Free-Standing:  A free-standing easel stands on two legs. As you can see in the photo below, its large feet and the weight of the light box on top are what give it stability.

Eternity Arts: Free-standing Easel

Tripod: As you can see by the following photo, a tripod easel for chalk art is modified so that the drawing board is vertical rather than leaning back. This kind of easel is sometimes called a "flight" easel, because it is usually lighter in weight and easier to transport on an airplane.

A Tripod Easel (sometimes called a "flight" easel)

Which of these two varieties of easel is better? Actually, it's a matter of personal preference. The free-standing easel takes up less space but is a little more difficult to set up. The tripod easel is great for easy setup, but it takes up more floor space.

LOW COST ART EASELS SUITABLE FOR CHALK ART

What if you want to learn how to do chalk art but just can’t justify spending $500-$1500? Well, although I said that you can’t buy a true chalk art easel in an art supply store, if budget is an issue there are a couple of lower cost alternatives.

Through an art store or art supply Web site, you can purchase an “H-frame” studio easel. It will have the stability that you need and can be purchased for as low as $100-200. You can buy the easel pictured below from www.dickblick.com for $128:

The Blick Collapsible H-Frame Easel

Or you can buy a modified “A-frame” (tripod) easel like the one below, again in the $200 range. You can purchase the easel shown below at www.dickblick.com for $217.75

Blick Master Series A-Frame Easel

The disadvantages of both these easel types is the absence of a lighting system, and they may or may not have a supply tray in front for your chalk. Also, particularly with the H-frame easel, you need to be sure that the drawing board can be positioned vertically, rather than leaning backward. As before, if you are good at building things (or know somebody who is) you can build an easel like this yourself for even less than the prices listed above.

SUPER LOW COST APPROACH

Finally, if you really want to learn chalk art but even one to two hundred dollars is out of reach, there is a super-low-cost approach. If you can find some extra wall space in a garage or room, and you don’t mind getting the wall messy and the room dirty, you can always tape or tack your drawing paper right on the wall. Obviously this won’t be much use for actually going out and drawing in front of people, but at least it will give you a way to practice.

I have a wall-mounted easel in a special chalk-art room in my house. It's a great place to practice.

In a nutshell, that’s what you need to know about easels.

Getting the proper equipment is an investment, but remember that you are investing in something that can impact people for Jesus Christ.

I think it’s a pretty good way to spend your money.

I hope you’ll get an easel and start drawing as soon as possible

And remember—have fun!

I want to be a chalk artist. Can I go to my local arts and crafts store and buy an easel?

Probably not.

A properly-designed easel is the chalk artist’s most important tool—and his biggest expense. Unfortunately, most of the less-expensive easels sold in art stores aren’t sturdy enough for the needs of a chalk artist.

What are the characteristics of an easel that will work for chalk art? Here are several important things to look for.

1. A chalk artist’s easel needs to be sturdy.

Because you’ll be drawing in front of an audience, your “canvas” size must be large enough for the people in the church or auditorium to see your picture clearly. Typically, a sheet of bogus paper measures 40” x 54”. That’s about three-and-a-half feet by four-and-a-half feet. Since you will at times need to press hard with the chalk or blend with the palm of your hand, if your easel isn’t sturdy, you’ll have difficulty working on it.

2. The drawing board on a chalk artist’s easel should be vertical or tilt forward slightly.

Most art easels lean backward, although some position the canvas at 90⁰ to the floor. With other media, such as oils or acrylics, that’s not a problem. But when you work with chalk, you will generate a lot of dust. If your easel is tilted backward, the paper will pick up the chalk dust as it falls and you will have to repeatedly blow it away (thus sending a lot of dust into the air) or risk smearing unwanted colors on your paper. A vertical or forward-tilted board will enable the chalk dust to fall to the floor without getting caught on your paper.

3. A chalk artist’s easel needs to have a tray to hold chalk.

Some art easels have a supply tray in front, but many do not. When you’re drawing in front of an audience, you're moving quickly and you’ll need to have your chalk within easy reach. Also, because the room or auditorium will likely be darkened, your chalk needs to be under a light so that you can spot the colors you need. A chalk tray that is in front of the easel accomplishes both of these purposes.

4. A chalk artist’s easel needs a lighting system.

Regular art easels are not normally lighted because artists usually draw or paint by room light or daylight. A chalk artist needs a lighted easel. When you draw, the “house lights” will probably be turned down or off and the lights on your easel will help people focus their attention on you. They’ll also see your drawing better. Most chalk art easels have white lights (to draw by) and several different-colored lights (usually red, blue, and yellow or green). The colored lights are used at the climax of the drawing to build anticipation for the black light “reveal”.

5. A chalk art easel needs a black light.

If you’re planning to use fluorescent (black light) effects in your pictures (and most chalk artists do), then you’ll also need to have an ultraviolet light as part of your lighting package. Your black light needs to be a fluorescent tube rather than an incandescent bulb. For some reason, black light bulbs don’t have enough power to fluoresce the chalk and, even though they are cheaper, you will be disappointed with the results. (Mercury vapor black lights are an exception to this, but they aren't well suited for use in an easel.)

What will a good easel cost? And are there any low-cost alternatives. We'll discuss that next Tuesday.

Until then, keep writing. And have fun!

Okay, so you’ve decided that you want to be a chalk artist.

What comes next?

That’s kind of a “Which came first, the chicken or the egg” question. Chalk art equipment can be costly. So, should you buy and watch some instructional DVDs first and then invest in your chalk, easel, lighting, etc? Or should you just jump in with both feet, set up an easel and start learning to draw from day one?

There are differences of opinion on this, but my personal recommendation is that you get some chalk and start drawing as soon as you can. My reason for saying this is that if you watch a DVD without having the means with which to practice, you could easily put off buying the necessary supplies and equipment until a more convenient time. Unfortunately, because chalk art is a unique medium, you can’t just run out to your local arts and crafts store to buy the supplies you need. Thus, it’s good to have an idea of what a “starter set” for a new chalk artist might look like. Today, I’m just going to list the items, and in succeeding blogs, we’ll look at each in more detail.

To get started in chalk art you need:

1.  An easel – This will be your biggest investment. A standard artist’s tripod easel will not work because you apply a fair amount of pressure to the drawing board with your hand when you’re drawing with chalk. You’ll need an easel that is specially designed for chalk (although a heavy-duty studio easel will work as a temporary solution).

2. A lighting system – If you’re going to draw in front of people (and that’s what chalk art is all about), your easel will need to have some kind of lighting system so that your audience can see the details of your drawing as it unfolds. If you’re planning on doing black light work, you’ll obviously need a black light as part of your lighting system.

3. Drawing surface – Chalk artists almost universally use a special paper called “gray bogus paper” for their drawings. However, there is another approach that uses a large bed sheet, stretched tight like a canvas on what is appropriately called a “sheet easel”.

4. Chalk – Chalk artists use something called “lecturer’s chalk” for their drawings. It looks a little like sidewalk chalk, but there’s one big difference. Sidewalk chalk is hard and densely packed; lecturer’s chalk is soft and light, almost as if air has been whipped into it.

5. Fluorescent Chalk – Fluorescent (black light) chalk comes in two varieties: visible and invisible. Visible fluorescent chalk comes in the six common “day-glow” colors that you see in fluorescent paints, markers, etc. Invisible fluorescent chalk is what enables a chalk artist to draw the invisible pictures that show up at the conclusion of a drawing. It is white under regular light, but under a black light will glow in as many as sixteen different colors.

Some chalk artists get fancy and add extras such as video projection, pyrotechnics, etc., to their presentations. However, these fall into the category of “bells and whistles”. They can be fun and they can add to your presentation, but they’re not absolutely necessary.

So this is your basic equipment list. Beginning with Thursday’s post, we’ll look at each, especially with a view to keeping costs down.

Keep drawing, and remember – have fun!

Probably the most frequently asked question about chalk art is, "Do I need to have artistic ability to be a chalk artist."

And my answer to the question is frustratingly ambiguous.

No—and yes.

On one level, you do not need to be artistically talented to be an effective chalk artist. Chalk art is a craft that can be learned. There are simple techniques for drawing mountains, trees, rocks, skies and clouds, etc. Anyone who learns these techniques can put together a respectable chalk drawing. Also, chalk artists share pictures and picture ideas and so do you don't even need to come up with your own creative ideas to be able to use chalk art as a ministry tool. Just check out some of the online resources for picture ideas. (Note: I’ll be sharing these in an upcoming post.)

If you are willing to invest some time to learn the techniques, and the money to take classes or buy some instructional DVDs, then you can easily incorporate chalk art into your own ministry. If you work with children or youth and you're looking for something to enhance your communication with them or to illustrate Bible lessons, chalk art is great way to go.

So, the answer to the question is: No you don’t have to have “talent” or artistic ability.

