Behold the Joy of Jesus

Facilitating creative arts workshops in the Christian community has given me a new relationship with Jesus and the Church. I found myself wanting to paint an image of Jesus, unlike any I had seen before. The representations of a tortured Jesus were crowded in my mind, so the thought of painting a joyous Jesus delighted me. I was reflecting on the words: "being held" and "behold". I noticed how we support each other by witnessing our experiences. Through witnessing, we are affirming, and also sharing the human expression of life. We are being held by those who witness our lives. We are also being held by God witnessing our lives. We behold others, as the women in this painting behold Jesus, each with her own personality and expression of delight, humour, compassion, admiration, and possibly desire.

"Behold the Joy of Jesus" 
Artist:  Lindena Robb
Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas - 76 cm x 92 cm
Sydney, Australia