In His Arms

By Hazel Holland
 

I did this chalk pastel of Ebbie last June as a way of dealing with my sadness as I let go of the last of my beloved pets that I needed to find homes for before moving out of state.   I got the idea from my friend, Ramone, to create a picture of placing Ebbie in God's hands before I gave her up for adoption.

Several weeks later the Humane Society called to tell me that a nice lady had come into their facility and adopted Ebbie, along with another kitty!  I praised God for His timing and for keeping His promise to provide loving homes for each one of my beloved pets. ♥

If God so cares for the animals that he created, and especially the pets who mean so much to us, how much more does He care for us... His beloved children whom He has adopted into His family forever! ♥

Tulips for Her

By Hazel Holland

I took two shots of the same painting with different lighting and they came out quite differently after I  finished with them.  I can see this as a greeting card for Mother's Day!

A Vase Full of Sunshine

By Hazel Holland

I was doodling around with wet colored tissue paper and watercolor pencils and this was the result... a vase full of sunshine!

Why don't you give some sunshine today to someone who has forgotten that the sun is always shining just above the clouds.♥

Heart Flowers

By Hazel Holland
 

I had fun painting these impressionistic heart-shaped flowers.  I don't know if heart-shaped flowers like this already exist, but they do now! 

Then my friend, Chris, reminded me that they look like shamrocks.  Of course, she's right!   I'd forgotten all about the shamrock having heart-shaped petals... actually leaves.  I use to pick them as a child when we lived in Ireland. They always grew down near the ocean.   Every time we would go to the seaside (that's what we called the beach back then) I would look for the little white shamrock flowers so I could pick the heart-shaped leaves.

I'm remembering now that they are related to the clover.  Once in a while in my hunt for shamrocks I would run across a four-leafed shamrock and squeal with delight.  I remember now how the leaves are very sensitive to light.  They will react dramatically to light...opening to sunshine and closing up if the light dims!

I painted the flowers these colors because I wanted some petals to reflect the sky and the clouds, others the green grass and trees, and then one flower was devoted to the color of love.

But love doesn't really come in any shape or color, does it?  Love comes from the heart and shows up in the most unexpected places.♥

Click here and here  for further information on purchasing a copy of this print.  

Sunlight Breaking Through

By Hazel Holland

Desert Blooms

By Hazel Holland

"The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."

Isaiah 35:1

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Desert in the Spring

By Hazel Holland 

Water Reflections

By Hazel Holland

An Oasis in the Desert

By Hazel Holland

"For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams 

in the desert.  The parched ground shall become a pool, 

 and the thirsty land springs of water." Isaiah 35:6-7

The desire of my heart as I painted this impressionistic watercolor yesterday, was to paint something that would draw our attention to Jesus Christ.  I wanted people to know that His gift of salvation is for them, too.

Today I added some grasses and flowers to this painting as I felt that what I had painted yesterday had to do with life springing forth in the desert.  Then quite unexpectedly this familiar Scripture came to mind.  "For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.  The parched ground shall become a pool,  and the thirsty land springs of water." Isaiah 35:6-7

Immediately, I was reminded how Isaiah used phrases such as “the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose”, and “water shall break forth in wilderness” to describe the salvation event that was still in the future.  He used the language and imagery of his time and culture to try and describe the mighty act of God in Jesus Christ, because it was so utterly beyond the limits of his prophetic expression.

What was a mystery to Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets suddenly became clear to the New Testament apostles and prophets by the flood of light that was shed upon them by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ was God's final Word.  He was the fulfillment of their hopes and dreams that had previously been veiled in types and shadows.

What about us today?  Is Jesus Christ the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams?  Do the once “veiled” meanings of Scripture continue to become “unveiled” as the Holy Spirit draws us to this Living Water that has "burst forth in the wilderness"? 

I've found that Jesus Christ is the one Oasis in the desert places of my life that will never run dry!  When I drink from Him I'm not only refreshed by His Living Water, but forever ruined by His love.  So I drink from His well of salvation daily, and invite you to take this same drink that will change your life forever, too.♥

Click here and here for further information on purchasing a copy of this print.

The Butterfly Dance

By Hazel Holland

As I was painting these butterflies I was wanting to depict their beauty and at the same time their delicate frailty.  Butterflies are here today and gone tomorrow because their life cycle is very short.

As I thought about this I was reminded of how much we do not want to face our own fragility as we get older. We don't want to face the fact that the beauty of our youth is gradually being replaced by the wisdom of our years... Our life cycle is short too when you put it into perspective with eternity, isn't it?

But the fleeting moments of our lives cannot be extinguished like the butterfly's, because His resurrection life lives in us. One day when Jesus returns we will be transformed and we will soar again... like beautiful butterflies. ♥

Balance & Perspective

By Hazel Holland

 

What do you see when you look at this painting?  Probably something quite different from what I had in mind when I painted it a number of years ago while I was a special education teacher.    All I had in mind at the time was to paint geometric designs to help my students find the shapes in geometry interesting, and be able to relate them to everyday things. 