Having said that, the more artistic ability you have, the more you will be able to do with chalk art.

Black-light chalk can be difficult to work with, and if you're planning on doing any pictures of Jesus or any figures, you will find it difficult if you don't have any experience in drawing portraits or figures. Likewise, if you have a grasp of the principles of composition, what makes for a pleasing picture, etc., it will enable you to do much more than you could if you are just copying someone else’s idea.

So it is to your advantage to learn how to draw and as much as you can about art if you really want to excel as a chalk artist.

See the Light’s Art Class DVDs are a great resource for this. It’s without a doubt the best DVD-based drawing course available. As I often tell my students it doesn't really matter what medium you're working in, it's all drawing. And if you don't know how to draw, you're going to have difficulty no matter what medium you're trying to use.

So, the answer to the question is: Yes, if you want to excel as a chalk artist, artistic ability certainly helps.

The better the quality of your drawings and presentation, the more opportunities you will find to share with others through this unique medium.

I hope you give it a try. And remember, always have fun.

How did you become a chalk artist?”

I’ve been asked that question many times over the years. A question that usually goes with it is, “Have you always been artistic?” Often I find that people who ask the second question are really saying, “I’d like to try chalk art, but I’m not sure if I have enough ‘talent’.”

For me, becoming a chalk artist was a long process.

I’ve always been interested in drawing, painting, and art in general. When I was growing up I did a lot of sketching and worked in oils. But I wasn’t what you would necessarily call “talented” or “gifted”. And although I enjoyed drawing and painting, it wasn’t something that I did all the time.

I was first exposed to chalk art when I was a freshman in college. A group of us attended a Bill Gothard conference, and Bill did a couple of drawings on stage during the week. We were in a huge auditorium and my group was far removed from the stage, so I couldn’t see his picture very well. Nevertheless, his drawings made a powerful enough impact on me that I can still remember seeing them almost forty years later.

I was fascinated, but that experience didn’t make me want to be a chalk artist.

The next time I saw a chalk artist was when I began attending Dallas Bible College. One of the students, Gary W., did chalk art in chapel occasionally. This time we were in a small auditorium and I was able to see a lot better. I was fascinated as I watched him draw and, when he turned on the black light, it took my breath away. Because Gary and I went to the same church, I got to see him several times over the next few years.

But even though I loved to watch Gary draw, I still had no desire to become a chalk artist.

After I graduated, I started to work as a youth pastor in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Our church participated in a Christian camp and I attended along with my junior high youth group. The speaker that week was Jerry L. and—you guessed it—he was a chalk artist. We met in a very small chapel and so I got to see this man draw twice a day for a whole week.

In the middle of that week, something clicked.

As I watched him draw and saw the impact his art and messages were having on the kids, I understood that chalk art could be a very powerful tool for communicating the message of Jesus Christ.

That’s when I decided to become a chalk artist.

One afternoon that week, I asked Jerry to teach me a little bit about chalk art. Then, after camp, I went home, built a monstrosity of an easel, ordered some chalk, and began to draw. And thirty-three years later, I’m still drawing.

Chalk art isn’t just a medium. It’s a medium designed to communicate the greatest message of all, salvation through God’s son, Jesus Christ.

If you’re going to be a chalk artist, that’s the first point you have to grasp.

On September 11^th, 2001, I knew that the world my children would grow up in had changed dramatically. Terrorism had been around for years, but in the past it was far removed; it was something that happened in other countries, to other people.

But now it was here, on American soil.

Deep inside, I was full of uncertainty. Was this just the beginning? Were there more attacks to come? We were on our way to Atlanta, a large city and a potential target. Should we go? Or should we stay hunkered down in our “safe” motel room and wait till an all-clear was given—if that ever happened? But I also knew that we couldn’t allow ourselves to be ruled by fear. If we gave in to fear and panic, then the terrorists would already have won. So we decided to continue on with our plans.

We spent that day in Jackson, Mississippi and took our children to the Petrified Forest and then to a local museum. Throughout the day, everywhere we went, televisions and radios were turned on broadcasting the latest news from ground zero. For the most part, the places we visited were ghost towns, very few tourists out and about. It reminded me of the day after John Kennedy was assassinated. Everything was quiet and everyone was in shock.

The next day we went on to Atlanta and did some more sightseeing. We stopped by CNN, but were told that they were not conducting tours due to the attacks. Then we went to the Coca Cola museum. They were open, and we had a good time. We tried as much as possible to give our children a normal day, but the specter of 9/11 haunted everything we did.

As I was preparing for this blog, I asked my son Chris and daughter Charlene what they remembered about 9/11. Neither of them remember much, although Charlene recalled that we made our son Chris lock all of his knives—he was an avid collector and usually carried one or two with him—in the trunk of our car. I had forgotten about that. I guess we didn’t want anyone mistaking a twelve-year-old for a terrorist.

 A father’s instinct is to protect his children, to shield them from danger, from the pain and ugliness of life on this planet. It’s impossible to do that forever. I knew that sooner or later they would have to process the events of 9/11, much as I did Kennedy’s assassination. But I preferred that it be later, when they had grown enough to understand the words of another American president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

My children are grown now. Chris is in the army, helping fight the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. Charlene just graduated high school and is launching out on her own. Their world changed on 9/11, just as mine did on November 22, 1963, and just as another generation’s did on December 7^th, 1941. Each time, a generation lost its “innocence” and had to confront the harsh reality of living in this fallen world.

I have a two-year-old granddaughter now, and I can’t help but wonder if there is a 9/11 in her future. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I take comfort in knowing that God is still on the throne, our times are in His hands, and that through His love we can face anything that comes our way.

Because “perfect love drives out fear,” (I John 4:18, NIV).

I was eight years old when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

I remember my third grade teacher announcing that the president had been shot, although I can’t recall her exact words. I do remember seeing some of the girls in my class crying.

The grade school I attended was a large, rectangular two-story building with classrooms lining the perimeter and opening onto a large common area. Someone had set up a black and white television set in the common area. When I left the school that day the TV was on and a newsman was talking.

When I got home I tried to show some young male bravado to my mother. “The girls cried, but I didn’t.”

She answered me kindly. “Maybe you were crying on the inside.”

I felt embarrassed by her gentle remonstrance, so I agreed. Yes, I had been crying on the inside. The truth was I didn’t understand anything that was happening.

My mother and I had to go into town that afternoon for my weekly allergy shot. Afterward, when we walked down Main Street to catch the bus back home, we ran into my teacher. She and my mother talked for a while. I stood by, woolgathering, not paying attention to the conversation. They were talking about grown-up things. Nevertheless, I do remember hearing my teacher say something like, “I didn’t like the man, but I wouldn’t have wanted someone to shoot him.”

On Saturday, everybody was watching TV. I went outside and walked around. Our neighborhood was ghostly quiet. No cars. No people.

I was bored.

I wanted everything to get back to normal.

You would think that I was totally oblivious to what happened on November 22, 1963. But I wasn’t. My young mind simply couldn’t process what was going on.

Some months later my parents bought a book titled Four Days. It was mostly photographs, chronicling the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination. In the succeeding years I looked through that book more times than I can count. I virtually memorized every detail. And I pondered those pictures and their meaning often.

For me the enormity of that day’s events didn’t hit home for five more years, when Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were gunned down. The world changed for me that year. I became aware of Vietnam and the casualty reports that had now become routine parts of the evening news. The carefree innocence of childhood dissipated and I became aware that this world in which we live can be a frightfully dark and painful place.

On September 11, 2001, nearly thirty-eight years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, my family and I were at a motel in Jackson, Mississippi. I was in my second year as a full-time freelance writer and we were going to Atlanta to meet with some people who had hired me to write curriculum for them.

My son was twelve years old and my daughter was eight.

We had planned to spend a day sightseeing in Jackson, so we didn’t get up early. When we finally did get moving, the kids turned the TV on to a cartoon show. We had no idea what was happening.

I learned about the tragedy when I went down to the motel’s breakfast room to grab some coffee. I knew something was up the instant I walked into the room. People were standing around as if they’d been frozen in place. Every eye was transfixed on a small television mounted high up in a far corner.

“What’s going on?” I asked one man.

“Haven’t you heard?” he said. “We’re under attack.”

I stood there, not sure I’d heard him correctly. And then I watched, horrified, as the tragedy at the twin towers unfolded. When I went back to the room, I told my wife what was happening.

The children were still watching cartoons.

Their world was about to be transformed. But for as long as possible I wanted to shield them from the harsh reality of life.

I decided not to change the channel.

(To be continued on Thursday.)

How to Use Reference Photos, Part 5 from James Pence on Vimeo.

Last week we analyzed our beach picture and sketched out the major lines in the photo. But how to we get the sailboat in there? And how do we figure out where to put it?

