Remember the make-over of DouglasRickard.com last year? It wasn’t just a paint job, there was all sorts of coding that went on ‘under the bonnet’ to make it interactive, load faster and help Buyers find the art in online searches. And I, the guy who didn’t even pass mathematics in school, did it. That’s why I give God the glory. And I’m grateful for His placing men of God like Ramson Mumba to speak into my life, the purposes God has for me. As part of our ‘word for 2009’ Dr. Mumba said,

“God is saying you are about to enter a season of excellence… ‘to shine’ means to give off or to reflect light. It means to ‘make bright by polishing’. God’s about to give you a ‘shoe shine’, Hallelujah… ‘To shine’ means to become very good at something. God’s about to perfect your strength, He’s about to hone your skills, to sharpen your abilities until they’re worth paying attention to.”

Here’s what I hope you’ll agree to be a striking drawing... with a cheeky side. This Staffordshire Bull Terrier has met a wolf in the woods and seems to be enjoying every minute of his wild romp. Then again, it could just be his dog imagination at work!
‘The Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the Wolf Drawing’ débuts today!

As we welcomed 2009 at church a year ago, our pastor Ramson Mumba had just given us a word from the Lord for the 12 months ahead around Isaiah 60:1-3. He said,

“Not only will the glory rise up on you, but somebody is going to see… the glory on you. Yeah, they’ve been used to seeing trouble… and all kinds of brokenness, but now they’re going to see something else!... 2009 will be ‘the year of manifested glory’… You’re not going to be able to contain this at your house, the neighbors will have to find out, your cousins will find out that something has risen up on you and it shall be seen upon you.”

The ‘shining success’ I had that year at the Walt Disney Classics Collection Spring Premiere Event was uploaded on YouTube. A few weeks later, I just sat and smiled remembering the word that was given, as literally, my cousins sat next to me as we played the clip together!

I got a negative comment on my post about the Japanese experiment, which found beautiful crystals forming in water when positive words were said, or even written; which I’d heard about on the February 5th 2007 week of the ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory’. My Blog Reader wrote:

“Citation needed… Just because you hear a bunch of nonsense… doesn’t mean it should be believed… get a brain!”

Maybe this Blog Reader could have used his brain and googled “japanese scientist crystals experiment”. Then he would have found the Wikipedia page on Masaru Emoto detailing his experiments. Some people just refuse to believe in God no matter what hits them in the face, just like Romans 1:20 says

“For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],”

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible.

Recently in my bed, by faith, I pulled on the kind of comfort I needed that exists in Heaven, to help me through a period of sleepless nights.
Roberts Liardon was taken to Heaven and wrote in his book, ‘I Saw Heaven’:

“Now the couches in heaven are different than here. Earth furniture sometimes becomes uncomfortable. In heaven, comfort finds you. I sat down on a black velvet couch, and comfort reached up and cuddled me. I was so comfortable, I never had to move once.”

And that’s what I was believing for my bed to feel like, using Matthew 6:10. I hadn’t slept well for a couple weeks, but do you know what, when I did stir several hours later, not only was I so pleased to have slept several hours in a row, but had a nice tingling sensation in my arm upon which my head was resting, proving that I hadn’t had to move once either!

Have you ever felt unwell and found it hard to just get comfortable so you can sleep at night? My bed is usually just right but having had worsening stomach cramps since New Year’s, every part of it seemed uncomfortable recently. People wonder why I listen to Christian preaching about using my faith… well, for situations like this I guess! I knew I had to use my faith to place a demand on what God already has available for me. I needed a good night's sleep. For some reason I started confessing Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”. How are beds in Heaven? Well, I remembered reading about couches in Heaven and what they’re like, in Roberts Liardon’s book about his experience there as an eight year old boy. He said in Heaven, ‘comfort finds you’. So I made a demand by faith for my bed being as comfortable “as it is in Heaven”!

Here’s Snow White! My new-today, ‘Charcoal and Oil – Snow White’ is a Numbered Limited Edition of only 12 in 9.5”x13”, 13”x19” Super Size and 9.5”x13” Hand Embellished versions.

