Tye, Neil - VM - Neil Tye

Neil Tye: Rain on your Land in its Season

Rain

by Neil Tye

In the beginning stages of preparing to paint a painting I will have an idea of a colour, shape, or object in mind and use that as my starting point and then I just intuitively begin to paint. It is my desire that each painting is inspired by God and hopefully bringing the viewer into a deeper understanding of the promises he has for them.

Before I begin any painting I will always start with a prayer. My studio is my sanctuary, a place to connect with God, to commune with him. I always take the opportunity to connect with the Lord and invite him to be part of every stroke of the paint brush that I make, every decision that I make on the canvas. I start by asking the Lord to bless the piece of art that I am about to create, that it will glorify him, and in some way bring healing, restoration and encouragement to the person looking at the work.

After many hours and days of pushing and pulling the paint, taking intervals to just stare at the painting seeing where it wants to lead me next, I finally felt that the painting was finished. I took a step back and took the time to look at it, this time to see it through the Lords eyes, asking him what he wants to say through it. I began to see a kind of a map of the world, the blues of the sea, the yellows of dry land, as if a satellite had taken an image from space as it makes its journey around the earth. I saw clouds moving over the land and in one particular place it looked like something was spitting out a heavy shower. The word “rain” came to my mind and I asked the Lord what he wanted to say about that word.

He led me to two passages in Deuteronomy: 

1. Deuteronomy 11:14, Then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.

2. Deuteronomy 28:12, The Lord will open the Heavens, the storehouses of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the works of your hands, you will lend to many but will borrow from none.

All of us at some point go through dry seasons in our lives. A life with Christ does not mean we are not faced with challenges. Life has its seasons, but the important thing is how we cope with these difficult times. Maybe you have been going through a dry spell in your life and you are asking when this is going to be over. Will it ever end?

God wants to pour out his rain on your dry land situation, he wants to pour out his bounty upon you, as you look to him. He will pour out his rain on you. He is your provider, your healer, your deliverer!

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Neil Tye: Rain on your Land in its Season, 145 x 120 cm, acrylics on canvas.

Neil Tye is from the UK, but now lives in a small town in Denmark called Lunderskov near Kolding together with his wife Anja and three children. He continues his work and ministry as an artist through his paintings, installation art and visual performances. He holds an MA (MAPP) in professional Practice from the Middlesex University in London that focused on his practice as a teacher in the performing arts (movement theatre). Neil’s years of training, teaching and performing have shaped and inspired the abstract artist that he has become today. It is his aim that each painting that he paints, each performance and installation will be a blessing to people, either simply by viewing them or by owning one of the paintings or prints, bringing hope, healing, restoration, and deliverance. Neil is represented by a gallery in Horsens Denmark called Brænderigaarden Gallery, and is part of their concept, which sells and rents artworks to companies called www.lej-kunst.dk. He continues to inspire people all over the world with his art devotional videos of his paintings, his teaching in the theatre arts and his creative prayer projects that combine performance and installation art. For more information about these projects, you can go to his Facebook page Creative Spaces for Prayer. For more information about Neil and his paintings go to www.neiltyegallery.com.

ArtWay Visual Meditation 20 September 2020