Proverbs 11

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Proverbs 11 (1994) (5" x 7")

collage on canvas board

This chapter has such memorable sayings as "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without good sense" and "By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted."

Proverbs 10

Proverbs 10 (1994) (5" x 7")

collage on canvas board

"The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence...Doing wrong is like sport to a fool, but wise conduct is a pleasure to a person of understanding."

Proverbs 9

Proverbs 9 (1994) (5" x 7")

collage on canvas board



"Wisdom has built her house..to those that are simple she says "Turn in here..lay aside immaturity and live."  By contrast, "The foolish woman is loud...calling to those who pass by...But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol."

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board

Wisdom was established before the foundation of the earth. She takes her stand at the crossroads and cries out to the people. She speaks only righteous words and hates arrogance and perverted speech. Her fruit is better than gold.

Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7 (1994) (5" x 7")

collage on canvas board

In most of Proverbs, women are used as metaphors representing either wisdom or temptation. In Chapter 7 the specific perils of literal adultery is the subject.

Proverbs 6

Proverbs 6 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board



This chapter is a collage in itself with various teachings about not desiring the charms of an adulteress, the sudden and unpleasant fate of a villain who goes about devising evil, and the dangers of idleness.

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board

This chapter is a warning for those who do not listen to the voice of wisdom but follow iniquity instead.

Proverbs 4

Proverbs 4 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board



This chapter deals exclusively with a contrast between the way (or path) of the wise versus the way of the wicked. The former leads to a crown while the latter is like deep darkness.

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board



"The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew."  These words echo the last chapter of Job in which God zeroes in on the wonders of His creation--especially the strange creatures Leviathan and Behemoth, often pictured as an alligator and a rhinoceros, respectively.

Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2 (1994) (7" x 5")

collage on canvas board

The Book of Proverbs lends itself to surrealistic illustration since (a) there is usually a wide variety of subjects covered side by side within each chapter and (b) the author utilizes vivid imagery in his metaphors and similes. See if you can pick out the various sources for the images above.

Proverbs 1

This series of collage on canvas board was a small advance in technique  over the Life of David series in that each piece is 5" x 7" rather than the standard book illustration size of 3 1/2" x 5" of the former series. 

That simple change necessitated the use of more imagination in fashioning a coherent picture and led to the much larger collages that followed.  I must apologize for the somewhat hazy reproductions in the pictures that follow. This is due to the use of multiple coatings of white glue as a sealer rather than the matte acrylic used later on.

Proverbs 1 (1994) (5" x 7")

collage on canvas board

Ezra-Nehemiah

Building Permit (2011) (12" x 12")

collage and acrylic on canvas

These two combined books of the Bible tell the story of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls after King Cyrus gave the command to allow the Jewish exiles to return home.

Life of David: Part 12

II Samuel 22 (1994) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



In this chapter, which is virtually the same as Psalm 18, David praises God for being his refuge in a time of trouble who "drew me out of mighty waters."

Life of David: Part 11

II Samuel 16 (1994) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

David and his followers reach another low spot as they flee Jerusalem and he is cursed by a man named Shimei who came from the house of Saul. David, however, refuses to take revenge on him since he feels it is God himself who is cursing him.

Life of David: Part 10

II Samuel 15 (1994) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

The disintegration of David's family reached its height when his own son Absalom led a revolt against his father and David was forced to flee Jerusalem. An alternative explanation for David's actions was that he did not want to be in a position where he would be forced to kill his son.



Life of David: Part 9

II Samuel 12 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



The prophet Nathan confronts the king in this chapter by comparing his actions to that of a man taking someone's only lamb. As the aftermath of the Bathsheba incident, David will find that his own family is disrupted just as he disrupted Uriah's family, beginning with the death of David's son by Bathsheba.

Life of David: Part 8

II Samuel 11 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



This chapter contains the infamous story regarding David's taking of Uriah's wife Bathsheba and then seeing that Uriah was killed. Even the greatest of the characters in the Bible have their flaws. As one person said, "The only hero in the Bible is God/Jesus."

Life of David: Part 7

I Samuel 30 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



When David and his men returned to Ziglag after being gone for a while, they found that the Amalekites had raided their camp and taken away all their women and children, including David's wife Abigail. They then set off to find them.

Life of David: Part 6

I Samuel 25 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

In this chapter, which is not without its share of black humor, David encounters Nabal and his wife Abigail. Nabal refuses to give David and his troops any provisions, not realizing how strong his military force is. Abigail, however, is gracious to David and apologizes for her rather dense husband. When Nabal finds out how close to death he has come, he promptly dies and David marries his widow.

Life of David: Part 5

I Samuel 24 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



In this chapter, David is hiding in a cave with his men and has a chance to kill King Saul. However, he shows mercy toward him and only cuts off the hem of his garment.

The Life of David: Part 4

I Samuel 23 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



"David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the LORD did not give him into his hand."

The Life of David: Part 3

I Samuel 21 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



While fleeing from Saul, David comes into the presence of the King of Gath, an enemy of Israel. To escape, David pretends to be crazy and the king lets him go.

