Several years ago I got into painting, acrylics on canvas mostly. I consider painting, or playing with color, to be a spiritual practice. I celebrate each color and the way it moves and connects with other colors to create a new color. I love experimenting with the ways the colors change and connect with one another, what colors seem to naturally flow and which ones create a strange dissonance.

I began to have so many paintings (canvas and furniture) that I thought I’d try to sell them to raise money for a local hunger ministry. Someone suggested I do some type of hymn – art, but I didn’t like covering the hymns with words, so  I started to explore watercolor hymns. I asked the staff at my church about their favorite hymns and gave them each a gift for Christmas, of a watercolor hymn.

My husband started collecting old hymnals for me, so I started leading workshops that invite people to choose their favorite hymns and do art with them. Some choose to draw/paint detailed pictures on top of the hymn, while others paint around the edges of the hymn, and others watercolor over the hymn. There’s no wrong way to do it.

The thought is simple, get together and sing some hymns, and do art with the hymns. You can use watercolor, crayons, decoupage, whatever!

Now go, sing loudly and play with color!