By Scott Kahn (b. 1946), Autumn Moon, 2014-2015, oil on linen, 24 1/8 x 28 1/8 inches (61.3 x 71.5 cm), ©️ Scott Kahn, photo: Christie’s London, 1 Mar 2023. #art #painting #oilpainting

From the lot essay: “Kahn’s work often returns to the natural world, as he observes, remembers and imagines it. Describing Autumn Moon in 2015, Kahn wrote: ‘The inspiration has to be strong and compelling. If I am not moved to begin a painting, how can I expect the viewer to be moved and compelled to look at it? I envy those artists who go seamlessly from one painting to the next, who have an inventory of ideas waiting to be expressed. My paintings don’t just fall off my brush.’”

The artist’s website: https://www.scottkahnpainter.com/paintings/view/180

A Prayer at Daybreak, by St. Sophrony of Essex

O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things, who of Thine inscrutable goodness didst call me to this life; who didst bestow on me the grace of Baptism and the seal of the Holy Spirit; who hast imbued me with the desire to seek Thee, the one true God: hear my prayer.

I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom; no strength except in Thee, O God. Because of my unrighteousness I dare not raise my eyes to Thee. But Thou didst say to Thy disciples, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,” and “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do.” Therefore I dare to invoke Thee. Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit. Teach me to pray aright.

Bless this day which Thou dost give unto me, Thine unworthy servant. By the power of Thy blessing enable me at all times to speak and act to Thy glory, with a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom: aware always of Thy presence.

In Thine immense goodness, O Lord God, show me the path of Thy will, and grant me to walk in Thy sight without sin. O Lord, unto whom all hearts be open, Thou knowest what things I have need of. Thou art acquainted with my blindness and my ignorance, Thou knowest my infirmity and my soul’s corruption; but neither are my pain and anguish hid from Thee.

Therefore I beseech Thee, hear my prayer, and by Thy Holy Spirit teach me the way wherein I should walk; and when my perverted will would lead me down other paths, spare me not, O Lord, but force me back to Thee. By the power of Thy love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good. Preserve me from every word or deed that corrupts the soul; from every impulse unpleasing in Thy sight and hurtful to my fellow-man.

Teach me what I should say and how I should speak. If it be Thy will that I make no answer, inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace that causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow.

Establish me in the path of Thy commandments, and to my last breath let me not stray from the light of Thine ordinances, that Thy commandments may become the sole law of my being on this earth and in all eternity.

Yea, O Lord, I pray Thee, have pity on me. Spare me in mine affliction and my misery, and hide not the way of salvation from me.

In my foolishness, O God, I plead with Thee for many and great things. Yet am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness. Have mercy upon me. Cast me not away from Thy presence because of my presumption. Do Thou rather increase in me this presumption, and grant unto me, the worst of men, to love Thee as thou hast commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength; with my whole being.

Yea, O Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge. Grant me to know Thy truth before I go down unto the grave. Maintain my life in this world until I may offer unto Thee worthy repentance.

Take me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind. When Thou shalt be pleased to bring my life to an end, forewarn me that I may prepare my soul to come before Thee. Be with me, O Lord, at that dread hour, and grant me the joy of salvation.

Cleanse Thou me from secret faults, from all iniquity that is hid in me; and give me a right answer before Thy judgment-seat.

Yea, Lord, of Thy great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind, hear my prayer. Amen.

Getting ready for outdoor liturgy.

#SilentSunday

By Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918), the first professional African American painter in the Pacific Northwest, “Castle Geyser, Yellowstone,” 1890, oil on canvas, 21.125 x 14.375 inches, The William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection at the Denver Art Museum. #art #blackart #blackartist #blackartists #BlackHistory #arthistory

From the museum: “Like his parents and siblings, Brown was listed as Black in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. His biographer Robert Chandler states that in Sacramento, where Brown landed in 1858, he was also listed as Black. However, after his move to San Francisco in 1861, this racial identifier disappeared. As Caoimhe Morgan-Feir writes for Canadian Art, the fact that his race was not identified in publicity for an exhibition of his landscape paintings in Victoria, BC, probably underscores that he passed there as white. If Brown had been perceived as Black, it would have certainly made the papers. This omission matters, for it helps reveal how Brown negotiated racial prejudice by passing as white within the notoriously exclusionary field of fine art. It also reminds us to pay attention to the omissions in our own historical collections, in which works by Black artists and other artists of color are all too frequently missing. The Civil Rights era of the 1960s inspired a renewed look at the work of Black artists including Grafton Tyler Brown. Since then, scholars, curators, and collectors have worked to ensure that his work and life is included in the larger history of American art.”

On this day we remember the prophet Hosea.

Hosea was the son of Beeri of the tribe of Issachar. Hosea lived and prophesied more than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. His divinely inspired words are found in his book, which contains fourteen chapters. He strongly rebuked Israel and Judah for their idolatry and also foretold God’s punishment for their sins, the destruction of Samaria and Israel for their apostasy, and God's mercy on the tribe of Judah. He foretold the abolition of the sacrifices of the Old Testament, the coming of the Lord, and the richness of gifts that He would bring with Him to earth. He lived to a very old age and entered peacefully into rest.