One easy way to test out picture elements when you’re working on a composition is to use the “cut-out” method. As you may have already guessed, the cut-out method involves cutting out elements and shapes that we want to try in our composition.

For example, we want to put a sailboat in our beach picture. Suppose we printed a copy of both the beach and the sailboat, then we took some scissors and cut out the sailboat. Then we could place it on top of the beach photo and try it out in different positions and angles. Hopefully, after several tries we can find the most pleasing arrangement of our picture elements.

For this blog post, I “cheated” and cut the sailboat out digitally; however, you can do the same thing by cutting the boat out with scissors. Here are my results:

Version 1:

This is with the sailboat laid directly on the beach with no changes at all. I don’t like this layout because the lines of the boat are too similar to the lines of the beach and sand dunes. 

Version 2:

I decided to flip the sailboat over. I like this angle better, but I’m still not totally pleased with it. (You can do this, too. Just turn the picture of the sailboat over. Yes, you won’t be able to see the picture of the boat, but it’s the shape that we’re interested in right now.)

Version 3:

I kept the same angle, but reduced the size of the sailboat. (You can do the same thing. Just print a smaller version of the boat picture.) I don’t like this one either. The sailboat is too small in comparison to the grass.

Version 4:

I went back to the second version, but tweaked the perspective on the boat. (Okay. You can’t do this one with scissors. But don’t worry. In a future blog I’m going to show you how to do all of this. The best part is that the program I used is FREE!)

I like Version 4 the best.  

I’ll tell you why on Thursday.

Until then, keep drawing. And have fun!

How do you “splice” two pictures together and make them one?

It’s not as difficult as you might think.

On Tuesday’s blog I chose the two reference photos that I wanted to use to create my new painting. (I’ve decided to do it as a watercolor.) But before I drag out the paints and watercolor paper, I want to play around with the layout a bit. In other words, I want to give some time thinking about my painting’s composition.

Composition isn’t only for English majors or musicians; artists compose their paintings and drawings as well. In art, composition involves a number of different things, including the picture elements, value, color, etc. In a future blog, we’ll talk more in detail about composition, but for today just keep in mind that creating a composition means arranging the elements of the drawing or painting in a pleasing manner on the paper.

So, again, we’re not interested in merely copying what we see in a photo, but we want to work with it to create something that is pleasing to the eye.

In planning this picture, I’m going to focus first on the beach scene because generally artists work from the back of a painting to the front. Since the sailboat is going to be in the foreground, I’ll put it in last.

In preparing for this blog, I printed out a color copy of the beach photo, but I'll include the digital photo for you here:

In these preliminary sketches, I’m thinking mostly about the lines that I see. As I look at the beach scene, I see three major lines:

1. The horizon line (where the sky meets Lake Michigan).

2. The shoreline (where the lake meets the beach).

3. The line created by the sand dunes.

The dune grass creates a host of other lines, but I’ll deal with those later.

In my sketch book, I laid out those three lines:

You'll notice I made my "dune" line steeper so that it crossed over the horizon line. I want to block off the horizon line so that it doesn't draw people's eyes off the page. I'll use the boat to do something similar on the other side.

The next step is to add in the boat, but before we go to that step, why don’t you try taking my beach photo (or a photo of your own) and see if you can identify the major lines.

Next Tuesday, we’ll add in the boat.

Until then, keep drawing—and have fun!

If you want to use reference photos (your own or someone else’s) as idea material for your paintings, the best place to begin is by realizing that only rarely will a single photo be sufficient for your needs. There are many reasons for this. If you’re working from snapshots you took on vacation, the photos might be cluttered with “unwanted” subject matter (e.g. cars, people walking by, etc.). If you’re working from a copyrighted photo, you won’t want to directly copy it (unless you have permission).

So what do you do?

You take elements from different photos and create your own composition.

That’s what makes art exciting. When you draw a picture you get to create something brand new.

So how do you use two or more reference photos to create a composition?

There’s no hard and fast rule, but here’s what I do.

First, I like to find a subject that interests me. In this case, it’s an old one-person sailboat that has been converted into a planter.

I took ten or twelve different photos of the sailboat from all different angles and in different types of lighting. For the sake of space, I’m not going to post them all here. The follwing picture is the angle that I liked best.

So the sailboat is going to be my main subject, but there are a lot of things in this photo that I don’t want to include. I’m not interested in the house or the car, so those won’t be part of the drawing or painting. And, although the railroad-tie retaining wall is kind of interesting, I think I’d prefer something a little more “beachy”.

I took quite a few pictures of the beach while we were up there, and I particularly like this one of the sand and dune grass.

The next step is to do some simple sketches, combining the two picture elements: sailboat and sand dunes. I’ll post my sketches on Thursday.

Why don’t you try to come up with some sketches of your own? If you do, email them to me at: jim.pence@seethelightshine.com, and I’ll post a few on this blog.

Until Thursday, keep drawing—and have fun!

I just came back from a relaxing week of vacation at a cottage on Lake Michigan. And, like most tourists, I took a lot of pictures. Since this was a family reunion, I wasn’t the only one taking photos. Near the end of the week, my brother-in-law began to compile a CD with all of the pictures taken that week so that everyone in the family could share them.

“Would you like to put your pictures on the group CD?” he asked me.

“Sure,” I said. “But they aren’t very interesting.”

When he asked why, I explained that most of the pictures I took were reference photos for paintings that I’d like to do sometime down the line.

He said that was okay and I gave him the memory card from my phone.

Later, my daughter confirmed that my pictures were pretty boring.

Boring?

Perhaps a better description is repetitive. You see, instead of taking the typical “tourist” type picture of scenes of interest, I took a lot of pictures of the same things.

For example, just outside the cottage sat a small one-person sailboat that had been turned into a planter. I took about twenty pictures of that little boat. I shot from all angles. I also took photos at different times during the day so that I could get the light hitting it different ways.

The key to taking reference photos is thinking like an artist, not a tourist.

Tourists take pictures to capture memories.

Artists take pictures to study a subject.

While we were in Michigan I saw several things that I wanted to paint:

the sailboat,

a very colorful beach umbrella,

an old stone fireplace that was the only “survivor” of a fire,

a steep staircase leading down to the beach,

and (duh!) the beach.

And, although I shot over a hundred pictures, they were all different angles of these five subjects. (Now you can understand why my daughter thought my pictures were boring.)

Next week, I’ll show you how to combine two of these pictures to create a new drawing.

Until then, keep drawing – and have fun!

Are you always looking for new and fresh subjects for your paintings or drawings? Then you might need to consider developing a “morgue file”.

No, I don’t mean a room where dead bodies are kept.

“Morgue file” is a term that goes back to the days before digital storage, when newspapers and publishers would keep files of old articles, magazines, photos, etc., for reference purposes. Eventually, artists adopted the term to refer to a collection of reference photos and drawings.

Developing a good morgue file is a great way to have a ready source of ideas for pictures when you need to prime your creative pump.

There are a lot of ways to develop your own morgue file, but here are five easy suggestions to get you started:

Stock Photo Websites – The digital age has made it easy to find and collect reference photos. Stock photo websites are a great place to look for pictures. A Google search on “stock photos” will bring up a host of different sites, including a free site named: Morguefile.com. These sites are searchable, so if you’re interested in doing a seascape, just type that in and you’ll find more photos than you’ll know what to do with. (Because searching for images online can be risky, always make sure that safe search is turned on when you or your children visit these sites, and never let your children search them unsupervised.)

Travel Web Sites – If you want to do drawings or paintings of exotic location, but can’t afford the travel expenses, do a Google search on the location and you will bring up a host of travel sites. Most of those sites will have pictures that you can use.

Use Your Phone – Nowadays, most people have cell phones and most cell phones have cameras. Whenever you’re out and about, don’t forget to use your cell phone’s camera to take pictures of anything interesting that you think you might like to paint later.

Other People’s Vacation Photos – Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and relatives to share their vacation photos with you. If you see something you’d like, ask them for permission to add it to your “morgue file”.

Old Magazines, Greeting Cards, Church Bulletins – And don’t forget print media. Old magazines, greeting cards, church bulletins, etc., are great sources for reference photos. You’ll want to set up a filing system so that you can easily retrieve them, or you might want to scan them and save them digitally.

With all of the above photos (except the ones you take yourself), remember that they are copyrighted material (yes, even your friends’ vacation photos could technically be considered copyrighted). So, don’t copy them exactly unless you have permission. Remember these are reference photos. You’ll want to take elements from them and use those elements to create something new and fresh.

On Thursday’s blog, I’ll show you how to do that. Until then, keep drawing—and have fun!

Tuesday's post showed you the technique needed to draw distant trees in chalk, but it was all done in white chalk. Today we'll do the trees in color.

See the Light Chalk Art Tip: How to Draw Distant Trees, Part 2 from James Pence on Vimeo.

