Amplified People

As many of you know, I draw in church. When I lived in Tulsa the person I drew at church most often was the pianist. We sat in just the right location to get a good view of her so she was a ready subject. When we moved to Texas and found a church the orchestra was behind a low wall so I didn’t have a good view of them. However, I did have a good view of the singers who led the worship. Next thing you know I was drawing a lot of people with microphones. Most of the time I would actually not draw them while they were standing up in front. I would look at them while they sang, memorize certain things about how they stood, held the microphone, what they wore, etc. Then while the sermon was being preached I would start the drawing with that person in mind. I didn’t worry about being accurate, it was just a place to start on the page.

Drawing of a woman singing into a microphone. She has on a dark pink dress and a dark gray sweater vest. Her hair dark red, wavy and above her shoulders. She has blush and red lips. Her eyeshadow is green. She is in a simple landscape of green and brown with the sun in the blue sky. There is an empty talk bubble coming from her mouth.

‘The Mottled Woman’, ink on paper, 2022

Sometimes I think of something the person is saying or thinking, other times I don’t.

Drawing of a woman with a microphone singing on a church stage. She has red hair, a pale brown blouse and blue pants. There is a talk bubble on the left filled with rectangles in rainbow colors. There is a thought bubble on the right filled with rectangles of light and dark gray.

‘The Colors and the Grays’, ink on paper, 2023

Drawing of a woman holding a microphone singing in front of church with the choir in the background. There is a talk bubble on the left side that has a picture of an apple in it and a thought bubble on the left side that has a picture of an orange in it.

Singing Apples, Thinking Oranges

At the Edge

The one thing that occurs to me again and again, especially in Christian circles, is how different what we say is from what we think.

‘The Sea Angel’, ink on paper, 2022

Some people are able to rise above. Not many, but some.

Drawing of a blonde woman singing into a microphone on an outdoor stage. She is wearing a gray hat, green blouse and light blue pants.

‘Cathie Hill Singing’, ink on paper, 2023

My sister-in-law singing at her outdoor church in Colorado.

‘Eve with Singing Snake’, ink on paper, 2022

What if the snake had listened to Eve instead of the other way around?

‘The Singer and the Pain’, ink on paper, 2022

The thing is, people say things often because they believe it convinces others of who they are. But if you are around someone long enough their actions say who they are not their words and no one is fooled.

‘Interview with a Meteorite’, ink on paper, 2023

The drawing attention to disasters all around the world, the big crazy ones, is often a tool by which we hide our own disasters from ourselves and others.

‘Halo of Guilt’, ink on paper, 2023

Being a saint is as much a curse as it is a blessing. You know you did barely anything to deserve the accolade and yet you can’t escape it. BTW, I do not know this from first hand experience.