The Process of Saturation
Today as I have finished this painting, Saturation 2, I think again of how it felt to be in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, with water below me and falling all around me, the sound of the water dancing, roaring, trickling as we walked around the 16 lakes and thousands of waterfalls. This has been on my mind now for a couple of years, ever since I took the trip to Croatia with my husband, Sam. Below I will show you the layers and process of this painting.
Like this painting, the idea of saturation has been building layer upon layer. As I look back I see roots of it in the artwork and study I was doing in 1994. This is my first painting on this journey (The Blessing Cup, finished in 2004).
One of the key passages of scripture for me was Ephesians 3: 16-19
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV)
The phrase, “so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”(NRSV), resonated deeply in me with such a longing and desire. So in 2005 or so, I began to pray it for myself and my family.
There were other milestones along the way preparing me for the idea of saturation:
- 2009: I am Loved poem and Out of the Believer’s Heart painting
- In 2010, I realized that God had answered the Ephesians prayer. I was being rooted and grounded in his love. He was filling me and showing me this.
- 2013 - the day in Plitvice Lakes National Park with my initial “aha” moment.
Now as I think again of how it felt there with water below me and falling all around me, with the sound of the water dancing, roaring, trickling as we walked around the lakes and waterfalls. I think of God who is the Living water, filling and spilling everywhere, all around. Filling to overflowing.
Saturation is being so full you overflow.
God wants to fill me (and you) to overflowing, so that I (and you) may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Every Day. Fullness. Not a trickle.
Then, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water,” (John 7:38), to saturate the world with God’s love and mercy, and bring life where it flows...
Are you ready to be filled to overflowing with the all of the fullness of God?
Let it flow.
Painting process of Saturation 2.
I had been thinking of how to do this painting for a while before I finally got started. I wanted to create the texture of the limestone cliffs covered in vegetation using my handmade paper. You can see here the layers of the handmade paper on the canvas…
I used watercolor to get the initial colors on the handmade paper…
Adding ink for detail on the hanging, grass like, vines…
Next I sponged in layers of acrylic to create the trees and ground cover…
More acrylic layers creating depth and details…
Finally adding the water falls…
And the lake with reflections...