In part one of this week's video tip, we're going to learn how to draw distant trees in chalk. As with mountains, it all comes down to one basic motion. In this case, it's an overhand loop. Today, we'll learn the basic motion, using white chalk.

See the Light Chalk Art Tip: How to Draw Distant Trees, Part 1 from James Pence on Vimeo.

If you've ever tried to buy paper for art projects, you may have walked away scratching your head. There are so many different varieties of paper for pencils, pastels, and chalks, it's hard to know what to buy. And, because many of these art papers can be quite expensive, it's important to know what you need so that you don't buy the wrong paper.

Believe it or not, entire books have been written about art paper, comparing and contrasting the different kinds, so this post won’t be anywhere near exhaustive. The following are just some simple guidelines for choosing paper for your homeschool art class.

Paper for pencil sketching:

If you're just practicing pencil sketching and drawing and you don't really care about long-term preservation, the least expensive paper is simple copy paper. You can buy it by the ream or the case, and it doesn't cost very much. However, I generally suggest to my students that they buy an inexpensive ring-bound sketch book. The paper is a little heavier, and less likely to crumple or crease if you have erase something. Also, a ring-bound sketch book enables you to keep all your sketches and drawings together.

Paper for pastel drawings:

If you want to work with pastels, regular drawing paper is too smooth. Pastels won’t adhere to the paper; most of it will end up on the floor as very colorful dust. For pastels, you need a paper with “tooth”. In other words, the paper needs to be a little rough, and it also helps if it’s a bit heavier than plain sketching paper.

If you’re watching your pennies, construction paper will work, but for my tastes, it’s still a little too smooth. I suggest taping it onto a drawing board and using a sanding block (with very fine sandpaper) to scuff the paper and give it a little rougher texture. Construction paper can also be brittle, which is another reason I recommend taping it down.

If you’re serious about doing pastels, I suggest that you buy pastel paper. It is heavier and has a better tooth. Also, most pastel paper comes “toned”. In other words it isn’t pure white, but comes in a variety of tints and colors. (I’ll post in a future blog why it’s good to have “toned” paper when working with pastels.) The downside of pastel paper is that it can be expensive.

A cheaper alternative is something called bogus paper. Bogus paper is recycled newsprint. It is the kind of paper that chalk artists use. It is normally toned gray (sometimes it’s called “gray bogus paper”) and has a very nice tooth. The paper that chalk artists use is 40”x54” inches, which might be a bit large. However, you can buy bogus paper in smaller sheets through art supply stores.

Paper for Watercolors:

If you’re planning on doing watercolors, this is one place where I say it’s better to take the more expensive option. With watercolors, the quality of your finished product directly depends on the quality of the materials you use.While this is true to some extent with any media, it is especially true with watercolors.

Why is this important?

Watercolors can be difficult to work with under the best of conditions. If you opt for cheap paper, you probably won't be happy with your results.

Buy the best paper you can afford. There are many varieties, but I recommend buying watercolor paper by the sheet. I use 140 lb. cold press paper. The number describes the thickness of the paper. Watercolor paper usually comes in 90, 140, and 300 lb thickness. Cold press means that the surface has some tooth. Hot press paper has a smooth surface. There is also a variety called (appropriately), Rough. As you might have guessed, rough paper has even more tooth than cold press.

Although we’ve barely scratched the surface of different types of paper to use for art projects, here’s a quick summary, along with some links for places to buy the supplies. (The names of the various papers are links that will take you to a place where you can purchase them online.)

For pencil and charcoal sketching: Ring bound sketch book

For pastel drawing:

a) Construction paper (least expensive)

b) Pastel paper (most expensive)

c) Gray bogus paper (inexpensive alternative)

For watercolor:

a) Buy paper by the sheet (rather than in tablets)

b) 140 or 300 lb watercolor paper is a good weight

c) Cold press (for a toothed surface), Hot press (for a smooth surface), and Rough (for a very-toothed surface).

I'm leaving on vacation Friday and I'm really looking forward to getting away.

One reason is that here in North Texas we have been living with 100+ degree temperatures for going on 40 days now. I saw on the news the other day that our average temperature for the month of August has been 107.1. That's hot, even for Texas. So as of Friday morning my wife and daughter and I will be driving up to Whitehall, Michigan where will be spending the week in a cottage on Lake Michigan. I've been checking the temperatures every day and drooling. The daytime temperatures are averaging in the low 80s and high 70s.

After over a month of 100+ temps, I’ll probably feel like I’m freezing.

I’m okay with that.

The other reason I'm looking forward to going on vacation is so that I can have a chance to slow down. In addition to working with See the Light, I'm a full-time freelance writer. The life of a freelancer can be very hectic, filled with deadlines, and with plenty of stress. In fact I've often told people that writing is the most difficult work I've ever done.

So what does this have to do with art?

As we travel to Michigan you can be sure that in the back of our rental car I will have stashed my art supplies. I've already got plans to go down to the beach with my watercolors and do some plein air* paintings. And I also will be bringing along (if there's room in the car) the drawing that I did of my daughter Charlene at the last home school conference,

and the pastel of my son that I'm working on.

I plan to spend much of my vacation reading, drawing, and painting.

You see for me, painting drawing and sketching are great ways to relax. Over the years any time I have been stressed, I would take out my drawing paper and work on a picture. When I'm drawing or painting I lose track of time. I've never actually tested it out, but I mention my blood pressure goes down as well. As I work on a picture, and enjoy the act of creation, I feel a little closer to my Creator.

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."

I guess that's what I love about drawing and painting. It causes me to be still and remember the God I serve. It makes me observe his creation and rejoice in him. It refreshes me in a way almost nothing else does.

So this next coming week my goal is to be still and know my God.

And I hope some new pictures will come out of that. I'll be sure to share them with you. 

^*What is "plein air"? Click on it to find out!

On Thursday's blog: What kind of paper should you use when you're drawing or painting?

This week, we at See the Light are celebrating the release of our latest DVD, "God's Runaway", which features one of the greatest stories in the Bible: the story of Jonah.

If you are familiar with the book of Jonah, you know that a stormy sea plays a big part in the story. Because of that, I thought I'd do a video tip this week that shows you how to draw a stormy sea in chalk. So get out your chalk (or pastels), roll up your sleeves, and let's draw a stormy sea.

"See the Light" Chalk Art Tip: How to Draw a Stormy Sea from James Pence on Vimeo.

Jonah is one of my favorite Old Testament books, but not because it is a great story.

Of course, the book of Jonah is one of the great stories of the Old Testament. It is full of drama and excitement, and as a storyteller, I appreciate that.

But that’s not why I love Jonah.

The story of Jonah also shows God’s power and sovereignty over nature in awesome ways. God causes a storm to come up, and then He provides a great fish to swallow (read that: rescue!) Jonah when the sailors throw him overboard. Then after Jonah repents, God causes the fish to deposit Jonah on dry land.

But that’s not why I love Jonah.

I love Jonah because it paints a portrait of God that is directly contrary to what many people are claiming today.

It has become fashionable in some circles to describe the God of the New Testament as loving and merciful and the God of the Old Testament as angry, wrathful, mean-spirited and vengeful. Some might even point to the book of Jonah as an illustration of this. After all, God did send Jonah to Nineveh with a message of divine judgment.

But if you take time to read and absorb the book of Jonah, you walk away with a very different picture of God.

When Jonah ran away from God, refusing to go preach against Nineveh (the capital of Assyria), it wasn’t because he was afraid of what they might do to him. It was because he hated the Assyrian people. The Assyrians were cruel and they posed a great threat to Israel. Jonah wanted God to destroy them.

Jonah also knew that if the Assyrians repented, God would forgive them and have mercy on them.

And so Jonah ran.

And, of course, God caught up with him and turned him around, so to speak. But after Jonah preached—and Nineveh repented—Jonah went into a major pouting session. He admitted that his purpose in running away was because he knew God would forgive the Assyrians.

Then God gave Jonah the object lesson of a lifetime.

As Jonah sat on a hill, overlooking Nineveh—and hoping God would “zap” them—the desert sun began to wear on him. Then God caused a vine to grow up and give Jonah shade. Jonah enjoyed that for a while, but then God caused a worm to chew up the vine, and the leaves wilted and died. Jonah was angry—again.

God asked Jonah if he had a right to be angry about the vine, even though he had nothing to do with its growth.

Jonah replied that he did have a right to be angry.

Here comes the punch line, and the application of the book of Jonah:

“But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹ And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?’”(Jonah 4:10-11)

The “angry, jealous, vengeful,” God of the Old Testament, who is so maligned today, was concerned about the 120,000 people in the city of Nineveh, and even about the animals.