Whenever you get a word from the Lord, I believe it’s dependent upon your taking hold of it and walking it through. Ramson Mumba gave us a ‘word for 2009’ at church, 12 months ago. And I chose to believe it and receive it, the best I could.
A few months later, I would be invited to showcase my still-lifes of Disney sculptures by an authorized Walt Disney Classics Collection dealer (below). My art Buyers had been enjoying these drawings for a few years; but this door opening seemed to be God’s special fulfillment, uniquely tailored for me, built upon this part of the word I received through his prophet:

“This is the year when God is about to take you from the background to the forefront, you’re about to be brought out of obscurity to shine in the presence of those before whom you need to shine, praise the Lord”

My art sales in 2010 have been rocketing. I’m always grateful to my Buyers for their purchases; the first two of weeks January have already surpassed the whole month of January’s sales this time last year. And I’ve been noticing that a lot of you have been picking up some rather romantic art products all of a sudden, like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (below). Then of course, it hit me, ‘oh yes, Valentine’s Day!’ Could it be that my Buyers are just being well prepared for the 14th of next month, and that romance too, could start rocketing in 2010!

I was having trouble sleeping recently, dealing with stomach cramps at night were part of my fight to remain in divine health. I felt like going to bed early, but once there, I couldn’t get comfortable and needed a hot water bottle on my stomach. A couple of weeks ago, I’d had enough. As my pastor, Jerome Anekwe had reminded us the day before, Jesus is the High Priest of our Profession (Hebrews 3:1), our words, and not the High Priest of our ‘boo-hoo’. So in my bed, I began to say God’s Word, His promises of what He’s already done for me. I spoke out loud, “Thank You Father, for giving your beloved, sleep” (Psalm 127:2). That night I had the best night’s sleep I’d had for two weeks, but not until after I went on to place a demand by faith on something else, which I’ll talk about on Friday.

My 11th season of Blog posts is due to start on Monday January 25th 2010... and on Artwork Premiere Thursdays… Snow White and Ariel will take center stage again - and there'll be three drawings in all, one of which you'll be able to personalize... Cats will wander in to sun themselves in new some landscapes of Rhodes in Greece... And as for the dogs, they'll be visiting more of their wolf country cousins, as well as appearing in a new set called 'Dreaming Dogs' Thanks for reading this season, hope you’ll join me in January. Have a very Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, and why not follow me on twitter for sneak peeks, and just in case a few new drawings appear early, you never know!

Débuting today, some villas taking off into the sky over Amalfi, Italy. And to top off this fantasy imagery, the whole Italian town is drawn in an aggressive Fauvism style! Fauvist artists first applied their paint straight from the tubes to create their expressive works at the start of the last century, in France. I’ve always been a little heavy handed with my oil pastels and think I've finally figured out perhaps I shouldn't hold back and that this style, is kind of fun for me. And I hope you’ll have some fun owning ‘Flying Villas of Amalfi’!

When I left art college I couldn’t get a job, didn’t really know where to look or what to do. And yet here I am 20 years later, and people like my artwork and are buying my fine art prints all over the world.
There must be other imaginative artists out there whom I can help. And I believe people working together on something can produce far more, than if they were working alone. So I’m launching ‘Intimate with Imagination’.
It will be a destination initially offering art products, which will be from artists who, like me are able to infuse a little imagination into what they can see. Perhaps they will pump up the colors of a traditional landscape sketch or turn a classical dog drawing a bit whimsical. I just know that there are some hidden jewels out there, just right to make their creativity part of Intimate with Imagination. And hopefully you’ll enjoy seeing us all begin to shine together!

