As Artist-in-Residence at Boise First Congregational, United Church of Christ, I often create paintings in anticipation of Holy Week, and I thought it would be timely to share my latest paintings with you. These are all currently available to view at my church.
The three I’ve chosen to share include Gather Together, Good Friday Woodblock, and Easter Meditation.
Gather Together
A large woodblock print and painting, matted and under glass in an African mahogany frame, in observance of Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper.
My process for this work was unique. I carved a large woodblock approximately 16″x20″ and made the large deep purple print on paper. I then painted on top of the print, adding other colors and highlights.
The skin tones of the various hands pictured are intentionally ambiguous.
Christ urges his disciples to “love one another” and shares communion.
Gathering Together to eat and have fellowship is as old as humankind. All are welcome.
We receive sustenance for our whole being.
Good Friday Woodblock
Carved basswood and ink with a walnut frame.
The tree, where symbolically Christ’s body was nailed, strains to the angry sky.
Colors are somber and overwrought for the pain, despair, abandonment, denial, and crucifixion.
A singular experience of death is shared with all of humankind.
Easter Meditation
Carved, burnt, and inked African mahogany with a walnut frame.
This painting’s abstract bursts of colors and shapes on a stark background express the shock and joy of the resurrection story in a way that cannot be captured by words or representational images.
Christ shows us how to live in a loving way with each other.
In a dream, I ask, “How can I? With all that breaks my heart and bends me low?”
“Have faith in love,” He softly says. “And all will evolve out of the brokenness as new life.”
Christ urges us to continue to be loving, even to the depths, as well as the heights of the human experience. God is with you. God is with us.
Here’s the link to the featured artwork for Holy Week 2023.
Join Me At First Friday in Garden City
My show of 18 works at the Riverside Hotel will be up until the end of April. It is located in the lobby, behind the front desk, and mostly to the left of it in the main lobby.
I will be selling the work displayed in the hotel, prints, and cards near the First Friday show from 5:30-7:30 on Friday, April 7.
Come ask me how and why I work and learn about an upcoming class!