"Forgiven" by Thomas Blackshear

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Thomas Blackshear, one of my favorite artists, was interviewed by author J. Scott McElroy in his book “Finding Divine Inspiration”. Scott asks the artist “How does God work with you in your creative process?”

Now if you don’t recognize Blackshear by name, I’m sure you’ve seen his work if you’ve been anywhere near a Christian bookstore within the past few years. One of his most famous paintings, “Forgiven”, touches the spirit of many that view it, even to the point where some have fallen to their knees in tears.

Thomas Blackshear

Scott’s interview with Blackshear addresses that. Without giving it all away, so that you can see for yourself, here’s a brief overview:

Willing to Wait:

Blackshear describes how part of his process is going to God in prayer, asking that God would reveal to him the vision of the work he is suppose to create and to wait on it to come. He has learned to be patient and wait until God reveals the image rather than getting ahead of God and creating something “pretty” that doesn’t accomplish anything.

Neutrality:

Scott’s interview with Blackshear also discusses that although he may have his own ideas about the next project, Blackshear allows those ideas to take a backseat to the ideas revealed to him by God.

Fasting and Praying:

"Watchers In The Night" by Thomas Blackshear

I don’t think that God meant for us to play “guessing games” when it comes to hearing His voice. I believe that He’s always speaking, but we have a lot of noise drowning out what he was saying. Blackshear uses the time during  fasts to shut out distractions as he waits to sense what God wants to create through him.