Coffee check-in! In the grand tradition of @drose, let’s see those mugs o’ joe!

#coffee

I am at the annual Carolinas Deanery campout this weekend in Hot Springs, NC. This is attended by families from Orthodox churches from all over North and South Carolina; we spend the weekend together in the campground right next to the French Broad River.

Every year on the Saturday morning of this weekend, we sing the Akathist “Glory to God for All Things,” composed by a Russian bishop imprisoned in the Gulag in the 1930s. It is a joyous hymn praising God for all that we encounter in life. If you have been feeling like you have very little to give thanks for, I highly recommend reading or praying this text.

https://saintjonah.org/services/thanksgiving.htm

What is your favorite type of tree?

By Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), Christina's World, 1948, tempera on panel, 32 1/4 x 47 3/4 inches (81.9 x 121.3 cm), Museum of Modern Art, New York. #art #arthistory #painting #oilpainting

From the museum: ‘Wyeth’s neighbor Anna Christina Olson inspired the composition, which is one of four paint­ings by Wyeth in which she appears. As a young girl, Olson developed a degenerative muscle condition—possibly polio—that left her unable to walk. She refused to use a wheelchair, preferring to crawl, as depicted here, using her arms to drag her lower body along. “The challenge to me,” Wyeth explained, “was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless.”

The high level of detail Wyeth gave to every object in his paintings encourages intense inspection, but his titles reveal the inner significance of their outwardly straightforward subjects. The title Christina’s World, courtesy of Wyeth’s wife, indicates that the painting is more a psychological landscape than a portrait, a portrayal of a state of mind rather than a place.’

Jesus teaches that good deeds are a valid exception to the sabbath rest: If you see someone in need, someone suffering, someone you can pray for and maybe even heal, 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

In his day, Pharisees taught otherwise. Over time they adopted Jesus’s view, but it decidedly wasn’t what they believed when they objected to Jesus curing the sick on sabbath—even though, as Jesus pointed out, there’s precedent for his view on the Law of Moses.

https://www.christalmighty.net/2019/08/fair.html

By Clyde Singer (1908-1999), “Autumn,” 1939, oil on canvas, 26 7/8 x 19 1/2 inches (68.3 x 49.5 cm), photo: Bonhams New York, 25 May 2023. The headline reads: “Germans Bomb Warsaw.” More info in ALT. #art #arthistory #painting #oilpainting

From Bonhams: “Painted in 1939, the emotion of the lone figure and bleak underpinnings of the scene can be interpreted as an expression of both Singer's and America's anxiety toward an impending global conflict.“

Where’d Jesus get his teachings from? That’s what the Judeans who overheard him teaching in temple wanted to know; he hadn’t studied in their academies and wasn’t quoting their favorite rabbis. But he 𝘸𝘢𝘴 smarter than your average scribe; they had to acknowledge that at least.

Christians already know the answer—he got ’em directly from God.

https://www.christalmighty.net/2019/08/ideas.html

By Henri Le Sidaner (1862–1939), Canal in Autumn (Gisors), oil on canvas, 53.3 x 63.5 cm (21 x 25 inches), Cleveland Museum of Art. #art #arthistory #painting #oilpainting

From the museum: “Le Sidaner often painted from memory rather than directly on site, and his subdued use of color applied in uneven brushstrokes bring a poetic, dreamlike effect to his paintings.”

At the beginning of John 7, Jesus’s family is headed to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles, and Jesus says he's not going this year. But then he goes anyway—secretly.

No Christian reads this as subterfuge on Jesus's part. But we gotta admit at first glance it sure does 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 like it.

https://www.christalmighty.net/2019/08/going.html

Je viens de recevoir un spam pour une « assurance prud'homale ». Iels le promettent, c'est le sujet du pourriel : « Nous payons vos condamnations prud'homales ».

C'est légal ce genre d'horreurs ?

#DroitDuTravail #PrudHommes

By Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942), one of 30 different color woodblock prints from the album A Thousand Grasses, 1900. #arthistory #printmaking #japaneseart #art

From Artvee: “Kamisaka Sekka was an important artistic figure in early twentieth-century Japan. Born in Kyoto to a Samurai family, his talents for art and design were recognized early. He eventually allied himself with the traditional Rinpa school of art. He is considered the last great proponent of this artistic tradition. Sekka also worked in lacquer and in a variety of other media.”

By John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), October Afterglow, 1885, oil on canvas, 77 by 63.5 cm (30¼ by 25 inches), photo: Sotheby’s London, 10 December 2019. #painting #oilpainting #arthistory #art

“Evil thoughts which arise against our will are accompanied by remorse, and so they soon disappear; but when they are freely chosen, they are accompanied by pleasure, and so they are hard to get rid of.”

— St. Mark the Ascetic

By Claude Monet (1840-1926), Autumn Effect at Argenteuil , 1873, The Courtauld, London. #arthistory #painting #oilpainting #impressionism

From the museum: “Claude Monet lived in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris, from 1871 to 1878. It was an affordable alternative to the capital, easily accessible by the new railroads. As a formerly rural town undergoing rapid industrial change, it also offered him a uniquely modern landscape.”