Earlier this year I created an oil painting inspired by Mary’s Magnificat and her visit with Elizabeth from Luke 1:39-56.
So very grateful for this invitation from the Women of the ELCA (WELCA)’s Gather Magazine! Here’s the painting, published alongside Ryan Cumming’s stirring reflection, “A song for any season.”
Here’s a look at it from my sketchbook. During the underpainting process, I decided to have Elizabeth kneeling and holding the bowl, her blessing hand raised.
Some of my thoughts about the artwork were published in the magazine. Some, though, remain tucked in my heart, between the brushstrokes.
In case it’s hard to read, here’s the text:
Safe in the shelter of an ancient olive tree, Mary and Elizabeth are free to confide in one another. As Mary sings, her right hand fills the brimming basket of olives that rests on Elizabeth’s pregnant belly. Mary’s left hand, the one closes to her heart, reaches up to grasp another olive branch.
Mary does not sing alone. At her side, Elizabeth kneels and lifts a hand in an ancestral blessing. A barn owl looks on from her next. Patches of lichen flourish in the clefts of rocks. The light of a full moon reflects on the well’s water. At the roots of the mature tree, a sapling grows. Ever-new life is underway!
Blessings to you as the Advent season approaches.