For those who believe that the “God of the Old Testament” is different from the God revealed in the New, the book of Jonah is a good place to start learning that, from Genesis to Revelation, God is a God of love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Coming on Thursday's Blog: How to Draw a Wave in Chalk

Mountains are majestic, beautiful, and fun to draw. And, with a little practice, they're pretty easy to draw, too. On Tuesday's blog, I explained the steps for drawing a mountain in chalk. However, it's not always easy to work from photographs alone. So, in today's post, I've included a video tip that will show you how I draw mountains when I'm working with chalk.

I hope you enjoy it.

Draw a Mountain with Chalk from James Pence on Vimeo.

I love to draw mountains. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I live in North Texas where everything is flat. But there’s something majestic about mountains that evokes a deep sense of awe in me. And so, I enjoy incorporating them into my chalk drawings whenever I can.

This week, I’m going to show you how to draw a simple mountain, using 1”x1”x3” lecturer’s chalk (the kind that gospel chalk artists use). If you don’t have any lecturer’s chalk, pastels will work just as well.

The supplies you’ll need are:

A piece of light blue chalk (or pastel)
A piece of white chalk (or pastel)
Pastel paper (Pastel paper is rougher than regular drawing paper, and it usually comes “pre-toned” in different colors.)

To draw a mountain in chalk, first you need to know how to hold the chalk properly:

1.  Don’t hold the chalk like you would a pencil (as though you were going to draw with the tip).

2.  Hold the chalk from the side and use the edge (the corner, as opposed to the flat surface).

3. Now, to draw a mountain, all you have to do is draw an upside-down “V”. But instead of making your “V” tall and pointy, as in the following line drawing…

…spread the “V” out and make it flatter. (Note: I did these line drawings with a black marker to give you a better feel for the shape that you should draw, but you’ll draw your mountain with chalk or pastel.)

4. Use your light blue chalk to make your basic mountain shape (upside down “V”). Remember that you’re going to draw with the side-edge of the chalk, not with the tip or the flat surface. If you do, you should end up with something that looks like this:

5. Now, to finish it off. Use your white chalk or pastel to add a little snowcap/highlight to one side of the mountain.

That’s it. To draw a simple mountain, you just need to draw a spread-out, upside-down “V” (usually in light blue or light purple chalk), then highlight (snowcap) one side with white. Here are several different mountains for you to practice and copy:

Have fun!

COMING ON THURSDAY’S BLOG: More about drawing mountains.

Last week we learned how to do blind contour drawing. If you've had a chance to practice it--and I hope you have--you probably experienced more than a little frustration. After all, when we draw we want to be pleased with the results. But that's not easy with blind contour drawing. In fact, more often than not, our finished "drawing" actually looks more like a two-year-old’s scribbling.

Don’t get discouraged. Remember, blind contour drawing is not an end in itself but rather a means to an end. It’s like an athlete warming up before a game. When football players, stretch out before a game, the stretching isn't an end in itself. People don't pay big bucks to go watch 22 men sit on a field and stretch. Football players stretch partially to prevent injury and partially to maximize performance. The more limber they are, the better they can perform.

Blind contour drawing is kind of like stretching. The more you practice it, the better you will be come at drawing what you see.

Today we're going to take it one step further and do what is called modified contour drawing. It's almost exactly the same as blind contour drawing with one small change. In blind contour drawing you are not allowed to look at the paper at all. With modified contour drawing you are allowed to look back and forth between the object you're drawing and your paper.

Here’s how to do a modified contour drawing. My subject again is going to be a coffee mug.

1.  First, set up your work area. If you are right-handed, your coffee mug will be on your left and your paper will be off to the right. Reverse this if you are left-handed.

2.  Next, choose a place on the coffee mug (or whatever object you’ve chosen to draw) where you will focus your eyes. Then place your pencil somewhere on your paper. (Make sure that you've got enough space to draw the mug.)

3.  Now as you did before, trace the outside of the mug with your eyes and allow your hand to move in the same direction. I tell my students to pretend that there is an invisible cable connecting their hand and their eyes. This time, it's okay to flick your eyes back and forth from the mug to the paper. You should still spend 90% of your time looking at the coffee mug, but by checking the paper every now and then you can make sure that your hand isn't trailing off somewhere.

The key to this is going very slowly. Don't be in a rush to complete the drawing. And remember that you're only drawing the contour (that is, the outside edge). You don't need to worry about shading or any of the details. At this point, we just want the basic shape.

Here’s the modified contour drawing that I just did of my favorite coffee mug. Now you give it a try.

Next Tuesday we’ll learn how to draw a mountain in chalk.

Happy drawing

I mean that. If art class is not fun, there’s really no point in having it. Art is about expressing yourself. It’s about exploring your creativity. But it’s also about joy.

So how can you make art class fun? Here are five suggestions:

1. Lower your expectations.

I know this seems counterintuitive, but one of the main reasons children become frustrated with art is that they have an unrealistic expectation of what they should be able to do. In other words, there is a tendency toward perfectionism. Make sure your children know that it’s okay to not be perfect.

2. Resist the temptation to criticize.

When your children bring you a picture that they’ve drawn (and that they’re obviously very proud of), don’t single out the one (or more) little things that are wrong and need to be corrected. That’s one of the quickest ways to insure that their love of art class will be short-lived. Instead, find something to praise about the picture.

3. Get messy.

Try finger painting or other abstract art. Not all artwork needs to be representational. Sometimes it’s fun to just play with colors and see what happens.

4. Go outside.

Grab a sketchbook and some colored pencils (or crayons). Then go outside and find something to draw. Let your children choose the subject.

5. Go fluorescent.

Buy some fluorescent tempera paints and black poster board. Then darken the room, turn out the lights and do some “glow in the dark” posters.

In other words, don’t always feel like you’ve got to color inside the lines.

Art is about self-expression. So have fun!

*******

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment with YOUR idea for making art class the best part of your homeschooler's day.

Athletes stretch their muscles before they work out. Do you know how to stretch your drawing muscles?

No, I’m not talking about flexing your fingers and wrists so your hands don’t get sore when you draw. I’m talking about teaching your hand and eyes to work together.

One of the first exercises I give students in my drawing classes is called blind contour drawing, and it’s a great way to begin learning how to draw what you see.

In blind contour drawing, you will draw the outline of an object without looking at your paper.

(My students usually freak out the first time I ask them to do this!)

“It’ll look terrible!” they protest.

Yes, it probably will. But turning out a beautiful, finished drawing isn’t the purpose of this exercise. The goal of blind contour drawing is to train yourself to sketch exactly what you see. And the more you do this, the better you will get at it.

So how do you do a blind contour drawing? Here’s how, step by step:

1.  Choose any object you’d like to draw. For your first few tries, I suggest drawing something simple, like a coffee mug, a piece of fruit, etc. You want a basic shape, nothing too complex.

2.  If you’re right handed, position the object in front of you, but over to the left, so that you have to turn your head away from your paper to see it. If you’re left handed, put the object to the right and the paper on the left.

3.  Now, put the tip of your pencil on the paper.

4.  Look at the object and slowly draw the outline of the object without looking at the paper (don’t take your pencil tip off of the paper).

[TIP: Begin by focusing on a particular location on the object, then try to follow the outline of the object with your eyes as you draw.]

When you’re finished, look at your finished drawing. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t look anything like the object. Remember: the idea is to train your hand and eye to work together.

To give you an idea of what a blind contour drawing looks like, I just did a drawing of one of my favorite objects: a coffee mug. (It’s not that I particularly like drawing mugs; I just like coffee, so I always have one handy!)

Here's my blind contour drawing of my coffee mug. (Note: I went back over the lines with a darker pencil, so it would show up better.)

Now it's your turn. Blind contour drawing may be frustrating at first, but if you stick with it, your blind drawings will eventually look less like “chicken scratches” and more like the object you’re trying to draw. And the better you get, the more complicated images you can try drawing this way.

Challenge: Do at least one blind contour drawing each day for the next week.

Next week I’ll show you how to refine the process so that your drawings look more realistic.

Keep drawing! – Jim Pence

I remember the first time I noticed how many different shades of green I could see in a grove of trees.

I don’t recall the location, although based on my age, it was probably somewhere in western Pennsylvania. And, strictly speaking, I don’t remember how old I was, although I was probably in my early teens.

I was in the back seat of my parents’ car and we were on our way to my grandparents’ home in Ellsworth, Pennsylvania, a trip that took us out of the city and through a lot of rolling hills and farmland. The trip took about forty-five minutes, and as we drove, I looked out the window and daydreamed. [This was in the late sixties, long before iPods, portable DVD players, and other forms of electronic entertainment. There wasn’t much else to do except daydream and sleep.]

I’d become interested in oil painting not long before and had fixed my eyes on a distant grove of trees. Bright sunlight was spilling across them, and as my gaze fell on the trees, I had one of those “Aha!” moments.

