Mary's Friday Newsletter 6/6/25

Summer, new paintings, heaven and earth, + a preview of a most scandalous story and painting

Jun 06, 2025

Hello dear ones,

We are officially done with school here! My kids finished 4th, 8th, and 10th on Wednesday, so now we attempt to settle into a summer routine.

This week, I had the best time recording the next lesson in my “Getting Started with Watercolor” series (for paid subscribers):

Paint with Me

Getting Starting with Watercolor, Lesson 4: Adding Value

Marydean Draws

Jun 4

Getting Starting with Watercolor, Lesson 4: Adding Value

Want to know the key to adding light, feeling, mood, depth, and drama to your watercolor paintings? In this lesson, we’re looking at some still life paintings by Paul Cezanne and talking about how to add value to a watercolor painting.

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I’ve been experimenting with making my own watercolor ground to create a watercolor paper surface on wood panels, and this week I completely ruined a big batch of it with too-dry ground-up paper! I also recorded a video tutorial for later this month and then decided to scrap it and start over. 😣 The frustration is part of the process!

Here a are a few paintings from this week:

After last week’s newsletter about the Kingdom of God, I remembered this sketch that I had done based on N.T. Wright’s explanation of the Kingdom of God and heaven and earth in the book, Simply Jesus:

I explain the illustration in detail in an old blog post HERE.

I also came across this video by the Bible Project expounding on the same ideas about the spaces of heaven and earth.

I am very excited to share next week’s Jesus Speaks to Women Bible study with you on the story of the woman caught in adultery from John 8. It’s a story so scandalous it’s possible that early scribes omitted it (see the notes in most Bibles). I think it belongs in its current location in John and I’ll share why!

I’ve also got an incredible painting to share with you that was so scandalous it was almost removed from its first show. The painting is HUGE and is the result of 15 years of research and planning, plus a lifetime of painting. I think you’re going to be just as in awe as I am.

Here’s your reminder that if you appreciate my work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscriber for $5 a month on the Substack website!

Happy weekend everyone! I’m so thankful you’re here with me.