That’s why it really surprised me the other day when someone commented that they saw a few Illuminati symbols in my painting.  That was the furthest thing from my mind when I painted it.  So it just goes to show that we see whatever we want to see in these designs.  As for me, I was only interested in making geometry more interesting for my students.  So they, along with me, painted various geometric shapes and designs.  Later their artwork decorated our classroom. 

Today I see many things I never noticed before in this painting.  Do you see the rainbow fish kissing and the Indian arrowheads?  How about the butterfly inside the diamond?  Do you know the difference between the isosceles, acute, and obtuse triangles?  I wonder what the diameter and circumference is of the pizzas and pies?  On the other hand perhaps they're not food at all, but just colorful balls... perhaps marbles?

Do you see the slice of ruby red grapefruit and the green rind that was left on the slice of watermelon?  The small triangle is the pup tent I use to have as a child, but the large triangle is the Great Pyramid.  And I see birds in flight and many pools of cool blue water…

The green and yellow hour glasses on either side of the diamond reminds me of the egg timer I used for making dippy eggs when I was a child.  And I see many letters of the alphabet.  But the image that stands out the most to me is in the very center of this geometric design. It's what holds it all together. A cross!

Yes, the cross brings balance and perspective to our lives, because it reminds us of the One who gave His life for us so that we may live life to the fullest.♥

An Emerald Rainbow

By Hazel Holland

"Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold a throne set in heaven, and
One sat  on the throne.  And He who sat there was like a jasper and
 sardius stone in  appearance,  and there was a rainbow around
the throne, in appearance  like an emerald."  Rev. 4:3

For days now I haven't been able to get the idea out of my head of painting an emerald rainbow.  I know in Revelation 4, John describes a rainbow that he saw around the throne that looked like an emerald.  He further describes the appearance of the One who sat on the throne as being like a jasper and a sardius stone.

What a beautiful description of Jesus Christ, the One who is the Living Stone. It seems to me that the red stones may represent His blood that was given to redeem us.  And perhaps the emerald rainbow around the throne is a symbol of eternal life, and how God faithfully keeps His promises to us. ♥

Gentle Creatures & Curious Friends

By Hazel Holland

Here are the matted and framed prints of two of my paintings that I recently sold to a friend of mine.  If you would like to see an enlargement of these prints, click here and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the prints to enlarge them.


 

Dream Big!

By Hazel Holland

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and

 not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:31

The only way to blow bubbles and enjoy their weightless beauty is to let them go wherever the wind takes them.  As a child I remember trying to "guide" a bubble in the direction I wanted it to fly.  Of course my  "help" only made it burst and disappear.

Our childish dreams are often like soap bubbles, aren't they?  We imagine and pretend and create all sorts of wonderful things in our little minds, never believing for a moment that we can't make them happen. 

But now as adults who live in the real world, we're more realistic and down to earth.  We see things differently than when we were children...  Our dreams of yesterday are but fleeting memories of the good times we had when the world seemed a lot more simple.

But what about our lives today in the realm of the Spirit?  Is it safe for us to dream big and allow Him to carry us in the direction He wants us to go?  If our hope is in God, can we soar high and be the eagles He intended for us to be? ♥   

Feathered Sunshine

By Hazel Holland

I painted another watercolor this afternoon after playing with my grandchildren.  To me they're like  feathered sunshine!  I love to bask in the warm rays of their joy and love...

How about you?  Do you like to bask in the warm rays of God's joy and love?  Does His presence sometimes feel like feathered sunshine to you, too? ♥

Bubbles of Joy

By Hazel Holland

I painted this watercolor after playing with my grandchildren this afternoon.  Bubbles of joy is what I feel inside every time I'm with them... especially today on my birthday!

I wonder if this isn't the kind of exuberant joy God wants us to experience with Him on a regular basis?  What are your thoughts? ♥

The thought that was in my mind as I painted this was that His salvation joy bubbles up inside of us so that we cannot contain it... So it spills out to others who are thirsty for Him!

A Priceless Pearl

By Hazel Holland

Click here to enlarge the image and read the poem!  

I wrote this poem a number of years ago after reading the Scripture that talks about us being the "Pearl of Great Price" (Matthew 13:45). 

“A Priceless Pearl” depicts Jesus Christ who is the Merchant looking for fine pearls.  And He uses the trials and disappointments in our lives to buff out the rough spots and soften the hardened places in our hearts. Eventually we see that He uses the knocks and bruises of life to make us His pearl of great price.♥

Click here for details on purchasing all art prints.

Coming to Rest

By Hazel Holland

At creation when God separated the light from the darkness, He must have anticipated the great eternal  separation of light from darkness that would take place at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

As a result of His glorious work, we have been separated from darkness and brought into His marvelous light.  We have been brought out into a spacious place where we may rest in the work of His grace, because the "work" is already finished!

So the only thing left for us to do is to enjoy sweet fellowship with Him and enter more fully into the  “rest” that he has already provided... Himself!  Our true Sabbath rest is found in Jesus Christ alone... 24/7.♥