Acrylic on Canvas 36" x 48"  Matthew 6:23
As I began painting this image I filled the canvas with light. The colors were washes of yellow and orange. With this as the background I began sweeping wide arcs of browns, blue and purple to articulate an iris and eye lid. If you ever want to know what someone really thinks, or if you want to commune with someone deeply, you look into their eyes. Innately, we gravitate to find each other’s spirit or soul in the eye.

As the music of the band continued, I let the depth of the iris, with its cool green and blues with flecks of yellow, anchor the image. Hidden in the pupil is the profile of healing and release by the Spirit. The Hebrew idiom, Ayin tova, the ‘good eye,’ was an iconic idea that Jesus used when he said, “If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light…” [Mat. 6:23]. The ancient expression, ‘good eye,’ referred to the inward righteous character of a person whose eye was always ‘for’ other people, especially to those in need. It was the closest thing in the Old Testament to the New Testament idea of being ‘filled with the Spirit.’ More than ever, with social distancing, having an eye that looks to the good of others gives new value to one’s understanding of the presence of God’s Spirit.