About the Painting: "Be Thou My Vision"

Every now and again, I have to remind myself why I do what I do.  Being a fine artist is not for the faint of heart.  There is nothing easy about it.  And whether other artists will admit it or not, I will... we are competitive.  And probably the one with whom we are the most competitive is ourselves.  With every painting I do, I am working to be a more excellent version of myself than before.  

But why am I doing this?  I believe that God gifted me with a love for fine art.  This is who He made me to be.  Every painting I do belongs to the Lord, and I fully depend on Him to provide for me through them.  My hope is to use this medium for something good.  I hope people see beauty in them.  I hope they see goodness.  I hope they see the Gospel.  That is my mission as a fine artist.

My latest work is exactly what I try to do with each painting, though admittedly it doesn't always work this way.  It was a painting that had its conception in my head - a mental vision of exactly what I wanted the painting to look like before I even had a physical sketch completed.  I knew what this painting would look like because I had it in my mind first.

Then I put it down on paper:

It seemed like such a simple image, and it was.  That was my intention.  Nothing busy.  No bold colors or dynamic poses.  Just a simple figure in prayer with a quiet, atmospheric background almost as though she was emerging from a cloud.  She wouldn't take up a lot of space in the picture plane.  She would almost seem kind of small to signify humility.  This is to be a contemplative painting about complete, committed devotion to the Lord.  I even had the painting titled before I began on the canvas.  It would be named after my favorite hymn about this very subject, Be Thou My Vision.  I also sought inspiration from Scripture, and there is a passage in Psalm 26 that says, 

Test me, Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind.  For Your faithful love is before my eyes, and I live by Your truth (26: 2-3).

What could be a bolder expression of committed devotion and faith than to actually ask God to test us and examine our hearts?

I don't know what the future holds for this painting, but my hope, as with all my paintings, is to sell it.  Depending on your perspective, there are any number of names for someone who buys your work.  Some call them customers, some call them clients.  Others may refer to them as collectors or patrons.  To me, they are guardians.  Like I said, these paintings belong to my Lord, and He provides for me through them.  I'm simply placing them in someone else's hands for the time being.  Hopefully in time, as these paintings may outlive their current guardians, they'll be passed down to a new generation of guardians.  And to whomever possesses this one, and wherever they may hang it - in their home, bedroom, study, or church - I hope this piece may serve as an aid to their devotion and prayer.

Be Thou My Vision (Psalm 26: 2-3)
oil on linen
24x18"
2019