Category: Art in Worship

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The Evening Meal Was Being Served

The Evening Meal Was Being Served
Oil on canvas
48″x60″

The disciples (plus one) are sitting around a table with wine and bread. Jesus is just beginning to wash their feet (bottom left). Peter is in the mix somewhere, asking himself, “How can this be happening?”.

During an exhibition recently at a local Anglican church, I was asked by one of the members if I did commissions and answered “Of course”. It turned out that Stan was interested in a personalized version of the 24 Feet. He had experienced some intense challenges with alcoholism and wanted to honor his many mentors in Alcoholics Anonymous. From his perspective, they had been Jesus to him, and he was interested in a composition where Jesus was getting ready to wash their feet.

At one point, Stan said to me, “Russ – you know what Alcoholics Anonymous is, right?”. I answered “sure, I’ve heard many stories.”. He said, “Alcoholics Anonymous is where alcoholics can meet and talk about God without having to go to a church.”

So, Stan got all his mentors together one Saturday afternoon and I set up the lights in his office and took nearly 100 snapshots of their feet. These men (and one woman, his wife Kimberly), were incredibly important to Stan and his recovery, so I realized the gravity of these ‘portraits of feet’.

Stan had a couple of additional requests. He wanted to include the Lord’s Supper elements in the painting, because that is what they did after Jesus had finished washing their feet, and Communion services had been very powerful in his life. He also wanted to include his wife’s feet in the composition. Kimberly had been extremely helpful as his partner on the way back from alcoholism and he wanted to honor her for this. He also said that someone else could have been there to help serve the wine and bread to Jesus and his disciples, and Kimberly could be that person. as she has such a servant’s heart. I thought that was so personal, and beautiful. So, of course, the answer was ‘Yes’.

The painting is one of the largest I’ve done, 4 feet by 5 feet, and took over 6 months, and it looks amazing in Stan’s office. As he invites clients and colleagues into his office, it’s the first thing they see, and some venture out and ask: “What’s that?”. Then Stan gets to tell the story of how Jesus used these disciples in his life to return him back to life.

In Stan’s office

The painting was unveiled at their Christmas Party last year.

Exhibiting permanently above the office couch

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Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross
Oil and gold on canvas
30″x20″

My closest artist friends and I were a part of the Art & Faith Life Group. One year, 16 of us decided to create our Scriptural Way of the Cross. For this project, I chose to do Way #8: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.

But, as usual, I needed the right model. My son Jonathan worked at Starbucks at the time, and through him I met Oliver, one of his long-time customers. I shared the story of the Encounter Gallery and my idea for this next painting. It turns out that Oliver knew the story well and said he would be my Simon of Cyrene. He even agreed to change into a suit & tie and meet me at our church where I knew I could borrow a large cross. Then, as my friend Andy carried the front, Oliver carried the back end of that cross up a hill many times while I took pictures.

WestWind Christian Church, Keller TX
Maundy Thursday 2025

Simon of Cyrene did not volunteer his service for Jesus. He was forced to serve. But, he did it. 

We might think that this was just an accident, because he was somehow noticed by the soldiers. But I think he was noticed and singled out by God, who used the soldiers to pull Simon forward.

However Simon did not shrink back when called – even forced – to serve. I’m sure that a direct order from armed guards was quite convincing. But he did not complain, he was not too proud to carry a cross for a convicted criminal.

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Disciples Serve the Five Thousand

Disciples Serve the Five Thousand
Oil on canvas 24″ x 18″

This painting began after listening to my friend Takiyah tell me about the gospel story that most resonated with her. She described in detail an evening when she was young, and her mother was crying because of their lack of food. Unexpectedly, to her at least that evening, God provided. That was the first time that Takiyah knew that God was present and that she could talk to him. She talked about the abundance of God and how he has constantly provided in so many ways throughout her life, and that was the reason that Jesus feeding the 5,000 was her favorite gospel story.

I imagined Takiyah as one of the followers at the front of the crowd that day, who saw the fish and loaves multiplying, pitched in and helped deliver the food to all the folks on the hillside. Her contemporary clothing and the modern dishes are my way of imagining what it would look like if this happened again today. It brings the story into the immediacy of now.

Takiyah’s story is one of my favorite evidences of the power and abundance of God. I was invited to share this story in a message to Midway Hills Christian Church in Dallas a few weeks ago. Eight of the Encounter Gallery paintings of saints impacted by Christ are exhibiting at Midway Hills during this Lenten season. We retitled the painting as St. Takiyah Serves the Five Thousand for this exhibit as we know that all who trust in God are truly saints in His eyes.

March 23, 2025 at Midway Hills Christian Church

The church members did a wonderful job of hanging the five paintings in the sanctuary and three more are just outside in the gathering space. It was an honor to speak on the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand and God’s abundance through the eyes of Takiyah.

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The Healed Paralytic

The Healed Paralytic
Oil and 23k gold on canvas
18″ x 24″

This depicts the well-known story from Mark 2 in which the paralyzed man is carried by 4 friends to get him in front of Jesus. But the crowds have pressed in from all sides. These friends are the heroes of the story, humanly speaking. Even though they must have been exhausted, they didn’t give up. After their way was blocked, they persevered and found the stairs to the roof. They carried him up the stairs, removed the tiles in the roof, and lowered him down through the hole.

Then Jesus performed 3 miracles.

The idea behind the halo is borrowed from the pop-art print “Explosion” by Roy Lichtenstein. As I thought about the paralyzed man, it’s interesting that we don’t know what he thought about what was happening to him. He did not speak during the entire story, even after he was healed. So, his halo is one of “surprise and wonder”. He must have been shocked to find himself actually standing on his own two feet. As that is happening, his mind “explodes” with realization.

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At Redeemer Bible Church

Encounter Gallery paintings are hanging this summer at Redeemer Bible Church in East Dallas. A number of families and folks from St. Bart’s Anglican Church, which is currently co-located there, also stopped by with their children to look at and talk about the paintings and their stories.

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Pastor Eddie Hill, Jacob & The Angel

Pastor Eddie Hill preached at Monica Park Sunday on Jacob wrestling with the Angel. He mentioned how we often wrestle with sin and also with global events. That might have been referencing Monday’s total eclipse! He mentioned that this biblical struggle was a real fight at a real place. He also noted that Jacob’s struggle left a scar and our struggles with God leave us scars and injuries. He encouraged us to use every opportunity to be a blessing to others. This reminded me of the verse to”carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”.