Mayor Simmons receives painting "A Beautiful Night"

The painting took 2 hours live, and it was indeed challenging to work in dim light as the sun set, even with a clamp light! I worked on it later in the studio in full daylight to refine it. 

My family and I attend a local church in our community called Pentecostal Tabernacle. Two of the many reasons I love this church are because of our involvement in the community and our embracing of the arts.

Our pastor, Bishop Brian Greene, invited me to create a "prophetic live painting" during an outdoor summer concert that the area churches hold on the front lawn of Cambridge City Hall. A prophetic live painting is sometimes done in church settings when an artist sets up and paints in front of an audience, spiritually inspired. The painting is done in real time as people watch the process. I have done this before in indoor settings, so at first I was unsure about painting live in a large public place! How would I get my supplies, easel, and everything to the site... I was already very busy that week... After entertaining all the "what if's" I felt a prompting, perhaps from God. It was a nudge to go for it. So I said yes. Something happened so that my time opened up, and four men from the church showed up at my studio to carry all my supplies for me. I believe God met me in the areas of  my concern once I said yes.

The night itself was just beautiful - a warm and breezy summer night. A huge crowd turned out. The gospel and worship singers and musicians were incredibly talented, and the youth step dance team was amazing!! Volunteers from different churches were giving food and personal items to homeless individuals. It seemed like everyone was hugging and smiling all over the place. It was truly a night of the community ignoring barriers and instead, coming together. I sought to capture the night's spiritual essence while also setting it into its grounded context with the architectural elements of the historic brownstone of City Hall as the sun set and cast its warm glow on its  gable windows. Art is an expression that also crosses lines and hopefully transcends the need for too many words.

Without my knowledge, our city's mayor was behind me taking pictures as the painting developed. Bishop Greene wondered if the mayor would like to receive the painting as a gift, and indeed she replied she would be honored. She said she would hang it in her office. I am the one who is honored!

Incidentally, this concert took place just before the terrible nightclub shooting in Orlando. So that Sunday morning, our city's flags flew at half mast, and continued to for what seemed like months with the later ensuing shootings across the country over the course of the summer. I couldn't help making the comparison between such a night where love and safety was felt in one city, and a night where hatred and fear was felt in another city. What happened in Orlando could easily have happened to us, and I'm sure many citizens everywhere think about that. Our city's public concert didn't make national news, but it was a night to remember for those of us who were there, and perhaps nights like this do have a lasting spiritual and emotional impact on a place, just as the opposite is true. I hope this painting will be a blessing to our city's Mayor. I'm praying for our world to reject hatred and fear, and choose instead to embrace care, love, and unity.

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Thank you to Bishop Brian Greene for the opportunity to participate, to my church friends for transporting all my gear, and to Karanda Bowman for the pictures here.