Saturday, September 27, 2008

Lustful and Carefree


Lust



Carefree


Psalm 126

When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.

Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."

The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams of the Negev.

Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.

He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.

What a passage, huh? That's pretty much my favorite verse right now...it's been a real encouragement. And there's the second week of Character Creation! This week we had to design two characters...one embodying our best trait and one embodying our worst. So, here they are!
I felt it was an opportunity to be a little uncomfortably honest and open up the discussion. I'm convinced that (with the Lust piece), though the theme may be gross and most people would prefer to avoid it altogether, it should be openly addressed and so put more thoroughly to death!
So, I think the Psalm puts the two pieces in context. Only through Christ is there victory, and how!
I certainly didn't set out to make something gratuitously "dirty" or inappropriate...and I hope nobody's offended by this sort of thing. I just wanted to be honest, and it's really important to me not to make light of evil. To call sin "sin" is really vital! And to put that in context with Joy and freedom! (That's a whole 'nother conversation...but I feel like even in stories geared towards 'kids', evil should be honestly portrayed. The Bible doesn't skimp on it's accounts of sex, death, war and cruelty and neither should we!) Anyways, I hope you can enjoy and appreciate these as such. I can ramble on, but I'd hope these two stand on their own in tension. Hopefully it provokes some good thought and conversation.

Carefree just sort of came together this week for the assignment, but the Lust design I've been wanting to do since last year's seniors completed this same assignment! The actual design has changed drastically since it's original incarnation, and you'll remember the crotch-arm from a previous piece, perhaps?

Anyways, here are some of the recent sketches in progression to that final piece:





Also, I forgot to post one last little color study I did at the end of the summer...it's a palette I want very badly to revisit...I'll leave you with it:





Enjoy!
-Nick

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm taking your palette and squirreling it away for later use. If you have any more, now is the time. I would be most grateful.

Kristi said...

Great characters, Psalm, and thoughts here. It's good to be brave and call it "sin". Nobody wants to hear that word. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

You and I have a problem sir. Why did it take your sister to tell me about this wonderful blog? I'm hurt!
It looks amazing Nick and I'm thrilled to see you are combating your worst with the fire of a warrior of God.

Love ya man
-Adam

poetsforpeanuts said...

Hey there! Awesome post, I enjoyed reading it and the Psalm was so lovely, it's one of my favorites too. Just wanted to clear the air and make sure we're cool cuz you didn't respond to my last comment on your Lust piece on DA -- I hope I didn't insult you somehow! I'd really hate that. :) I'm very deeply sorry if I did! Your faith is genuine and refreshing and I think it's wonderful that you address this stuff so honestly, and so creatively!

God bless, and keep on keepin on! ^_^

Nicholas Kole said...

nah, we're cool! I'm sorry I haven't been very diligent about responding to comments recently...I've been in the full swing of school and it's hard to keep up with these things! Thanks, though...it's great to hear you like the work! It's been a cool time for me...lots to think about here at school these last weeks! It's been a really good and really trying time.
God bless!
Nick

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