I had to pinch myself to see if this was real. I’d been invited again by Castle China in Warwick to offer my still-life studies of WDCC sculptures art at the Walt Disney Classics Collection Fall Premiere Event in October. And I only got to go and share lunch with two artists working for Disney who appeared at the Event. They were both so gracious and a pleasure to meet. You could say Andy Grey (below, left) is whom Disney consider to be, the expert Winnie the Pooh artist right now. And Alan Batson shared all sorts of fascinating tidbits on the newest animated films, like The Princess and the Frog and even movies which didn’t quite get made. I almost forgot to eat my lunch!

There are accusations of the American Heroes I’ve represented in my art, being deists. While these influences may have been around, Billye Brim talked with Gloria Copeland about what really shaped America in the 1800’s on the ‘BVOV’ broadcast week of November 16th 2009, reading from ‘2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity’:

“‘Colleges on the East Coast had become hotbeds of rebellion. Students proudly professed to be atheists, agnostics, skeptics or infidels.’ And so the [President at Yale] was the son in law of Jonathan Edwards, ‘…and he preached a series on infidelity. The spiritual stir resulted in one third of the student body professing faith in Christ… Revival fire started engulfing Dartmouth and Williams and other colleges…”

Billye read how this eventually led to a revival in Cain Ridge, Kentucky that would change the course of America:

“They say that this work spread in every direction… the Spirit of God prevailed over infidelity and deism which was rising up, and the religious character of the United States was assured for generations to come… The Great Awakening got us to be a nation, and this Awakening, the Cain Ridge Awakening turned us to have these Bible belt, moral ideas and respect for the Bible… It’s still affecting us to this day. You go to Europe and you go to some other places and you know, Gloria, it’s not that way like it is here. And we’re going to hang onto it.”

Is it any wonder why there's such a battle over prayer in schools today.

People have forget their nations’ real history, the true stories, here in England and in America.
Billye Brim talked about the Second Great Awakening in America with Gloria Copeland on the ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory’ broadcast week of November 16th 2009 and read from 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity:

“‘As the 19th century dawned, America was again morally bankrupt’, they’ve been founded, they’ve had the Declaration of Independence, they’ve got their Constitution, but the morals have gone down again. ‘A generation had come of age that knew little of the revival that had swept the nation 60 years before’… ‘Negative influences from the French Revolution penetrated American society. This concern prompted fervent prayer that precipitated a national, spiritual awakening…’”

I’m hoping that the negative influences of President Obama’s radical socialist agenda today will provoke a new Holy Spirit led Awakening in America. Surely the sacrifices and advancements those men and women made, cannot be dismissed and dismantled right in front of us.

Running out into my Dog Breed Cartoon Portraits art gallery wing are a Beagle, Yorkshire Terrier and Doberman Pinscher (below). And these pets all have a retro pink flavor.

Just to caution you, when it comes to my speaking out, either here in my blog or on YouTube, you may have noticed, I'm not concerned about being politically correct or shying away from controversial subjects. And my YouTube Channel now has 6 Playlists of my videos. I’m still Vlogging at weekends, but the uploads will only be in ‘My Vlog’ Playlist for a month or two, (so it’s worth subscribing on YouTube or following me on Twitter if you don’t want to miss any).

After over 700 unique eBay Members’ feedback comments, I still pay close attention to what every one of my Buyers says after purchasing an art print through the douglasrickard eBay store. Here are some which made me smile from the past few months. ‘gped8306’ wrote about ‘Charcoal and Oil - Venice’:

Billye Brim corrected the ‘revisionist history’ of America I've been mentioning, with Gloria Copeland on the ‘Believer’s Voice of Victory’ broadcast week of November 16th, 'Praying in Unity':

“America was born out of The Great Awakening. One Harvard professor I read after in my studies said, ‘If you want to understand colonial America, and the birth of America, and the wording of the Declaration of Independence, you have to have studied the Great Awakening.’
And of course Jonathan Edwards was the first preacher in it... In education [The Great Awakening] led to the founding of a number of academies, Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth'... all grew out of the Great Awakening! They were all started, to train preachers. I wonder if they know that now...
And then there came, out of that came the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin was a dear friend of [preacher, George Whitfield], and words of the Declaration of Independence came out of [his] preaching.”