Top Making Software Blog

Radical Mentoring Your Third Word My latest Radical Mentoring group is tackling the topic of purpose. Specifically, life purpose statements. Identity asks, “Who am I?” Mission asks, “What do I want?” Purpose asks, “Why am I here?” The stock answer for Jesus-followers is “I’m here to glorify God” which is 100% true, but doesn’t speak to my unique purpose. Anne Lamott writes about how God made us because He thought we’d like it. Which makes sense if we believe that God knew us before we were ‘knit in our mother’s womb.’ But again, what do I do with that as a life purpose? I’m throwing out an idea that I think helps each person define their unique purpose . . . I call it your ‘third word.’ My theory is that all Jesus-followers are called to love and serve. Those two are givens. The life purpose statement of every Jesus-follower begins “I, (your name here), exist to glorify God by loving and serving others.” And then you add your word after that. Mine is “challenge,” making my li...

Creative Bloq How to paint like a Pre-Raphaelite When ImagineFX magazine commissioned me to create a new piece inspired by Pre-Raphaelite art, it was John William Waterhouse's famous painting The Lady of Shalott that came immediately to mind. I like this painting and I'm a fan of Waterhouse's style. I think this is the perfect piece for a modern reinterpretation of the original subject, but my intention is to avoid a slavish reproduction of the painting; I want to imagine a new girl, with a new face, in a new pose. Because it was also the magazine cover image, I had to define and modify aspects of the illustration to take into account the various text and visual elements of the cover. I'll highlight these changes throughout the workshop. First, a few words about my digital painting technique. The final painting effect is very traditional. I'll be using a classic canvas texture, and the Charcoal, Conte and Oil brushes. My colour palette is reminiscent...