A L L C O N S U M I N G F I R E
Fire Burns
Fire Consumes
Fire Refines
Fire Purifies
"oh Holy Spirit / burn like a fire / all consuming / consume me"
Open Heaven/River Wild (Hillsong)
These lyrics sparked an image of a forest fire - burning away and leaving bare trees and charred ground behind.
What's left stood the test - survived the burning away. This is where new growth begins, letting the old melt away. And this is the prayer of this image: may God burn away what is not of Him. What is left is where our new growth begins - starting from a self that is reflecting the character of our Creator.
This image stayed with me a for a long time - I just put it off, a little intimidated to figure out drawing flames. Time passed and one of my close friends had an experience with Jesus, deciding to be baptized! He described this experience like a forest burning and leaving a space for new growth - starting new. This story reminded me of the image I saw years before and I felt the time was right to get this drawing out of my head.
The log took layers of light and dark lines to build up the texture of the wood-grain. The flames I used a kneaded eraser to get a soft pull for the larger areas. That gave the ability to sharpen the brightest part of the flames with a stronger eraser. The mix of textures from the wood, the charred back of the log, and the flames themselves presented a really fun piece and I'm happy with how it turned out.
