The Evolution of "Love Does"

 I am fascinated by how paintings evolve.

Especially when one does not start out

with a particular image in mind.  Such was

the case with this painting.  What began as

an abstract in which I wanted to simply use 

up the leftover paint from my last painting,

morphed into something else completely.

I have begun to photograph the stages that

my paintings go through.  I find it helps me

gain a different perspective and gives me

a new set of eyes with which to see what

needs changing or adding or more attention.

In the case of this abstract, I noticed the curve

of turquoise and thought it looked like the

edge of a halo - the kind saints have in icons,

and thus the journey began...

Doing the initial rough sketch.

Trying out different color combinations.

Hmmm...to add a cross...or

not.  This was a turning point.  A sadness crept in and

 I did not know if this was going to be a man or a woman.

I enjoy listening to spoken word pieces while I paint.

They may be audio books, podcasts, lectures, 

or even sermons.  At this juncture, I had begun 

to listen to a sermon in which the minister

referenced the story of Rizpah from the Old

Testament, which can be found  in II Samuel 21:8-14.

Now the story of Rizpah normally doesn't get a

whole lot of air time in sermons.  Hers is a sad, 

difficult and painful story.   In fact, in my

54 years, I do not recall ever having heard a

sermon about her.  So her story really got my attention,

and began to resonate on many different levels.

Rizpah exhibits a depth of love as she mourns and

grieves the unjust and untimely death of her two sons,

that puts everything else happening in the story into

 perspective.  Once the painting was complete, I went 

on to do more reading about Rizpah.  British Rabbi, 

Jonathan Magonet describes her as "every mother who

 sees her sons killed before their time for reasons of state, 

be they in time of peace or in war.  All that remains is for

 her to preserve the dignity of their memory and live 

on to bear witness and call to account the rulers of

 the world."  I also learned that Alfred Lord Tennyson

 wrote a poem entitled, "Rizpah," which reads in part:

"Flesh of my flesh was gone, 

But bone of my bone was left - 

I stole them all from the lawyer - 

and will you call it a theft? 

 My baby, my bones, that had sucked me, 

the bones that had laughed and had cried.

Theirs?  O no! they are mine - 

not theirs - 

they had moved in my side."

"Love Does" by Stacy Wills
(22" x 22" acrylic on watercolor paper)

I chose to name it, "Love Does," because that is the title
 of the sermon by Pastor Jon Stone of Renovatus Church
that I was listening to online which inspired the final
direction the painting took.  When all seems lost, and
   no one knows what else there is to do...Love does.