Finally, I am in the vocation that I was born to be in. To be one of God’s paintbrushes and heed the call of Pope St. John Paul II in his 1999, Letter to Artists. A call to stir that hidden nostalgia for God and lead into the infinite ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy! I am beyond blessed and incredibly humbled with this gift. It took most of my life to finally get here.
One of my favorite scripture passages which I reflect on while in my studio is James 1:17 which reads “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or a shifting shadow.” Another favorite is John 17:11 “… And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.” Simply… You and I are one. A message I once experienced in a vision. While I create something out of something, God creates something out of nothing and all Praise & Glory belongs to Him! I am just a messenger and I am blessed to be one of His paintbrushes.
When I am in my studio and before I begin to paint, I pray and also listen to 4 Christian songs, in this order:
- He knows my name by Francesca Battistelli
- Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli
- Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin
- So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong Worship
The 1st song captures how I feel about secular recognition – it’s not important because what truly matters is that “I am famous in my Father’s eyes” who is my Lord, God and King – my Heavenly Father.
And then I continue to pray while I paint while never forgetting that my parents prayed for me to be born (almost died in utero); I was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and named after my mom, Mercedes (she’s called Mercy or Ched and I am known as Merci – for my every breath is a prayer of thanks).
Anyway, I will be uploading my favorites as I finish them. Like this one of the stations of the cross…
Meanwhile, enjoy the Art and many thanks for dropping by … PEACE!
PS
Now there exists a wikiart page about my work, please take a peek at https://www.wikiart.org/en/merci-f-mccoy
