South Australian Justin Monaghan won the 2016 Well-Being Australia 'Art' Award at the One Afternoon in Sydney event last month. Justin was part of the One Afternoon in Sydney program which combined with the young writer's annual conference and where he presented a remarkable workshop on faith and creativity.
He is in the midst of launching as a professional prophetic artist under the label JR Faith Creations and runs a creative home fellowship with his wife Liana. Justin is also heavily involved in his local surfing community of South Australia as a surf coach, a national judge of surf contests and a member of Christian Surfers
Check out JR Faith Creations to see some of his art at https://www.facebook.com/Jrfaithcreations
In the workshop he presented a number of paintings to which he spoke.
'Beyond the veil' is a piece that took me deep into the heavenly realm of colours and light. It was a piece of art birthed out of a new way of worshipping through painting. It was created in way which the destination was not known. The process was new to me and the emotions that filtered through my mind and heart were intense and felt like I had entered another dimension. As the paint was stroked new elements emerged on the canvas and as the colours were mixed a story began to be told about life, God and the universe. Under the final piece there lays about 10 different paintings all leading to this final piece. 'Beyond the veil' with much depth has spoken into lives in so many ways and that is some of the beauty and mystery of this piece.
"Wave of Glory' was created out of an open vision I had as I was praying on a block of land in Encounter bay in South Australia. In the vision I saw the sky had turned to violets, pinks and blue hues and out of that sky emerged the hand of God pushing a wave of Glory in the direction of the South Australian coastal town of Victor Harbor. The motion of this wave depicted in the piece was as if the wave was cleansing away the darkness, which is depicted by the stark contrast of colour change between where the wave had passed over and where it is heading. The original name of this artwork was light never extinguished from John 1:4 as it spread the message of a wave of light from the heavens having the power to wash away all the darkness that stood in its way.
'Rider on White' was the piece that sparked the fire for me in painting again as 31-year-old and was the beginning of discovering a way of painting with a definite spiritual focus and foundation. The painting is inspired by Revelation 19 in which we read of the rider on a white horse to emerge and take down the forces of darkness. This piece is a victory song and look into the future when good will prevail against evil.
This massive artwork is the largest work I have painted with being nearly 2 metres wide and was literally a journey over 15 months. Once again this piece was a development of layers, images and colours synonymous with my style that did not seem to fit a pattern or be heading in a specific direction. The foundation is a verse in Isaiah 35 which says "Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert."
At the beginning there was imagery of deserts, water and pots that carried this life giving water, but as the creative process flowed from my mind and the brush the pots became less prominent and what evolved was a face of wisdom that was not of flesh and blood as represented by the blue tones of the face, but rather was a picture of a God and his life giving source of water that can bring life immediately to the driest and harshest of situations. While this is an image of a desert landscape this piece is a prophetic message of a mighty river that is coming and will change the very world we live in and the hearts that need a real touch life giving water.
This piece depicts that place where only a surfer knows the feeling and gives the viewer insight in to what it means to be inside a wave looking out to the horizon. The art process of this piece however took me away from a normal colour pallet for such a picture and took me to a place of vibrant light filled colours and focus that was less about the wave, but more about the light that shines back into the water based cathedral that is the barrel. This artwork has proven to be a favourite among my followers and surprisingly has spoken of hope, life, love and joy into their lives.
'Eden' is a piece that is very close to my heart and is inspired by a verse in Psalm 84:3, which says "through the valley of Bacca (weeping) I will take you to a place of refreshing springs." This painting has been a testimony of a personal journey for my wife and I in our journey towards our children and is a source of inspiration and hope for the faithfulness of God to fulfil his promises.
Justin Monaghan is also a young writer whose creative instincts present in the written word whereby he takes the reader on an graphic illustrative journey. His pieces includes radical titles such as 'Discontentment is a world of discontent", "The 'real' festival", "Messages in paint" and many others. Many of Justin's art works and latest creations can be found - https://www.instagram.com/jrfaithcreations/
Justin Monaghan's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/justin-monaghan.html
Justin can be contacted - justin.monaghan@gmail.com
As part of Justin Monaghan's Well-Being Australia 'Art' Award he received the Rex Dale's (rexfaye@iinet.net.au) book 'Insights – from Greeco-Roman Times – a Christian Perspective along with a purse towards his art.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html