The Life of David: Part 2

I Samuel 19 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



This chapter of I Samuel describes how Saul's own family, his daughter Michel and his son Jonathan, defend David against the threats of their father. Dqavid is forced to flee for his life.

The Life of David

I Samuel 17 (1992) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

This series of collages is closely related to the Jude series previously posted in that they are 3 1/2" x 5" collages on paper based on illustrations from an old Jules Verne book. This time, however, colored illustrations from other sources are included to give a quite different feel to the collages. The book used was Michael Strogoff, whose heroic feats reminded me of the life of David.

In this first piece, David volunteers his services to King Saul to kill the giant Goliath.

Jude 24-25

Jude 24-25 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

Although the tone of most of Jude is negative, the letter ends with a glorious doxology: "Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Jude 14-16

Jude 14-16 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



These verses are intriguing in that Jude quotes from the non-canonical Book of Enoch. This does not mean that we should consider that book equal to the accepted scriptures, merely that Jude found one verse in the book useful in emphasizing his point that judgment from God will come eventually on ungodly people.

Jude 12-13

Jude 12-13 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

 

Jude continues his description of the evildoers in the church with a series of striking metaphors drawn from nature: waterless clouds, trees without fruit, wild waves, and wandering stars. Their destiny is the "deepest darkness."

Jude 10-12

Jude 10-12 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



Jude continues his diatribe against those who would pervert the cause of Christ by comparing them to the prophet Balaam who was in it only for the money, Cain with his jealous anger, and Korah who arrogantly led a rebellion against Moses.

Jude 9

Jude 9 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

This intriguing verse alludes to non-biblical Old Testament event in which the archangel Michael and Satan disputed over the body of Moses. Satan's contention, according to the apocryphal Assumption of Moses, was that Moses was unworthy of saving since he was a murderer. Fortunately for Moses as well as for all of us flawed sinners, it is God's grace that ultimately counts, not our own works.

Jude 7-8

 Jude 7-8 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper



The example of Sodom and Gomorrah is given by Jude as an example of those deserving the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude 5-6

These verses are a harsh reminder that we cannot assume that our actions do not matter to God, even if we are God's chosen people or his angels. Judgment comes in the end for all.

Jude 5-6 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

The Book of Jude

The first series of collages I did using only black-and-white images was on the Book of Jude. Most of the illustrations I used for their basis came from an early edition of Jules Verne's book Hector Servadac. The only problem with these collages is that they ended up looking like straightforward pictures that I merely re-named, rather than collages pieced together with an average of about 6-8 pieces each. I later learned to mix black-and-white images with color photographs to emphasize the composite nature of the end result. Below is the first piece in the series:

Jude 1-4 (1984) (3 1/2" x 5")

collage on paper

Sad News

One of my earliest pieces was not based on any biblical passage but just on the general theme of someone receiving bad news. The technique I used was an experimental one in which I first glued sand on a pane of glass in the desired pattern and then painted the entire surface with oils. I was afraid that the paint and/or the sand would flake off, but I have had the picture hanging in various houses for over fifty years and it looks just like the day I painted it.

Sad News (1960) (11 1/2" x 8 1/2")

oil on sand and glass

The Tower of Babel

The story of the Tower of Babel is a powerful cautionary tale for any person or nation that tries to reach too far.  Although we are enabled and encouraged to push back the frontiers of knowledge, it is good to keep in mind the saying of Thomas a Kempis: "Man proposes, but God disposes."

Tower (2013) (3' x 2')

acrylic and collage on canvas

Psalm 100

A Joyful Noise (2012) (12" x 12")

collage and acrylic on canvas



"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 67

Praise to God (2012) (12" x 12")

acrylic on canvas

This abstract rendering of Psalm 67 demonstrates pictorially the poetic parallelism that occurs in Hebrew poetry whereby the second (and third) line of verse repeats the general thought of the first line but expands it somewhat.

The Anointing of Jesus

I had envisioned a whole series of collages with rhyming titles such as above, but have only managed to produce one picture so far. As you might guess, the subject is the story of the woman breaking the jar of expensive perfume and anointing Jesus with it (Mark 14:3-9).  We should not be afraid of extravagant actions performed for the glory of God.

  Shard/Nard (2011) (11" x 14")

collage on canvas

Prayer Box 5

Another aspect of prayer, persistence, is illustrated in Jesus' parable of the widow and the unjust judge (found in Luke 18:1-8).  Some people have trouble with this story since it seems to equate God with someone who is unjust. The point of the parable is that if even an unjust person gives in to someone's request after much pleading, certainly a just God will grant a reasonable request more swiftly.

Persistence (2006) (9 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 5 1/4")

construction in telephone generator box

inside

left side

right side

Prayer Box 4

Jesus tells a parable found in Luke 18:9-14 about the contrast to a self-righteous Pharisee and a repentant tax collector both approaching God in prayer. The surprising moral of the story is "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Pride and Poverty (2006) (8" x 4 1/2" x 6 1/2")

assemblage in wooden box)

left side

back view

top view