Anne and I were in Tucson last month. I’d been asked by The Seed Company, an organization with whom we once served, to take part in a large event to raise awareness and funds for a noble cause. Involved were many great speakers, name musicians, known authors, and one lone painter in the back of the room. 
Here we go, first morning, first strokes, with a house brush.
Okay, I wasn’t completely alone. But then neither are any of us really, if we include the spiritual dimension. Before driving over to Tucson, I’d prepared the canvas and sketched in the main figure with charcoal.
There’s a lot to the painting life besides painting. In this case the need for the painter’s wife.
Much pre-work goes into a project like this, many hours at home, then arriving early and setting up. The “easel” was two 4 x 8 ft. sheets of plywood, braced in the back. We taped cardboard over the crack between the boards to keep out an unwanted ridge during the painting process.
Tucson in May is warm but not hot, perfect for outdoor dining.
This will give an idea of the setting. We were at the Ritz Carlton outside of Tucson. A couple hundred guests had been invited from around the country. They were those interested in sponsoring Bible translation work, carried out by native speakers in the many cultures and languages where such still does not exist. 
Back by the doors is the lone painter, just getting started. (Click on picture.)
Mornings and evenings were spent in the ballroom, with speakers, musicians, incredible audio visuals, a continual feast of information, and as you can see, plenty of interaction. 
The Jesus figure is straight from my Last Supper painting. (Click to enlarge.)
My plan was to paint a large rendition of Jesus with a completely colored background, then integrate it with small paintings of international children. Look close to see the squares penciled in. (I had to look very closely, especially when I’d just about completely painted over them.
More photos of the event can be seen on Flicker, here.
Hour after hour I painted, straight through all the presentations, morning and evening, and straight through the afternoon breaks. Up on a ladder, down on my haunches, sometimes in semi-darkness. Many of these photos are by Travis Williams, a professional photographer who roamed and documented the event. 
Acrylic was the medium, for its fast drying properties on canvas.
One could feel like he’s being watched. Or, more comforting, watched over. Either way, the challenge was the same: to paint 180 small paintings within the big one, all in two days. That must be a record of some kind.
Note the floor lamp, necessary when the room was darkened.
Here I am about 40 faces into it. Sometimes they’d get messy and take too long. Sometimes I set my stop watch for five minutes for each little face. Late into the second day I realized I had to go quicker than that.
Here it is finished, or at the next to last step.
I named it Jesus and the Children, but no matter as it only lasted like this for about an hour. I made a brief public presentation giving the story behind it, and mine as a painter. People applauded, took pictures and hung around to talk. Then, when the ballroom cleared out, Anne and I went to work on the next step. 
Cutting and mounting were no small part of it.
This was the drastic step, cutting it up. What? Cut up a painting of Jesus? But no matter, Jesus has been subjected to worse . . . by me. In any case, that was the plan all along; people just didn’t know it. Above is the practice version I did earlier, needful also for additional images to compliment the total requested. 
Three of the 180 as they looked when finished. (Click to enlarge.)
Back in the hotel room, working past midnight, Anne and I assembled the cut canvases into pre-prepared mats, complete with nameplate, to supply as gifts to all attendees the following morning. The Seed Company had been very generous with gift giving, and these small pieces of framable original art were part of that. 
No two alike, just like all people. (Click to enlarge.)
Here’s a screen shot from my computer showing some of the pieces as I photographed them afterward. Not that I photographed them all, but it gives an idea of the variety. 
The big painting gone, but now represented by many small ones.
On the final morning, participants came by and chose the one they liked, and were given an envelope to carry it away. It’s all about giving, having received so much. In the end, Anne and I came away with one. And many memories.
Joshua Trees and wonder all around.
Finally, one last photo: God’s artwork, always the best.
8:58 am
That is such a creative idea and a ton of work! I’d say you definitely made a record!
9:44 am
Always love seeing your work, and even more love seeing how you work. Amazing!
10:10 am
Hyatt~You inspire me–as a painter, as a human being!
10:14 am
Your art never fails to brighten my day, but this project is outrageouly innovative as a fund-raiser! I pray its benefits will go beyond anyone’s hopes!
11:05 am
That is so incredibly cool!!! Thanks for documenting the process as it is just as awesome as the final painting(s).
12:15 pm
It’s always fun to look at your stuff, even if it is only on my computer screen.
I wonder if you’ve read Dorothy Sayers’s essay, Toward a Christian Esthetic, and if so, what you think of it.
Minor point. Those aren’t Joshua trees, they’re saguaro cacti. :-)
12:54 pm
Dave, Thanks. Spoken like a true Arizonian, knowing the correct names of cacti. And spoken like a true intellect, knowing the essays of Sayers. I’ve not read it, though it’s apparently one I should.
PS It was good seeing your kids at the event. Did you recognize Suzie choosing a painting in the final picture?
2:49 pm
All I can say is, “Wow”…
3:50 pm
What a work and blessing to the recipients!
9:24 pm
Lovely work! Thanks for sharing.
Susan Morrisoon
1:00 pm
What a delight it was to follow your painting journey for The Seed Company! Beautiful idea – beautiful work! It brought back so many wonderful memories of CT2010 – and how I so enjoyed watching your day-by-day painting back then! I still have the painting of the African woman you gave to me hanging on my living room wall. Warm greetings to both you and Anne!
1:12 pm
Bev, thanks for the note. It took me a minute remember what CT2010 was, and still don’t know “The Lausanne Congress” by that name. That was South African, you’re back in Colombia. Here’s the link to my blog on Lausanne 2010: http://bit.ly/1svhy4e
1:41 pm
You & Anne always amaze us with not only your painting, but the unique gifts you have of sharing your gifts. (By the way….love your tributes to your dad.)
Thanks
8:03 pm
You amaze me as well. So glad to be related.
5:37 am
What a wonderful event! And such a creative painting! I can imagine everyone’s surprise with the gift of the individual paintings! I can hear you humming throughout your hours of work :-)
10:45 am
what a wonderful idea and an
incredible amount of work/energy!
3:55 pm
You are the most amazing painter I have ever met or seen. What a gift of talent, a superhuman outpouring of creativity in such a short period of time, a generous spirit. You always enrich my life!
8:15 pm
I love it!So many famous people can’t be reached. You can. The pictures are a bit hard to see, but seemed very nice. The project was awesome. God bless…
7:44 pm
Such a great idea and amazing work. Hyatt! You always always inspire me. I like your energy.