Painting Brings it Out
Written by Wanda Rodriguez
Written on April 24, 2026
Published on May 14, 2026
Today I had the pleasure of sitting quietly in a local tea shop with a few friends. Together we shared delicious tea, outstanding NY style pizza, engaging conversation, and delicate watercolor paints. For the most part, we had the place all to ourselves. We spread out on the comfy couch and chairs and got to work on our creations. There was no agenda, no right or wrong way of doing things, no expectations. There was just a blank canvas, a pack of paints, some water, and our imaginations. Each piece evolved into a lovely and unique creation, just like each of the women sharing time at the table.
We chatted about current events within our families such as weddings, birthdays, surgeries, and graduations. We discussed Bible studies, recent reads, and hobbies. The conversation flowed easily, like a gentle, rolling stream. Discussions eventually landed on the topic of my blog and how I had recently picked up the pen again. Things then segued into poetry and one of the ladies shared two of her recent writings. Her words seemingly transformed the tea shop into an eclectic cafe on poetry night. (Snap! Snap!) She coined the phrase used here in the title because, ironically, the last time she was painting with peers she also shared some of her beautiful poetry. She quipped that “painting brings it out.”
“Painting brings it out.” I liked it and immediately jotted it down. It seemed like a great title for one of my posts. And, here we are …
In my mind, painting is more than something you do with color and a brush. It is imagery in the truest sense of the word and it covers a very broad spectrum of the imagination. Imagery can be painted through words that are woven together and revealed in the mind’s eye to the reader. It can be accomplished through quilting as the crafter strings together various shapes and bits of fabric that paint a picture. The Bible graphically illustrates times and events long since pas by visually explaining it to the reader. Some of these illustrations seem almost unrelatable, but others don’t seem drastically different from some of the problems we currently face in society.
Words and melodies of songs depict scenes and events. For example, sometimes the scenes create a flowing imagery while other times the accompanying images are intensely dramatic. The listener follows along with the words and sound as it plays out in their mind. It can feel almost hypnotic or magical and it’s easy to find yourself swept up in its current. For example, vast mental imagery floods my mind when I hear, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” by Gordon Lightfoot. What a fantastic example of storytelling accompanied by heart breaking imagery! If you are not familiar, I highly recommend that you give it a listen. If you are familiar, then you know! (IYKYK!)
Regardless of the medium used (canvas and paint, the written words, fabric, songs, etc.), interpretation of any “painting” can be viewed differently by individuals. Think of when you read a book that later comes out as a movie. Sometimes you agree with the creative license used to make the jump from paper to the big screen but other times you might grumble because the fictional main character didn’t look right, they lived in the wrong kind of house or they would never wear something like the director chose! Here, you and the director viewed the imagery created by the story differently.
The creators (author, painter, seamstress, musician, etc.) do their best to convey their perspective but it may land differently on different people at different times in their lives. For example, the main character of a story may resonate more with me when I first read it because it loosely parallels something I may be going through. But if I pick up the same story at a different chapter in my life I may see things more clearly through the eyes of the antagonist for some reason and find my mind painting the imagery differently.
The same is true for the word of God, as written in the Bible. It was the breathed word of God, written long ago, with sections comprised of three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) and written at the hand of numerous authors. It has stood the test of time and stands as the most translated book in history. The full Bible has been translated into 776 different languages, the New Testament alone has been translated into 1,798 different languages and, portions of the Bible (at least one book of the Bible) have been translated into an additional 1,433 languages. That's a lot of translations, a lot of books, a lot of readers and a lot of opportunities to misunderstand the Author’s (God) meaning. This is magnified by the fact that the encounters and experiences were so long ago that it is easy for a reader to misunderstand the key components of a given section.
Here I am thankful for teachers, mentors and pastors to help understand the imagery that has been so beautifully painted through the word of God in this book. As I study, there are times that a section makes no sense to me but other times it is like the Author reached down and personally lifted the veils from my eyes, allowing understanding and imagery to pour in. I am thankful for God’s word, I am thankful for those more knowledgeable than I who can help me to accurately see, interpret and apply the word of God to my life. I am also thankful for any and all who read this blog. I do not know why I write other than it is what I feel called to do by God. It is my passion, my art, my painting. My hope is that my words create an image that you can relate to. That the words jump right off the pages, filling your mind’s eye with visions, and wonder and the desire to know more.
More about God!
- Psalm 19:1 (NIV) - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands
- Psalm 23:1-2 (NIV) - The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
Psalm 1:3 (NIV) - That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-- whatever they do prospers.
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