This little Light of Mine

To help me raise funds for my internship I had an idea to sell some paintings. I was faced with a big goal and not quite sure how I was going to get enough money for accomplish it. The internship itself cost just under $5000, and that's not considering life expenses, like car payments, insurance, money for whatever else comes up, etc. This covers housing, food, classes, and ministry trips during the internship, so considering all of that, the price is actually really good, but when was the last time that any of us ever paid for the next six months of our lives up front? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I also understand that there are lots of really good causes that need financial support too, so to help me reach my goal I decided that I should have an art show. One friend, Kyle Foster, even donated some photos of his to me to display and sell at the show. He's a fantastic photographer (and I'm not just saying that in case he reads this.) so it was an honor to have his work there as well. It took me a lot of work, but it was very exciting to get it all together and see those who were able to come out and help me. I had my photos reprinted and mounted, some of the graphic posters I've made up on the computer, several paintings, and many many many postcards.

One project that I did especially for the gallery night was one I called "This little Light of Mine". For the past several years candles and light have been a theme in my art. I like the way that fire and light symbolize and express the Lord. Passion. Clarity. Life. Oh man, I could probably go on for a while. Since I was in need of more product to sell during my gallery, I got the idea to paint on smaller 6"x8" canvas an individually unique candle. Each one is singed and numbered 1 - 50 in the order that I started them.

This is probably the most elaborate project I've tackled and second in size only to the one I recently did for my Mom. It was really exciting, to be painting them all, and I would probably change my tactic a little bit if i was to do it again, but I was supper pleased with how it turned out. It was so exciting to see them all together once I had finished. It took up an entire side of the room I was displaying in. And it was so extremely validating to see those to came out, not only to support me going out to try and purse what I feel the Lord is leading

me to do, but also to come see and buy my work to that end. It was a lot of work, I didn't sleep very much for the days and weeks leading up to the gallery night, but it was so worth it. I received a little over $1300 to go towards my goal, and was very proud of the work I had to show. There's lots of pieces still left over that need to find good homes, and I'm still looking for people who are willing to support and partner with me on this adventure, so

pop over to my site www.patrickbenbow.com and see if there are any pieces you'd like to purchase. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy going on this adventure with me.

pb