THE HARVEST IS READY

     The Harvest is Ready is an original painting of one of the most incredible days my husband and I have ever experienced. For the full version  you can contact me and ask for the e-mail with the story complete with pictures.  But, here, I will only give the mini version.

     We came upon this beautiful bright yellow field of rapeseed while lost in the English countryside. My husband, Brad, jumped out of the car and stood in the field with his arms uplifted to heaven, thanking God for His beautiful creation. I snapped the picture. In the original picture Brad was wearing black pants with a dark black plaid shirt. I chose to paint him in blue jeans with a blue shirt to show the details which could not be seen in the black plaid shirt. The ultramarine blue (purple-blue) paint that I chose is also more complementary to the bright yellow field and made for a better composition.

     The yellow flowers are rapeseed which produces oil perfect for use in oil lamps. It symbolizes  that we should always keep oil burning in our lamps and be ready for Jesus to return. The yellow rapeseed flowers also symbolize that the harvest is ready, thus the title of the painting.

     The sheep in the background represent those who are following Christ, for we are His sheep and He is our Shepherd. Brad is at the Golden Mean with his arms lifted in praise to God. The Golden Mean is reflected throughout God’s orderly creation, thus it is pleasing to the viewer.

     The Harvest is Ready is painted on a un-tempered masonite covered with fine Belgian linen and coated with five layers of Renaissance marble gesso. The board is supported by oak strips. The under-painting is painted in verdaccio (grey-green ten value palette) The finished painting is coated with a special oil medium. One year later the final painting was coated with five layers of damar varnish. It should last hundreds of years if kept out of direct sunlight.