Artist Holly Schapker shares seven of her paintings and the thoughts about Mary, the Mother of God, that came to her as she was painting them. Chick here to enjoy Holly’s paintings and her meditations on them, both provided by the St. Anthony Messenger magazine. This is what Holly wrote about the above painting:
“When I trust the unfolding creative process before me, everything I need is there serving me. This pilgrimage of faith before the blank canvas teaches me many lessons.
“Notice this painting is focused on her eyes with the most care and tightest detail. Looking forward, Mary knows us and she knows our Lord. What better advocate could we align with? The rough, unfinished brush marks around the edges help guide the viewer’s eye to her gaze. They also show us that her story is unfinished. Just as the servants were needed to perform Christ’s first miracle at Cana, she asks us to ‘do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5).
“Christian Spirituality invites us to imagine what it would be like to know Mary—or even to be her.
“St. Maximilian Kolbe said that the greatest way we can give glory to God is to unite oneself to the creature who glorifies God most perfectly. She is the loving example of fulfilling God’s will in humility. Mary pondered in her heart the good things that God was doing in her life. With her example, we can develop the same attitude of gratitude.
“Surrealist painters taught us that the unexpected and unbelievable can happen in art. The same can be said of a life of faith.”
