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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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At Monica Park Christian Church

Stella McCain and Mary Apple Batiste viewing St. Serapion

The Encounter Gallery paintings are currently installed in the sanctuary at Monica Park Christian Church in Garland, Texas. Pastor Eddie Hill and the whole congregation have been so gracious. It’s been a pleasure to meet and talk, and also worship with them on Sunday mornings the last few weeks.

Both sides of the sanctuary before the service.

I tried to be as unobtrusive as I could, but here’s a picture taken of the side walls from the back row during the early part of the service a few weeks ago.

And during the service.

On Thursday, March 28 at 7 pm, Monica Park will hold a Maundy Thursday service. Pastor Eddie has asked me to speak about the paintings and give some insight into why I painted them. I’ve chosen a couple that directly relate to the ideas behind Maundy Thursday, and will end with some stories behind the “24 Feet”, and why I painted that. Please join us!

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Anna in the Temple with the Child

Anna in the Temple with the Child
Oil on canvas
24″ x 18″

I’ve wanted to do this painting for a long time, and now it’s done. The models are my beautiful mother, Virginia Reed and her latest great-grandchild Eliza. Thank you Ben & Kathryn for allowing us to include Eliza!

I’m very pleased with how this painting turned out. Anna is so joyous and tickled to be holding this baby. Her expression is exactly what I was looking for. And the child is completely content in her arms.

This painting is now hanging at Monica Park Christian Church in Garland, Texas. In fact, just this last Sunday, Pastor Diana preached on Simeon and Anna both and used the two paintings to illustrate the passage in Luke. That was a great blessing to see and hear the sermon.

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Encounter Gallery Catalog

A catalog of the Encounter Gallery paintings is available. There are some sample pages below. Each painting has a short essay along with the scripture text. About half of the essays were written by friends, the other half are my own stories.

The catalogs are $20. If you would like to purchase one, let me know by sending an email to russ@encountergallery.com. I’ll reply with ways to send payment, and then bring a copy to you next time we meet, or drop one in the mail.

If you would like to have an art print made, let me know which painting you are interested in, and the size you would like (16 x 20’s are less that $50), and I will work on it.

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With James Surls at the Amon Carter

With James Surls under Seven and Seven Flower, photo by Charmaine Locke

The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth recently unveiled their newly designed interior and I went to check it out the day after their big grand re-opening.  It was Sunday (after 1st service) and their website said “Open today at 10 am!!!” So, I drove over to see the new interior design. It turns out that there were a few of us there early, but the website had not been updated overnight. So we hung out in the parking lot under the oak tree shade. 

At noon, as we were walking inside, I overheard a lady behind me speaking to one of the attendants and she said “… well, that’s James Surls”.  I looked at the guard who didn’t seem to register the name, and I turned to her and said “That’s James Surls?”  She smiled and said “Yes, and I’m Charmaine, his wife!”  James and Charmaine were checking out the placement and hanging of his newly installed piece Seven and Seven Flower for the museum.  It was pretty cool, the hanging of the piece had been supervised by one of James’ assistants, and we were seeing it together for the first time in-situ.

If you know Texas artists, you’ve seen dozens of James’s work in art museums and corporate collections.  But, this one is pretty special.  It’s massive and cool with wonderful wall shadows.   

As we were talking, James walked back over, and Charmaine introduced us.  I told him that his name had been on my resume for almost 15 years.  Back in 2005, James was juror of The Texas National at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacagdoches.  James selected my piece “St. Leon of the Steelworkers” for that show.  I’ve always been extremely pleased that he included this portrait of my grandfather.  I’ve always thought it gave me some Tex-Cred!

St. Leon of the Steelworkers
Oil on Canvas
30″ x 36″

I did not share with James and Charmaine my other James Surls moment.  A number of years ago, around the time the kids were in diapers (all grown now), I was at the Fair Park Flea Market in Dallas where Terri and I used to spend hours looking for unique treasures.  One month I spotted a small maquette obviously by Mr. Surls.  It was about 5-6 inches in diameter and maybe 6 inches high.  I very gently picked it up and marveled at this extremely cool work of art. The proprietor of the booth saw me, and smiled, and showed me a letter of authenticity, but if you know James’ work, it was obvious who made it.  The price was $500, which even though a great price, at the time it was about 100 times what I had to spend.  I looked for awhile, sat it down, looked for another long while, sighed, and walked off. 

It’s tough to love great art on a budget.