The Lions Kiss - Watercolor Painting

The Courage of the Lion
The Strength of the Eagle
The Unity of a Kiss

The Light of Grace
Seen through the Eyes of the Heart
Felt through the Touch of the Hand

The Lion's Kiss. Watercolor Painting 2017.

As I titled this blog, I never know if I should spell watercolor as I did, or as "watercolour", since the second way is the appropriate way to spell it over here in the UK. 

Anyways, my computer auto-corrects "Watercolour" to the American spelling, so I'm sticking with that way for now. 

A week ago my husband was on NASA's website looking at photo's of space Nebulas. They were all so beautiful, but when he showed me this photo, I instantly saw the face of a lion. 

It's funny because before I even said it, Shanen said "It looks like a wing!" I could see exactly what he was talking about, and started to get the idea for my next paining.

I have a love of painting in oils lately, but overtime I do I react so badly to the turpentine substitute. I am currently looking into getting some natural alternative, but since I don't have one yet I decided to pull out my watercolor set.

I printed out the photo and taped it to the top of my easel, and started painting.

I have a habit of trying to copy photos exactly- but then I get super frustrated because it never looks like the photo. But through this process I kept feeling the Spirit say "Paint what you see", and I knew this meant paint what my spirit see's in this photo.

I started getting even more frustrated because I am not use to painting with watercolors, and it's a whole different way to paint. After hours of working on the lion, I finally went to bed and watched a youtube video on how to properly use watercolor paints. 

(I'm such a 'I'll figure it out myself' person). 

Progress from the first day

The thing about painting is you have to learn to let go, a lot.

I was happy with my lion, and I could have easily finished there. But I knew what I was wanting to paint, and what I saw in that nebula photo, was so much more than a lion with a winged mane. 

As I looked at what I had painted (the photo above), I had to let go of the fear inside me of messing it all up.  I knew I had to add more, and that can always result in completely changing the way the painting looks. 

What if I didn't like it as much at I did in that moment? 

Should I settle for a good painting, when I knew I had more to put on the canvas?

But there was more, and I knew I had to take that chance to see where it would go.

This is very similar to the journey God has me on at the moment. 

There is always more, and my heart for Him is always seeking this more.

God is so much more than our minds can possibly comprehend, 

which is why we truly come to know Him in the Spirit. 

So I let go of that fear, and picked up my paints and water and started painting again; adding and defining, and taking lots of changes as I kept looking at the nebula photo and hearing 

'what do you see?'

As the lion formed, so did the girl who He was attached to through a kiss.

He became her wings. 

The lion was her courage, and the wings (representing the eagle) was her strength. 

He was nudging her forward with a kiss of love and light;

this light He was giving her flowed out of her heart, and was released through her hands.

In the end there was a little shape that happened to look like a bird 

(didn't purposefully paint it, but I could see it there, so I made it a bird). 

I know what the bird represents to me, 

but I will leave it to you to feel what it represents to your own life. 

Here is the finished painting.

I will have it mated and on my easy shop in about 2 weeks. 

I hope my painting speaks to your spirit, even if it's something completely different than what I felt while painting this piece; That's the beauty of God- He is alive and always speaking to our Spirits. 

With each and everyone of us being made unique and wonderful, 

I'm sure there is more than only one meaning behind this painting...

There is always more.

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