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...

Last week we began working on a watercolor project titled Cross Hill, but only had enough time to do the sky. Today, we'll finish that picture.

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.

[Image Credit: © Shane Kennedy | Dreamstime.com]

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

The 2012 homeschool convention season is warming up, and See the Light is coming to a convention near you. We've listed 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...

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...

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.

Watercolors often get a bad rap for being "hard to control," but they can be a lot of fun to work with. In today's video art tip, STL chalk artist, Jim Pence, shares some watercolor basics and a fun (and easy!) project.

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. In today's video you'll learn how to go on a "shape scavenger hunt...

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...

by James H. Pence

I love to draw Christmas trees--with lots of lights. And what better way to do that than with black light chalk. Today's video tip will show you how...

by James H. Pence

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...

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.

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. On a couple of these, with a little imagination, some fluorescent paint, and a black light, you could have some real 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...

by James H. Pence

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.

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...

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...

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.

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”.

by James H. Pence

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:

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!

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...

by James H. Pence

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...

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...

by James H. Pence

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...

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...

Anyone who has seen a chalk drawing knows that when the artist finishes his picture, he turns on a black light and a previously "invisible" picture appears. But how does the artist get the picture up there? The "secret" is invisible fluorescent chalk, and in today's video tip, STL chalk artist Jim Pence demonstrates how invisible fluorescent chalk works.

By James H. Pence

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.

by James H. Pence 

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.

by James H. Pence

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

Probably not.

by James H. Pence

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?

by James H. Pence

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.

By Jim Pence

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.

By Jim Pence

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?

By Jim Pence

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.”

By Jim Pence

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...

by Jim Pence

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....

by Jim Pence

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...

by Jim Pence

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...

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

By James H. (Jim) Pence

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

How important is art education?

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...

CHALKING BEHIND BARS, PART TWO

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.

Next week, I'll be in prison for four days.

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?