The trees weren’t a uniform shade of green. Instead, there was a spectacular variety of colors spread before me—all variants of green. I saw blue green [the wonderful blue spruce tree, which we don’t see down here in Texas]. There were shades of yellow green, and a deep, rich forest green. Some of the trees had warm, reddish brown tint mixed in among the green leaves.

And then there were the lights and darks. Some of the trees were in direct sunlight, making them bright and crisp. But there were places in that copse of trees where the sunlight couldn’t break through, giving them the appearance of almost pitch darkness—even in broad daylight.

What’s the point?

Simply that until I started painting and drawing, when I would look at a bunch of trees, I saw green. That’s it.

In a way, you could almost say that I didn’t see them at all.

Our world is so fast-paced that most of us tend to move through our day on cruise control. We see the world around us, but we don’t really notice the details. One of the greatest benefits of art education is that it teaches students to observe, to see their world in a whole new way.

Practical Exercise: Take some time to go outside today and observe the world around you. Look for colors that you’ve never seen before, details you’ve never spotted. Don’t come in until you’ve noticed one detail you’ve never really observed before.

COMING ON WEDNESDAY’S BLOG: A practical exercise in observation and drawing.

Today I came across an interesting online poll sponsored by Liberty Mutual.

There was only one question: Is art education important? Only a “yes” or “no” response was permitted.

Out of almost 18,000 responses, the results were almost evenly divided, with the “yes” voters having a slight edge. 52% of the respondents said that, yes, art education is important, while 48% voted “no”.

Now, it’s important to take a poll like this with quite a few grains of salt. First, it was not a scientific poll with a random sampling. Anybody who came across this poll could vote on it. So it’s not necessarily an accurate measurement of public opinion on the subject. (Note: Even though this poll was posted in April of 2010, you still can share your opinion:  http://sharerp.com/9d ).

What I found most interesting were the twenty-seven comments left by people who had read or participated in the poll. The greater majority of the comments came from readers who believed that art instruction was very important. Here’s a sampling of some of their responses:

“I believe art gives choice and freedom to people, and enables many to express themselves.” – Rebecca R.

“What is more useful in today's changing world than critical thinking, collaboration, or creativity? These are researched benefits of art education.” – Matt

“Appreciation of the arts (music, dance, architecture, etc) is enriching, engaging, and like candy for the soul.” – ACAgal

“Creating art strengthens your problem solving ‘muscles’…. It also helps to teach students to appreciate the communication that is intrinsic to all art forms.” – Eileen

“An education or training in the ability to truly see the world in art makes life fun and full of wonder.” – Caroline G.

One of the saddest responses comes from someone who apparently is in a school system that does not have art as part of the curriculum: “I agree art gives kids a break from graded work and it relieves stress they got rid of art at my school and if I try to draw in study hall they would send me to detention.” – BallenaJ

Choice, freedom, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, enrichment, problem-solving, fun, wonder, a nd communication are just a few of the benefits of art education. This month, the See the Light Blog will focus on why art education is important and should be a key part of any homeschool curriculum.

To get the topic started, we’re going to do a brief, 5-question survey of our own. If you home school your children, would you take a couple of minutes to give us your feedback. To access the survey, follow this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZNZPBFM

(Note: This is an anonymous survey.You won’t be asked for an e-mail address or any contact information.)

So, what do you think, homeschoolers? Is art education important?

That's right.  If you order just one ART CLASS DVD, you will receive FREE SHIPPING. If you order more than one ART CLASS DVD, you will also receive FREE SHIPPING.

Yes, this is a very good deal.

But. . . 

Purchasing ART CLASS SET of 9 DVDs, 36 complete lessons for $99.99 is a much better deal.  

What's the difference?

If you purchase ART CLASS DVDs individually , each complete 15 to 20 minute lesson with Master Artist Pat Knepley will cost  $3.75.  That's a great deal.

But. . . 

If you purchase ART CLASS SET of 9 DVDs, each complete 15 to 20 minute lesson with Master Artist Pat Knepley will cost $2.90 including shipping. That's an even better deal.

You need to decide which option is better for you.

Andrew A. -  “To trust God and love wisdom over foolishness.”

John B.  – “To learn to serve God with integrity.”

Gary H. – “ I usually pray that they will grow up to be good, like Jesus. I don’t know exactly what that will look like for each of them, but certainly that means that they will accomplish what God wants them to accomplish. That presumably is what “good” in Genesis 1 means.”

Dave Holt, Pat’s husband  - (as children were growing up)

1. To understand God’s plan of salvation and to appropriate it for themselves.
2. To mature in God’s Word and remain faithful throughout their lives, teaching their own children to know God and to live by His principles.
3. To understand God’s plan for their lives – how to use the gifts with diligence that God gave them in service to the body of Christ (fostering “the way they should go”).
4. To see God in everything and to enjoy each day.

My prayer is that you have been both encouraged and challenged by this series. How do your children answer the questions? What are your major goals for your children?  What are you doing to reach those goals?

 I look forward to hearing from you.

“The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.” Proverbs 23:24 (NIV)

Peter T. – “The importance of loving my God, the honor of loyalty, and a joy of life in spite of hardship.”

Linda T. – “Money Management and having a good work ethic.”

Laurie W. – “An undeterred work ethic. . . accomplishments are only notable if interwoven with kindness and compassion for others.”

Andrew A. – “Work hard, be frugal.”

Candice A. – “Supremacy of Scripture in life. It holds the answers to everything.”

Linda C. – “Plan Ahead”

Alyson H. – “Protestant work ethic”

Gary H. – “A love of Scripture and the study of it.”

Victoria A. – “ No matter how you feel – get up and go to work. Pay your bills, and if your pay check doesn’t meet the bills, get a 2^nd job.”

Brian A. – “Ask questions when you don’t understand. Don’t be afraid to ask until you do understand.”

Tiffany B. – “Self sacrifice. He continues to give up a great deal to be there for his family and to give to others.”

John B. –“ Love of lifelong learning. Curiosity and love of knowledge for knowledge’s sake.”

Debbie B. “Never give up.”

John B. “ Integrity”

Pat Holt (Creator of SEE THE LIGHT)  “Learn to think for myself, to always be aware of time management, and to be accountable and responsible.”

I know each of these adults very well, and can testify that they are living out the qualities their father instilled in them. It is also abundantly clear that their fathers role modeled the qualities that were instilled.  Truly, the actions of the father spoke far louder and longer than mere words could ever do!

Once again, we witness the importance of “walk the talk”, or as Scripture says in Deuteronomy 6: 6,7 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach then diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Our last blog in this series on Dads will answer the question “What are your major goals for your children?”

You won’t want to miss it J

Ethan N.            “To clean up messes.”

Age 5

Asa J.                        “The Bible”

Brian Y.            “Learning games.”

Age 6

Caitlyn B.            “Math”

Andrew D.            “To learn about God.”

Josh J.                        “How to cook and color good.”

Age 7

Wesley A.            “To be a man of action, responsibility, and obedience!”

Aiden W.            “To believe in God.”

Age 8

Emmy K.            “To get along with my 9 yr. old brother.”

Dean J.                        “To love the Lord.”

Bryson D.            “To be respectful.”

Age 9

Emily A.            “To not be fidgety when reading at bedtime.”

Simryn G.            “To be nice and include other people.”

Jennifer H.            “To be polite at the dinner table.”

Mia M.                        “Teaching me to be a good person.”

Drake K.            “To be a good person and follow God.”

Age 10           

John S.                        “To be kind.”

Lucas D.            “How to be a strong person.”

Justin D.            “Bible”

Isabell A.             “To be nice to others.”

Brandon K.            “That he loves me and would do anything for me”

James. C.            “Pick up stuff on the floor.”

Age 11

Emma B.            “To be responsible.”

Tryssa D.            “To love God.”

Age 15

Emily M.            “To always rely on God.”

Wow!  How I admire and respect the fathers of these precious children.  Truly they are following the principles of Scripture in rearing their children.  May their number increase across our land!  If these children continue in the path their fathers are establishing, there is hope for revival in America. 

Next we turn our attention to adults, asking them this thought provoking question: “What is the most important thing your dad instilled in you? “

Peter H.            “Building lego houses.”

Age 4

Ethan N.            “Play.”

Age 5

Asa J.                        “Ride bikes.”

Brian Y.            “Play video games.”

Age 6

David H.            “Build with lego.”

Caitlyn B.            “Go out to eat.”

Andrew D.            “Go to the science museum.”

Josh J.                        “Play with him.”

Age 7

Wesley A.            “Play with him.”

Aiden W.            “Go on dates with him!”

Age 8                       

Emmy K.            “Play soccer and when he pushes me on the swings.”

Dean J.                        “Play games.”

Bryson D.            “Spend time with him.”

Age 9

Emily A.            “Play lego.”

Simryn G.            “Go swimming.”

Jennifer H.            “Play basketball.”

Mia M.                        “Go to the movies.”

Drake K.            “Play games.”

