TWO GRACES 1 & II (Faith & Courage)

(original oil painting)

(two 30" x 40" canvases)

I have been thinking about ths project for some time at my wife's encouragement.  I love jars and she love to have some women represented in a painting, so I just had to incorporate the two concepts.  Prayerfully, I found meaning in combining women from both the Old and New Testament.

The woman in blue is MARY from the New Testament who has tremendous faith when she obeyed the call of the Holy Spirit to be the mother of the Son of God (Jesus) even while she was a virgin.

Another woman who exhibited great faith is REBEKAH (in yellow) from the Old Testament when Jacob sent his servant to look for a wife for his son, Isaac.  A total stranger did not prevent Rebekah from being an exemplary woman of servitude...and followed the servant home to be Isaac's wife.

The woman in green is RUTH from the Old Testament, a great example of courage in the midst of great difficulty, serving and marrying Boaz, a distant relative of Naomi, at a time when widows dont go that route of showing dedication to family members.

ESTHER (in red) definitely belongs to the league of most courageous women of all time.  Becoming queen to the Persian King Xerxes was a tall order especially when she learned about Haman's plot to eliminate the Jews including Esther's cousin, Mordecai (even though he was in the King's service).  Risking her life to talk to the king to save her people was a great example of courage at a time such as those lived by Queen Esther.

This is a set of artwork dedicated to my wife.