The Wise Man and the Fool

"The Wise Man and the Fool" - 11 by 7.3 inches - Drawn in photoshop with a wacom tablet.

Proverbs is a book of wisdom and advice on how to live morally. Proverbs often talks of the path of a wise person vs the path of a foolish person. It seeks to persude us to seek the path of the wisdom.

This image came to mind while reading through proverbs. Wisdom is often spoken of as being precious like fine jewels, gold, and silver. Foolishness on the other hand is explained much differently. The word "fool"  comes from a Latin work "follis" which means bellows or bag. It's a bag of air. There is no substance to it. It's an "empty headed" person who lacks sense.

Here is a link to the verse in proverbs:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+2&version=NIV1984

© Keith Brabender 2017

Easter Sunday, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday

Three acrylic paintings approx 1ft x 3ft each, painted on canvases which are stretched on cedar.

(The gold border/background surrounding the three canvases is added digitally.)

Visualizing Easter

This image is meant to communicate the story of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. They are in order from left to right.

Palm Sunday
This image is taken from Luke19:28-44.
The silver drops coming down are the tears of Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem. The many background circular shapes with arms in the air are meant to be the crowd cheering Jesus’ entry. The square shapes are meant to represent Jesus and the donkey he rode, and the gold sparkling up into the air is to remind us of the gory of God which was with Jesus.

Jesus wept as the crowd cheered. This reminds us of how much we need to draw near to God is order for us to see what he sees. The disciples were often looking a different direction from Jesus, and we catch ourselves in that same way of thinking. Let’s continue to encourage one another, pursuing God together.

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

-Luke 19:41,42

Good Friday
This is to visually remind us of the suffering Jesus went through in order to rescue us from the penalty of our sin. The bottom section which is a small confined space surrounded by black darkness, pictures the separation from -God the Father- which Jesus endured because of his love for us.

“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

 -Luke 23:44-46

Easter Sunday
“He has risen.” This is meant to convey a feeling of Jesus overcoming death, and taking his rightful place of glory at the right hand of God. The canvas is bright white and smooth unlike the other two. There is a small gold-colored ground plane and rising silver brush strokes. “He has risen indeed”.

“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” -Luke 24:5,6a

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© Keith Brabender 2017

Colossians

Composite of photographs combined with digital painting

Visualizing Colossians

This image communicates some of the major themes found in the book of Colossians. It’s my hope that months or even years from now church members can think back and remember this image, which will help us recall the things Cabot preached, and the Biblical truths that the Apostle Paul revealed to us.

Jesus Makes God Visible

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

-Colossians 1:15,16

The earth, sky, grass, and trees recall God’s creation. The strong tree is meant to be an analogy for this verse. The tree has a trunk which can be seen, but also has an elaborate root structure which cannot be seen. The roots symbolize God the father, hidden from our sight but at the same time very real. The top of the tree - trunk, leaves, branches - symbolizes Jesus who was seen by the eyes of many.

Growing in the Knowledge of God

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

-Colossians 2:6,7

The roots are also a reminder for us to remain connected to Christ so that we can be strong in our faith. We can do this through things like prayer, thankfulness, reading and meditating on Scripture, and being connected to fellow Christians, to name a few.

Deceptive Philosophy.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ”
-Colossians 2:8

The tree on the left without any root structure is beginning to tip. This is a picture of what can happen if we are not continuing to live our lives rooted in Christ. We leave ourselves open to be taken captive by things not Christian, by worldly philosophies.

© Keith Brabender 2017