💚 This is the first piece I completed in my latest series called Mixed Emotions. The series includes 5 different studies of mixed media. I combined as many different mediums as I possibly could on each panel. This was an exploration of color pencil, chalks, conte crayons, oil pastels, markers, watercolors, acrylics, metallic pens, glazes, and epoxy.
💚 Created in March of 2023, panel #1 went through stages where I thought perhaps I should just trash it-- give up and "march" on! But I didn't, and I wouldn't. I just kept going, trying, and learning. Hoping that each new layer would somehow turn a corner and reveal a reward, I pushed on. I'm glad I did because this one makes me quite happy.
💚Green is my favorite color, so fresh and lively. And when light hits the panel from certain angles, you glimpse shimmering metallics, too! There you have it, Hope Springs Eternal.
💚 You've heard it said that hope springs eternal. The phrase is part of the line "Hope springs eternal in the human breast," from the poem Essay on Man written by Alexander Pope in 1733.
💚 "Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
💚 Man never is, but always to be blest:
💚 The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
💚 Rests and expatiates in a life to come." ~Alexander Pope, 1733
💚 This excerpt from Pope's poem written nearly 300 years ago expresses that we can always find a reason to hope, even in the bleakest, most desolate, and desperate situations. Let us hold onto the eternal sense of hope that God has placed within all human souls
💚 And we must hope because we can’t have faith without hope. Hope activates faith: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 1:11)
💚 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:3-5, NLT)