A Living Hope

A Living Hope. Acrylic - 2015

Something I love about my paintings, is God speaks to me so much when creating them, but also- another person can see the finished painting, and God could speak something completely different to them.

I never want my words hinder others from hearing what God is speaking to them - for we are each unique and going through our own seasons and journeys with him... and no two walks are the same- 

that's the beauty of being His creation. 

But I do like writing what I felt Him say to me in each painting, because sometimes God speaks to us individually as His child, and sometimes He speaks to us all as His children. 

And if my words and meaning is meant to be heard by more than just me- I don't want to keep quiet.

My heart is for God to use my art to encourage, to bring hope, to ignite faith, and to inspire. To speak to your spirit that you are His child, and He will take care of you.

This particular painting (seen on the cover of the album below) is a favorite of many, and was recently used in my loves latest soaking album "Seasons of Rest", 

which is now available on itunes. 

Seasons of Rest by Shanen Soltani Icely

Because it is such a well loved painting and print, I am using it in my upcoming jewelry pieces, and I felt lead to write a newer post, going deeper on the meaning behind it.

For awhile I had not decided on a proper name for this piece... but I have decided to name it "A Living Hope" because of this verse: 

"Blessed be the God and Father of Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading..." 

1 Peter 1:2-4

For this painting- 

(originally written about in my post from 2015: Unlocking Freedom in Creativity) 

-God used the painting process to speak to me, and it was my first step in a whole new way of painting with Him.

You see, in the past God would show me a picture and I would try to paint it, as He spoke to me the meaning. 

But for this piece, I felt him tell me to paint without trying to create something- just worship with the paint and see where the colors move. 

My mind would try to revert to old habits while doing this, bc I would see an image and want to press in and create it. When this would happen I would feel God remind me to let go, and not create- just worship. So I would literally turn the canvas upside down or 90 degrees and begin to paint again- just me, the brush strokes, and God. 

This is what came out, and I was happy with it as I left it to dry...

I came back to the painting later, and felt it just wasn't finished- But this time I felt God tell me to look into it and paint what I see.

So I did.

I saw the beautiful dark night sky and light breaking over mountain tops in a sudden wave- 

I saw a burning tree- but the burning bringing forth life instead of death.

And I saw old fruit of this tree, which had fallen away and been forgotten, begin to sprout and bloom in an unexpected way.

As I painted this I was particularly drawn to the "old fruit" I saw on the ground by the burning tree.

God really spoke to my heart in this area as I worked on it, and painted a girl blooming up and out of the fruit. This is what I felt Him say:

"Waters cannot quench My love. Be rooted in Me and let it burn. Sometimes fruit needs to fall to the ground, but that doesn't mean it was ever waisted. For the fruit that fell without being eaten, will bring forth new life in it's season from the seeds it holds within. You haven't missed anything- your season to bloom has arrived."

As I mentioned, this painting is be used in my upcoming jewelry- both in it's original format, and one where I've inverted the colors.

 I absolutely love how it looks in both forms. I especially love the inverted one, and how the girl is outlined in white as she blooms through the darkness. 

Here's how it looks in the pendants...

Looking back on the meaning of this painting, I love seeing what God has done with my life since the day I created it. 

It really was the start of a new thing- bringing forth life out of forgotten things, blooming in seasons where so much was (and still is) going on. As I look at and reflect on this piece, I still feel this is exactly where I am- and there is no where else I want to be. 

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