The Speech of the Created World

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
Psalm 36:5 thru 7

Donna and I read this Psalm one morning before we started our day in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I am always amazed at the mercy of God to us; We who do not deserve it and can’t earn it. He invites us into His righteousness through the blood of Christ.

Mid-October Donna and I were blessed to travel to “the old country” of east Tennessee. We left the “big sky” land of Texas and headed east, by way of Memphis. The final destination was Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, not far from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The long drive “back east” is always an adventure; this trip had the bonus of traveling with our awesome daughter and granddaughter. They always make the trip more interesting and “lively”, as well as entertaining. We four travelers voted every time we came to another Buc-ee’s, in order to make a decision whether to stop or not. (We stopped at every one of them except one) Buc-ee’s has finally made it to east Tennessee, so our last stop at the beaver’s crazy big “convenience” store was Crossville, a couple hours from our final goal. We rolled into Pigeon Forge about sunset and caught our first glimpse of the majestic mountains that seemed to be guarding the towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. These mountains and their towns are a strange mix of the past and present. Commerce and some of the most beautiful landscapes God has created are wrapped in a unique bundle, fresh air and mountain streams competing with the smell of cotton candy and about any kind of food you can imagine… and pancakes. Lots of pancakes. Words seem hollow and very inadequate when it comes to describing the beauty of this mountainous region. The words of Psalm 19 are so true… “the Heavens declare the Glory of God…”

We made Pigeon Forge our destination because for years my awesome mother-in-law has had a time-share condo there in Pigeon Forge, and it has been a blessing to stay there when we visit the area around the Smoky Mountains. Donna wanted to spend some time with her mother on this trip, so I drug my oils, gouache and some greyscale markers from Texas and when she and her mother were relaxing in the condo or hitting the shops of Pigeon Forge, or exploring the surrounding countryside, I sought out quiet places to paint…places where the crowds that came to see the fall colors had not penetrated.  I found several awesome spots.

The first place I came across was a very old, covered bridge in Harrisburg, Tennessee, just a few minutes from Pigeon Forge. I think the small river it stretched across may have been called the Little Pigeon River, and it was beautiful…and quiet. Except when a car made its way across the 149-year-old wooden covered bridge. The single lane bridge popped and moaned and complained with every car, and I’m sure some of the drivers wondered it they would make the span without visiting the river below.

I love wood and architecture, so the heavy wooden timbers and “old school” construction of this historic bridge was a real treat to investigate. After I checked out the heavy timbers and construction of the bridge, I grabbed some watercolor paper, gouache and greyscale markers and climbed down to the creek bed so I could see the bridge from the river’s point of view. The late afternoon sun was backlighting the fall leaves and casting shadows under the bridge and down the bank and across the river. I did a quick value study with the greyscale markers, then a quick gouache color study while sitting in a 3-legged camp stool that was not “happy” with the soft sand and mud of the river bank. After some aggravation and having to only fish one marker out of the water, I hopefully captured a bit of the essence of the scene. I hoped to return with oils and paint the next day.

Next day, I returned with our “crew” (Donna, mother-in-law Ruby, daughter Christy and granddaughter M’Kiah) to show them the bridge and to possibly paint an oil painting. We were blessed to meet Mr. Woody, a very interesting native of the area who owned the land, house and property that bordered the creek and bridge. He gave us a great overview of the history of the bridge and the surrounding area and was kind enough to allow me to set up my easel on his property, which proved to be the perfect spot to paint a Plein Air oil painting of the historic bridge. I enjoyed a “picture perfect” morning painting in a perfect location.

On another day I headed into the Smoky Mountain National Park to find a quiet location to paint. One of the places I knew about from a previous visit was a small river called the Little River. The Little River runs through the park and also runs beside the road to Elkmont Campground. The road to Elkmont Campground is always less traveled than the main roads through the National Park that most visitors travel. I found several places to park and paint on this quiet, little road. The first location was about a hundred feet from the road and only visited by fly-fishermen, hoping to catch one of the large Brown Trout that make the Smokie’s many streams their home.  At this spot there was an old bridge, part rock, part steel and part wood that provided the park rangers with access to the other side of the Little River.

