Growing up as a Christian female, I have always been fascinated by Bible stories, especially the ones that had strong female characters. Reading about and studying women from the Bible such as Esther and Mary have taught me how to be a better Christian woman. I wanted to paint these significant women, whom I’ve been able to relate to my entire life, and depict them in a beautiful way. I used vibrant acrylic paint to catch the viewer’s attention, choosing specific symbolic colors for each woman that related to the type of person she was. For example, I chose green for Eve to symbolize life, and blue and white for Mary to symbolize purity. I also applied gold leaf to symbolic places of the paintings to draw attention to them such as Eve’s fruit, Mary’s Halo, and Esther’s heart of gold.
Although not all the women in my series are considered “holy”, like Jezebel and Delilah who are known for their wickedness, all have taught me valuable life lessons that have helped me become a better woman myself and create a stronger bond with the Lord.
I chose a folk art style for this biblical series because I believe folk art is created by the people for the people. I believe the Bible is the same. The Bible is God’s word to the people. It was written by people through Him for all people. Everyone might not read the Bible or believe the stories inside, but it is there for anyone who wants them.
