INTRODUCTION

For as long as I can remember I have painted.  It was my favourite subject at school.   Interestingly I didn't attend art school, but studied journalism instead!   However, I never forgot my brushes and paint.

Subsequently, I took classes to study portrait painting technique at the De Gooise Academie in Laren, Holland.  I’ve always loved portraits, and painted many over the ensuing years whilst also enjoying painting still-life and horses in movement.

Then everything changed after our 14yr old son died in 2001, after suffering from a complicated disease.

During his illness he found comfort and support from the Psalms in the Bible.  Every night he would ask us to read one to him.

After he died I felt prompted to paint these prayers of David. The question was, how?

I didn't feel like painting abstracts as I wanted the paintings to invite the viewer to discover things within them by using recognisable symbols and figures.

It was quite a challenge putting images onto canvas with no literal subject matter to work from, but one I enjoyed rising to.

Initially, this work was a form of mourning for me, therefore it was a great surprise when people told me they loved the result – even asking whether they were for sale!

So far I have painted 25 Psalms.

Now a book of these painted Psalms has been published in The Netherlands, dedicated to our brave son Ephraim.

Christa Rosier