Age 10

John S.                        “Play.”

Lucas D.            “Hang out together.”

Justin D.            “Go to the park.”

Isabell A.            “Play soccer.”

Brandon K.            “Play sports.”

James C.            “Watch movies.”

Age 11

Emma B.            “Play sports.”

Tryssa. D.            “ Play Hide ‘n Seek.”

Age 15

Emily M.            “Go fishing.”

It’s sooooo obvious, isn’t it?  Kids love to spend time with their dads. They realize that Dads are busy, so they cherish doing simple, fun things with their heroes.

Next time we delve into the answers to my favorite question: “What is the most important thing your dad is trying to teach you?”

You’re going to love these :)

Age 3

Peter H.            “He plays with me.”

Ethan N.            “He loves me.”

Asa J.           “We play soccer.”

Brian Y.            “Playing baseball.”

Caitlyn B.        “He makes dinner.”

Andrew D.      “He plays games with me.”

Josh J.            “We watch soccer and basketball games together.”

Wesley A.            “He’s funny.”

Aiden W.            “He reads stories at night.”

Emmy K.            “He’s silly and always has a good attitude.”

Dean J.               “He’s funny.”

Bryson D.            “He teaches me Bible verses.”

Emily A.              “He’s funny.”

Simryn G.           “A lot of things.”

Jennifer H.         “He loves the Lord.”

Mia M.                 “How he teaches me to be a good person.”

Drake K.              “He’s funny – not picky.”

John S.                   “He’s kind.”

Lucas D.                “He cares for me and the family.”

Justin D.                  “He plays basketball with me.”

Isabell A.                 “He doesn’t yell a lot. He’s really sweet.”

Brandon K.             “He’s nice and always cares for me.”

James C.                 “We play board games.”

Age 11

Emma B.            “He likes to play with me.”

Tryssa D.            “He works hard for the family.”

Emily M.            “His Christian testimony.”    

There you have it – a little sample of what kids like best about their dads. What pattern do you see? How does that compare with the answer of your children?

I can't wait :)

(Frankly, that’s how my best selling book, “When You Feel Like Screaming – Help for Frustrated Mothers” came to be.  You can find it in our SEE THE LIGHT store.)

I asked boys and girls these three questions:

  1.    What do you like best about your dad?

  2.    What do you like to do best with your dad?

3.    What is the most important thing your dad is trying to teach you?

I asked adults this question:

What is the most important thing your dad instilled in you?

I asked dads this question:

What are (were) your major goals for your children?

The answers to all of these questions were so interesting that I simply must share them with you. And, I’m hoping that you will ask your children and dads these same questions.

Every couple of days I’ll share the wonderful and varied answers to one question.

Next time:  What do you like best about your dad?

One of the things I like most about living out in the country is what I call “natural landscaping”. My kids laugh when they hear me say that, because in their opinion it's simply an excuse not to mow the grass. And while I have to admit that there's an advantage to not mowing the grass, that's not my primary motivation.

In the spring the land around our house goes through several amazing transformations. It begins with tiny white wildflowers peppering our green front yard. The wildflowers are so thick it almost looks as if a layer of snow has been laid down. Soon these white wildflowers are followed up with several different varieties that include some lavender-colored ones along with tiny flowers that resemble daisies. Sprinkled in among these are Indian paintbrushes looking like splatters of red paint in the midst of the white.

By this time the grass is getting pretty tall, and eventually I break down and at least mow the front yard. But I still allow the grass to grow tall around the perimeter, waiting for the last big show of the spring. By early June, we are surrounded by thousands of beautiful orange yellow black-eyed Susans, which seem to mark the transition from spring into summer.

Not long after this the North Texas heat kicks in and turns most of the grass to brown and burns off the wildflowers. But for a good three months every time I look out my front door I enjoy a splash of color and beauty sent direct from the Creator.

If you were to ask me what I think is the greatest benefit of learning to draw and paint, I would say that it is a heightened awareness of the beauty it is all around us. We live in such a high pressure high speed media-oriented society that most of us breeze through our lives without taking the time to look at the flowers.

It was only after I began to draw and paint and I noticed how many different shades of green I could see in a grove of trees or field of grass. It's almost as if by working with colors myself I have become more aware of them. It's hard for me to go outside now without looking around like an awestruck child, reveling in the beauty of God’s creation.

Being an artist has taught me to slow down, to relax, and to enjoy God’s world.

There's an old saying, "take time to smell the roses."

Don't just take time to smell the roses, take time to look at them, too.

You’ll be glad you did. -- Jim Pence

Anybody remember that line from the original version of the old hymn, “Come, Thou Fount”?

That line has been changed in more recent hymnals, mostly because modern readers have no idea what an Ebenezer is. The term comes from I Samuel 7, after God had miraculously delivered the Israelites from the Philistines. “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us,’” (I Samuel 7:12, NIV).

“Ebenezer” means “stone of help”.

It was, in essence, a monument that Samuel the prophet set up so that the Israelites would remember what God did for them.

When you think about it, it was a great teaching tool. When the Israelites would be traveling and would come to the areay between Mizpah and Shen, they would see that stone and they would be reminded that God had come to their aid there.

I can see a father walking down the road and seeing that oddly-placed stone. One of the children—maybe named Elijah—pipes up, “Daddy, why is that stone there?”

“God did an amazing thing right here, Son. The Philistines were about to attack us, just as Samuel was offering a burnt offering. But God sent thunder that was so loud, it freaked the Philistines out and we were able to defeat them.”

“But why is the stone there?”

“The stone is to remind us that it was through God’s help that we have gotten to where we are.”

Do you have any stones of remembrance?

Okay, I know you don’t go around laying down a concrete marker when something important happens, but do you take note of the key points in your life where you can clearly say, “God was there.”?

Sometimes we call them turning points; sometimes milestones; sometimes defining moments.

Whatever you call them, they are the times when something has happened that dramatically affected your life and changed its direction.

I have had quite a few defining moments, but probably the most significant was the birth of my daughter, Michelle Lynn on June 1^st, 1987. She only lived one week, but her short life redirected my own. It is because of Michelle that I became a writer. I have told that story in another place (http://jamespence.com/?page_id=114) so I won’t repeat it here.

I regularly look back over my life and take note of the “big” moments, the moments when God stepped in and, through both bad and good circumstances, molded and shaped me into the man I am right now.

These moments are my “Ebenezers”.

They remind me that by God’s help I am where I am.

What are your “Ebenezers”?

--James H. (Jim) Pence

The work was exquisite.

Drawn only in pencil, the portraits were so detailed, they looked like photographs. Actually, they looked better than photographs.

I wandered from easel to easel until I had examined each drawing.

As I looked at each picture, I felt a lump forming in my throat. You see, these were not ordinary drawings; they were portraits of fallen soldiers.

I was in Milwaukee Wisconsin, attending a conference of families who have lost loved ones in the war on terror. I was not there because I myself had lost someone, but in my capacity as a writer. Nevertheless, the drawings struck a chord with me. My son is a soldier and has already completed one tour of duty in Iraq. As I talked to some of the parents of those soldiers represented in that ballroom I felt their pain. I also sensed the pride these families felt for their loved ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The portraits were stunning, but that's not what made them unique.

Every one of these pictures was drawn by an artist named Michael Reagan (no relation to Ronald). Mr. Reagan does these drawings free of charge for the families of the fallen.

So far, he has done 2,400.

What an incredible gift to these families.

Of course, no portrait can ever replace a loved one lost in war. But these amazing drawings honor those who have given their lives for us, and they give the families something to remember their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers by.

If you’d like to view some of these drawings, visit Mr. Reagan’s Website: www.fallenheroesproject.org

They are drawings to remember.

--James H. (Jim) Pence

When the chaplain and I crossed the grounds of the prison yesterday, we were greeted by big smiles.

"It's the chalk artist," said the lieutenant. He nudged the sergeant, who was standing beside him. “You have to see one of his drawings. They’re amazing.”

This is the fifth time I've been at this particular prison over the last several years. Because of that, a lot of the staff members look forward to my chalk drawings as much as the inmates do. The first day that I was there, one staff member came in especially to see my drawing. She didn't even have to work that day, but she'd heard about the chalk art and wanted to make sure she saw one of the drawings.

One year even the warden himself came to see me draw. And as busy as the warden was, it was a great compliment for him to take the time to come by the chapel.

One of the things I love about doing chalk drawings for people is that it cuts across every line. I have drawn for preschoolers and senior citizens, Christians and unbelievers, inmates and prison staff. The venues and age groups don’t matter.  There is a universal fascination with watching someone draw a picture.

Most of us have seen the PBS programs by Bob Ross or Bill Alexander and been fascinated watching them do oil paintings in 30 minutes. And if you've gone somewhere like Jackson Square in New Orleans and seen artists painting on the street, you've probably stopped to watch them for a little while. And of course in amusement parks most of us like to stop for a few minutes and watch the caricature artists at work. Maybe we even have one done of ourselves.

