King of PEACE
SHALEV……Hebrew for peacable or at ease.
Quaker artist Edward Hicks painted 60 versions of Peaceable Kingdom representing divine harmony, reconciliation and unity among all. Based upon Isaiah 11:6-9 this occurs when Jesus reigns overall. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid ; calf, young lion and fattened lamb together.
Man has attempted peace in this fashion with often good intentions. However, we are not capable of such an extraordinary advancement.
Inspired by Hicks timeless painting I created a large piece of work depicting peace in thundering at ease movement. Powerful peace causing waters to part, resulting in a perfect aligned symphony. The lion leads the way. They all move in sync side by side like musical notes on paper. Though capable, not a one is out to devour the other. Four beasts, one mission. 4500 pounds of muscle and flesh moving forward.
God is not as passive as we have made Him in all things. He is the Father of the meek son, The Messiah. (don’t mistake meek for weak) and the deliverer of the righteous. He moves with a glorious force of love and perfection. His Son is far more intense than only being our savior. The sons DNA waters run deep. Together they have parted waters and fought giants.
I fear this God. I am NOT afraid of Him. Look up the difference. Over the past several years I have delved deep into understanding Hebrew while discovering I have missed much truth of the God I serve and love. I have lacked understanding due to my ignorance of Hebrew translation.
I am responsible for being the archeologist of my own digging sight for truth. As I approached this piece, I wanted to get dirty. On this 3 × 4 ft format, I glued down papers from random old books. I prefered to have obstacles to draw over rather than a pure white start. I wanted my hands soiled in black charcoal powder. I smeared the black prior to creating white lines with an eraser. What you see is an artist’s adventure into the discovery of who I have become and continue to grow in to.
Last note: Oddly enough it was my study of charcoal over 30 years ago where I fell in love with art. I left charcoal for color. My first love put aside, until now!!! Shalom.