The 10x Catalyst group was asked to pray about what words and/or versus that meant something to each of them that they would contribute to a canvas. Beginning in August 2022 and wrapping up in September 2022, each member contributed to the canvas. After collecting the canvas on September 16 and in full transparency for months, I avoided beginning the painting as I wanted to honor the words, versus and meaning to capture the essence of each member’s contribution. As we were setting goals for the November 10x Catalyst Pro meeting, I prayed about what goals for the coming month, As God would have it, one of the goals was to begin the 10x painting. 

On November 19th, before I picked up a brush, I pulled out my Bible and read each word, verse and/or complete chapter that each member added to the canvas. After 1 hour of reading the intention that each 10x Catalyst member wrote, I began painting. I chose a brownish color at the bottom right corner which is darker than most of the rest of the painting and remnants are still there. Looking back on why I chose that color, it reflects more of what he did on the cross for us. That set the stage for the other colors that would begin to evolve with a much lighter burnt orange/brown combined with whites as much of Jesus’ ministry was in the desert.

As I was getting ready with the whites and orange/brown colors, I reflected on Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.” As a reflection of all the thoughts that everyone contributed, I felt the texture of the sand would reflect the many thoughts that we all have for Jesus and what he did for us. As I began stirring the paint with the sand I used the paint stick to apply the paint to evenly spread out the texture and decided to capture the grainy sands as a light on the top right and the darker reddish hue on the left. As much as I liked the color and texture of the painting while still being able to read some of the members’ contributions, I knew it was not done and needed another contribution, one that would wait until the new year. After the Christmas break while visiting family, I came back focused on completing the work for the next 10x group.

I listened to a Hillsong YouTube playlist as God worked through me on this second treatment of the painting. A darker gray called for me to add, yet the initial selected color was much darker than I wanted. You can see the dark color paint on the sides of the painting. Just like how God uses the challenging times in our lives to shape us, I felt this color was causing the rest of the painting to take on a different form. As I was working on painting, I was reflecting on how difficult it was to work the darkness away. Instead of trying to spread it out which I tried to do for a while, trying to work on the “challenge” I added some lighter reds and whites and moss colors. Jesus is that light that snuffs out the darkness. As a result, it faded into a beautiful shade of gray. After working on the lower left for a while, I added a lot of white paint to the top and added more burnt sienna to carry the original orange/brownish color out. I was adding more texture with a Golden Course Gel and Just as I began with the stir stick, I used it again to more evenly spread the colors across the canvas creating a wonderful texture. As one more reflection of our connection to God, I spread the paint upwards towards our heavenly Father. As I completed that last touch, I knew this 10x Catalyst work was done. Each specialized/commissioned work receives my signature “J” at the bottom left.