Why are we fascinated by watching someone else draw a picture? I have no idea. I tend to think it's seeing creativity in action. Perhaps witnessing an act of creation awakens in us a little reminder that we are made in the image of God.

I don't know why it works or why it's effective, but I know that whenever I go to a prison or to a church or to a camp or to a vacation Bible school, I have a great responsibility. As I draw, I have the opportunity to evoke in my audience a sense of wonder, a sense of awe, and maybe even a sense of transcendence. Through my creation I have the privilege of pointing them to the creator of the world and, in effect, saying, "Isn't God great?"

Maybe that’s why after thirty-three years and well over a thousand drawings, I have never grown tired of it. I’ll be back in prison again tonight. Hopefully we’ll have a full house of inmates.

And maybe a few staff members.

If you are a homeschooling mom or dad and are teaching art, this rule applies to you too. I see a lot of parents who become frustrated trying to teach art to their children. And one of the reasons, in my opinion, is that they're not sure how to critique their child's work.

After all, when your child brings you a piece of art that looks like it could be at home in the abstract art section of any art museum, and then asks if you like it, what do you say? This is particularly difficult when it's obvious to your child that this is a picture of something.

Often, you find yourself standing there turning the picture in different directions, just trying to figure out what it is. And you diplomatically try to find a way to compliment your child's masterpiece without revealing your ignorance of the subject matter.

You usually come out with something like, "Oh that's so beautiful. It's the best one of those you've ever done."

If we're lucky, our child accepts the praise and doesn't ask the dreaded question, "But does it really look like a... (Fill in the blank)?"

If we're unlucky, our child asks exactly that question. And then we squirm and tried to figure out a nice way to critique the picture without hurting her feelings.

Over the next few weeks, we're going to consider the question: to critique or not to critique. If you're going to teach art to your children sooner or later you are going to have to critique their work. But how do you do that when you're not an artist yourself? More important, how do you critique a child's artwork without hurting his feelings and discouraging him from even trying?

But before you even get to the matter of critique, you need to keep the number one rule in mind: Have fun.

I'm convinced that most children who quit drawing do so because it's not fun anymore. Very young children love to draw and scribble and make enough paintings to plaster the average refrigerator several times over. But once those children get into elementary school and have to learn "art", for many the fun goes away. Something that came naturally and was fun to do now has become work.

God made us in His image, and that means that creativity is part of our nature. When God finished His creation, he said, “It is very good.” Remember that when your child brings you a picture she’s drawn, she is feeling that same sense of satisfaction. In her eyes, it is very good. And that is not the time to enter into a discussion of the proper way to draw a horse (or whatever!).

The time for critique will come. But first comes the joy of creating something and delighting in that creation.

Are you having fun yet?

No, I'm not on a work-release program. I go into prisons because I choose to.

Back in the mid nineties, I was invited to do a chalk-art presentation at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on the idea. But early-on in my chalk art ministry I promised God that as long as he kept me in chalk and paper, I'd draw wherever he opened a door.

But I never imagined that he would open a door into a prison.

I'm so squeaky clean that after nearly 40 years of driving I've only had one ticket. I had no idea of what to expect behind the walls of a medium security prison unit, and quite frankly the prospect of being in one room with a couple of hundred convicts scared me to death. But I had made that promise to God.

And so I went.

And my life was changed forever.

When I went in, I expected to find a couple of hundred angry men just daring me to bless them. What I found were men who were hurting, who were hungry, and who simply wanted someone to care about them.

Two things changed my perspective on prison ministry. First, I didn't see "prisoners" or "inmates". I saw men. People just like me. And I realized, perhaps for the first time, "There but for the grace of God, go I." Those men were in prison because of bad choices they had made and bad things that they had done. I could just as easily have made some of those choices, and it's only by God's mercy that I didn't.

Second, I saw that God's grace was sufficient to change the minds and hearts of even hardened criminals.When those men sang during the worship time, I saw a deep hunger and passion reflected on their faces that I rarely see in churches.

Don't get me wrong. Many of those men (and women) have deep, serious issues to deal with before God.

But they know that God loves them and that he is a God of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. And they love him.

And so next week (May 15-18), I will be drawing and singing at the Glen Goodman Unit in Jasper, Texas, sharing God's love and mercy through Jesus Christ.

I'd appreciate your prayers, that God may show his grace through me.

-- James H. (Jim) Pence

Some of you have already met Jim and his lovely wife Laurel at homeschool conventions in Memphis, Greenville, and Cincinnati.   They both had a great time, and look forward to meeting homeschoolers in Oklahoma City today (April 26) and tomorrow (April 27) as well as at THSC convention at The Woodlands in Texas on July 28^th – 30^th.

But what about all of you who won’t be attending those homeschool conventions?

I spoke with Rodney, who’s been enjoying FACEBOOK/twitter time with many of you, and - - - - although he loves it, he’s encouraged me to have Jim become the See The Light FACE of FACEBOOK/twitter and. . . beyond. . . for VERY good reasons!

Jim is not only a performance artist, singer, speaker, teacher, published author, editor, and collaborator (Good grief – what’s left?), but his own children were homeschooled.

Now he teaches art, writing, and karate to homeschoolers.
(interesting combo, isn’t it?)

After discovering this info, Rodney and Jim spoke.  Rodney explained to me that Jim is well equipped to provide a TON of ideas for sharing ART TIPS with all of you, and he’s eager to share!

Well then, I agree with Rodney.
LET JIM DO IT!  :)

Of course, you may already know that Jim has a wonderful mixed media JOY OF ART lesson on CROSSMAKER.

So I asked Jim, “IF you spend time with our friends on FACEBOOK/twitter, will you still teach JOY OF ART step-by-step lessons on our DVD’s and go to some homeschool conventions?

Jim said, “YES!”

HOORAY and PTL!

Then it’s settled, so MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Beginning May 1^st, 
Artist/Author/Teacher/Speaker/Writer/Singer Jim Pence
becomes our See The Light FACEBOOK/twitter . . . and beyond person!

What fun we’ll have!  What new ideas we’ll get!

But first, I’m so excited to welcome him to the SEE THE LIGHT team of artists. Jim did the JOY OF ART lesson on  “Crossmaker”.  Check him out by clicking on the promo for “Crossmaker”.  You will just love his teaching style as much as 1000’s of kids have through the years. Jim is also contributing a JOY OF ART lesson for each of the next Bible stories to be released:  “God’s Runaway”, “God’s Special Surprise”, and “Shipwrecked”.

But that’s not all to tell about Jim 

Jim is also a performance chalk artist, a singer, a speaker, a published author and (if that weren’t enough), in his “spare time” he teaches karate, writing, and art to home schooled children. Although Jim has been called a ‘Renaissance man’, he prefers to be known simply as a follower of Jesus Christ and a storyteller.

Jim has been drawing and painting and singing since he was a child, and has been doing performance chalk artistry in churches, camps, and conferences across the U.S. for over thirty years.

Wow!  Jim sounds really neat.  How can I get to know him?

 So glad you asked.  You’ll be getting to know Jim through the SEE THE LIGHT blogs beginning next week. He’ll also be posting great art ideas for “Fun Stuff”. He has other exciting ways to share with you and your family. Just tune in to Jim

Where can I meet Jim and when?

We’ll be having a Facebook “Meet and Greet” with Jim from 6 to 6:30 p.m. (Central time) today (Thurs, April 14, 2011) at the See the Light Facebook page. Come on by and ask Jim some questions.

Jim will also be appearing in person at the “See the Light” booth at the:

Oklahoma City Homeschool Convention on April 25, 26, 27^th,   and

the Texas Homeschool Convention on July 28^th, 29^th, and 30^th.

May I schedule Jim for a performance at my church or for a camp or for a conference?

Sure.  In spite of his very busy writing/traveling schedule, Jim loves to visit churches, conventions, conferences, homeschool coop groups, etc.

You’ll soon be able to check out his promo at our website: http://www.seethelightshine.com  It’s really neat to see clips of Jim drawing, singing, speaking, teaching, and - even playing guitar.

P.S.  Believe it or not, there’s lots more to share about Jim’s talents and abilities, but honestly - don’t you think that’s enough for one blog? You can learn more about Jim, his books, and his chalk art ministry by visiting his website: http://www.jamespence.com

Chalk artist, Jim Pence, will be on See the Light's Facebook page tomorrow (Thursday, April 14th) evening from 6 - 6:30 p.m. (Central time).

Jim has been doing chalk art for thirty-three years and is also a musician, speaker, and published author. He joined the See the Light team last year and now represents us at homeschooling conventions. He also does "The Joy of Art" segments on our themed DVDs.

Come to our Facebook page for a meet and greet Thursday evening.