Fine Art Download ~ Still Life: Taste & See

A Special Thank You

Dear friends,
I’m thrilled to be making this high resolution download available to you today as my way of saying a hearty thanks for all your ongoing financial support. This image is taken from my series Taste & See.

It was a sweltering 32C the day I shot this in my ‘bedroom studio’ (see the Sept Beagle), no aircon, closed curtains and blinds, closed door, you can see the chocolate shining with sweat! I’d found the vintage wooden box with the floral lid on a preloved site and it was this item which sowed the seeds for this composition.

This is a smaller vignette from a larger dressing table scene where I also had a perfume atomiser, decorative silver hand mirror and a string of pearls. Sadly I seem to have lost the file for that original image, you can only see it on my Instagram page.

Here are the words I originally wrote to accompany it:

"Being born beautiful is like being born rich, the older you get the poorer you become"

I'll never forget hearing this saying, as someone who cared about her appearance, it struck me to the core. Not that I ever thought I was born beautiful but in the everyday sense that women might fret about the lines appearing or the jawline sagging, you know?

The older you get the more you have to come to peace with yourself, it's either that or war and I didn't want to hate myself. Jesus says to love your neighbour as yourself, it's pretty hard to love and accept the beauty in others if I cannot give that to myself. I drew a line in the same many years ago, making a commitment to never spend more time in front of the physical mirror than I did looking in the mirror of God's word, God says that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. Although my outward looks might fade over the years I know my true value and worth is to be found in God's love and in the building of the treasury of my heart, my character, the integrity of my life.

This dressing table scene for Taste & See speaks to me on many levels of my heart but this is one of them: I may be tempted to concern myself with the outward dressing but God sees past all the decoration and loves me deeply, thoroughly, unconditionally. I may feel discouraged when I catch my reflection seeing only my faults and flaws, but God sees the image of his beloved son Jesus whose perfection alone l've put my trust in. A sweet and favourite verse of mine is in the book of Songs, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." Such words are too wonderful for me, they're words l've had to receive by faith at times. I am so grateful for his love, his faithfulness, his belief in me because of my love for him and I am confident that I am ever being transformed into his image as I look to Christ.

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I hope you love this never before released image as much as I do.