In an effort to plan my paintings a bit more, I have lately been working out greyscale drawings before I paint. It helps with values and composition. I worked out a greyscale drawing of this scene to help establish and hopefully solve problems with value and composition. Then I set up my easel and started an oil painting.

After about an hour of painting, I was re-adjusting my umbrella when I noticed a large bird flying up the river bed about 20 feet off the water. I first thought it was a great blue heron, having only caught a flash of movement from its wings. As it got closer, I saw that it was a bald eagle that was navigating the river channel with all the beauty and majesty that God had intended when He created it. It was an awesome sight. The eagle at first didn’t see me, I guess because I was under the umbrella, but when it was almost even with me, about 30 feet away, he caught a glimpse of me and the movement of the umbrella and with all of it’s 6 feet wing span changed direction and headed straight toward the sky, no doubt thinking to leave me with it. But then it changed its mind and came back down and continued in the same direction for about 75 feet and landed in a tall sycamore tree. The leaves of the tree added to this awesome site because they were starting to get some fall color. When I saw this truly awesome display of God’s creative power, I thought of God’s promise to believers in Isaiah 40. Verses 28 thru 31 say this:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

When I first truly grasp the gospel back in the mid 80’s, I read several books by Francis Schaeffer- Two of those books were “The God Who is There” and “He is There and He is Not Silent”. These works are excellent resources for gaining an understanding of who God is and His plans for us. One of the solid principles Schaeffer brings out is that God has indeed revealed Himself in His creation first, and then through His written Word. Psalm 19 wraps this principle up nicely:

 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”
Psalm 19:1 and 2

So, when we read “They that wait on the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles” we can be amazed as we observe the eagle in flight. It’s a living illustration of a principle in God’s written word.

Or, when the written word says “Your righteousness is like the great mountains” (Psalm 36:6a), we can stand in awe while looking at the Appalachian Mountains, or any mountain, and know that God’s righteous is massive and so far beyond us. And this righteousness is available to all who believe and trust Christ… this faith applies the righteousness of Christ to all who believe.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

It’s always an awesome thing to drag an easel into the great outdoors that God has given us and create and paint, remembering Who created it all, and being amazed at His grace towards us in Christ.

The last day I was able to paint in the Smokies I returned to this spot and set up my easel and painted a detail of the river and part of the river bank. I didn’t see the eagle this time, but I did watch a river otter work its way up the river, diving for crawdads or salamanders or fish, as it worked its way past me and then on up the river bed till it was out of sight. Maybe the eagle was wanting some otter for lunch…

Between these two outings mentioned above, I set up back on the Little River but a mile or so downstream from the bridge. But before I went out to this spot, the night before, back at the condo, I worked out the composition with my greyscale markers from a photo I shot that day.  It always helps to get familiar with the subject before painting if at all possible. It helps solve the problems that will come up in the process.

So next day, I went back to this third location on the Little River. It was a beautiful spot with the leaves in the process of changing color and falling into the river. Again, a very quiet spot, only an occasional fly-fisherman working the stream for one of the three species of trout in the Smokies. The wife of one of the fishermen was also a photographer and stopped by and chatted a bit as she shot some cool photos. I always love meeting people while out painting. Always find some interesting stories in the Journey. 

The last painting I want to share is of a place outside Pigeon Forge. It’s a simple scene of mountains, barn and trees, but it kind of intrigued me so I pulled off the road onto some unknown person’s property and started a quick drawing and painting. I soon found out who owned the land when he pulled up behind me to see what I was doing on his property. I told him the mountain scene with the barn was awesome and wanted to paint it; I then ask if I needed to leave his property. He said it was no problem at all, and it was his wife who made him come down. He then told me a bit about the folks in the area, about the Tennessee “right-of-way” laws, (which don’t really exist) and then left me with it. It was a beautiful afternoon.

************IMAGE OF MOUNTAIN BARN

To sum up this trip, it was a continuing learning experience both in art and who God is and His plans for us. I created about 12 little paintings and drawings, each one teaching a little more about the finer aspects of color, value and design. And, I was reminded of the old truth that God wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives, showing us His mercy and grace and how His awesome creation teaches us more about who He is.

“The heavens declare the glory of  God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2  Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3  There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4  Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5  Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6  Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. 7  The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. Psalm 19: 1 thru 9