Ancient Hymn

Ancient Hymn, vertical

 Over the weekend, I posted this work in progress along with a verse from the Old Testament that formed part of my inspiration for the painting. I was so pleased with the huge number of responses to my WIP post. Some of the responses really sparked new concepts and title ideas in my mind. The Old Testament verse I had used was ‭Isaiah‬ ‭60:1‬ Arise, shine, for your light has come,  and the glory of the Lord shines over you. 

$1300 plus shipping and handling

18" x 48" or 48" x 18"

Painted with artist quality heavy-body acrylic paint on 1.5” deep gallery wrapped canvas

Edges painted black

Click here to view or purchase on my website.

But probably a larger part of the inspiration for the painting comes from the New Testament. A passage in Colossians is sometimes called an early hymn, and it was part of my focus for a couple of months. 

Colossians 1:15 - 20

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For everything was created by Him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities—

all things have been created through Him and for Him.

He is before all things,

and by Him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;

He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

so that He might come to have

first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have

all His fullness dwell in Him,

and through Him to reconcile

everything to Himself

by making peace

through the blood of His cross—

whether things on earth or things in heaven.

The 'portrait' of Jesus as shown in these verses has been steeping in my mind for several months. In response, my painting tries to show His sacrifice (crown of thorns and scars from the nails in His hands and cruciform structure), His glory (gold and copper metallic paints), His creation of the world from the void, and the concept of things being present that are both visible and invisible through texture and layering. 

Ancient Hymn, horizontal view

So many of the things I wanted to express can be seen better than I can articulate them. There is complexity and richness of color here, and significance in each layer and shape. It was a painting that was a long time on the easel, but the last few layers came quickly. Often my bigger paintings need to steep, too, before I can finish them. 

We have had cold, wet, gray weather the last few days, so I look forward to being able to share a better photo in the future, but I am excited to share this with you today!

Coram Deo.