Matthew 19:14 Series

This series is one of my all-time favorites I’ve painted, simply because bears are my favorite animal, and these were so fun to paint. Also, they are objectively adorable, right? I have always enjoyed creating bear themed things. In fact, I created so much in college that I was heavily encouraged to try other things, things that were more “sophisticated.” We can see how well I listened there…

While I enjoyed creating these paintings in the end, they actually started with a lot of frustration. Because this was one of my first series where I was matching backgrounds and subject matter. As soon as I started to compose the compositions for the bears, I started to overthink. I got stuck in thoughts like “okay these ‘have’ to look the same in style and textures,” and “Should I make all the bears walking? No, I like one laying. But then I can’t have two walking and only one laying…” I was only thinking of the rules of art that I thought I needed to follow. I got to the point of saying enough and just started painting. Once I did this, the joy of creating bears came back—and this became the bears’ meaning.

Now how does this story and Matthew 19:14 connect? They actually don’t. These are some of the rare pieces where the meaning and the scripture don’t point to the same conclusion. While painting these I saw them hanging in a nursery and this is what inspired the scripture. “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belong the Kingdom of God,” Matthew 19:14. Children are always welcome to “sit with,” “rest with,” and “walk with” Jesus and the heavenly Father. We are all His children and therefore are welcome to do the same.