At the end of May I embarked on Part 2 of my Church Mural Project. You can read all about Part 1 of this project here!

Once again, I lived in a church for a week and spent every last waking moment painting. My goal this time was to paint both sides of the children’s ministry hallway as well as the entry wall.

The theme was a continuation of the Hannah and Samuel theme from the paintings in the nursery rooms. In each painting we see a scene from Hannah and Samuel’s life, from Hannah holding Samuel as a baby, to raising him up in the way of the Lord, to finally taking him to the tabernacle. 

Before flying out, I sketched out my design concepts and painted color studies. Because my time would be limited, I knew I needed to have a precise plan so that once I got there I could hammer everything out as efficiently as possible. 

The hallway features Hannah and Samuel walking hand in hand across a hilly landscape with the tabernacle in the distance. Surrounding them are blossoming almond trees. The blossoms fill the entire upper portion of the wall and extend over to the other side of the hallway.

Almond blossoms are significant in the Bible because they represent God’s promise of new life and hope, as evidenced in Aaron’s budding rod. Almond blossoms symbolize the priesthood of God, a reminder that His hand approves and selects the leaders of His people.

On the entry wall I decided to pull in lots of elements from the previous paintings I had done, making the entire design a tapestry and including rolling hills, curtains, flowers, and a burning oil lamp to symbolize the Word of the Lord.  

For each day I was there I worked all day and into the night. I stayed in the same apartment as last time and was so glad for the familiar space – it was a cozy and comfortable place to rest when I had the chance. To get to my apartment I had to walk through the sanctuary, an interesting experience late at night after all the people had left. There is nothing quite like the hush of a church after dark. 

Though empty and still at night, the church (which also houses a school that was still in session) was packed full of people during the day, and because I was painting in a very public area of the church I pretty much always had an audience. The hallway I painted has windows into the gym, and one of my favorite moments was when I looked behind me into the gym to find several little faces pressed against the glass, watching me paint. When they saw they had been spotted they waved and yelled, “Good job!!” 

The first four days I worked on the hills and the tapestry verse wall, and I quite enjoyed myself. However, once I started sketching out the flowers on day 5 I quickly became overwhelmed. The stretch of wall felt endless as I began the task of placing each flower where it needed to go. I didn’t count how many flowers I ended up painting, but it was definitely in the hundreds. 

There was a point on day six when, with aching wrists and tense hands, I slumped down in a panic. There is no way I’m going to finish, I thought to myself. I’m too tired and there’s too much left. But I didn’t stop for long. I had a day and a half left to finish everything, and it was the thought of Home that compelled me forward.

Remember that scene in The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis when Bree and the others are running away from the Rabadash’s army toward the stronghold in Archenland? Shasta and Aravis are urging the horses to go faster, but Bree believes he is going as fast as he can. It isn’t until a lion begins chasing after them that he realizes he does indeed have more speed in him, and he surges forward. 

I felt just like Bree there at the end. But in my moments of fatigue, I just remembered my purpose and my deadline, and realized I had more in me to keep going, despite my aching wrists and tired hands.

Once I finished the paintings I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment. It was hard work, but good work. As a Christian artist, I think that having my art on the walls of a church fulfills a high purpose, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. It’s not lost on me that some of history’s greatest artists were made famous by the paintings they made on the walls of churches. This isn’t to say that I’m destined for the same kind of renown, but rather to point out a sad fact: We modern Christians have seemingly lost sight of the importance of adorning our churches with beauty. Hopefully, the tide will turn and more churches will follow in the footsteps of Calvary Chapel by partnering with artists to bring Art back into the Christian consciousness. Since the birth of Christianity, Art has played a huge role in bringing souls into the faith – it is a powerful tool that we would do well to not lose sight of. I’m honored and humbled to play a small part in the time-honored tradition of beautifully adorned Christian churches.

Prints of the four murals I painted last summer as well as my recent color studies are available for purchase. Also, if you are interested in the originals, please reach out!