Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Seth Coulter

My name is Seth Coulter, and I am the writer and artist behind “Saint Brigand,” an Instagram page (@saintbrigand) and website (saintbrigand.com) devoted to exploring the intersection of theology and art. It is my hope to open conversational spaces via writing and art where seekers and believers might be able ask questions and explore faith through the vehicle of artistic contemplation.

Piece: Digital Illustration

This piece was digitally created on a tablet with stylus. Its overall style inspiration is that of the illustrator and engraver line-cut style from the printing press age. <

This Psalm, although having a desperate setting—that of being in most urgent need, ‘crushed to the ground,’ has immense reserves of hope in the God that saves, the God that is faithful. And so it was my hope to try and capture that desperation mingled with hope. This ultimately led me to use the figures here as well as a muted color palette. But around the scene there are gold lines to visually introduce salvation breaking through. The piece in total took approximately 5 weeks from start to finish to complete, and had 7 iterations (it was a wandering road for a while).

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: James Stukenberg

James Stukenberg is a photographer drawn to people stories and creating images with a high degree of authenticity. Since relocating to Colorado from Wisconsin in 2018 he has freelanced, photographing editorial and commercial assignments. He lives with his wife, Anne, and their three young daughters Henrietta, Louisa and Juliana, in a mint green house in Westminster.

Piece: Photography

Among the many physiological allusions in Psalm 141, the mouth is referenced more than any other. The mouth is painted as both an instrument of prayer and praise and a means for destruction.

I call upon you…
Give ear to my voice (v.1)

Set a guard over my mouth…
Keep watch over the door of my lips (v.3)

Let me not eat of their delicacies (v. 4)

They shall hear my words (v. 6)

Bones scattered at the mouth of Sheol (v. 7)

The photograph is mounted and finished with wheat paste—a method often used in street art and activism to display works in public spaces. Humble, accessible and known for its temporary nature, it allows the creator to project their voice far beyond themselves.

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: LouAnn Summers

I’m a believer in Jesus, and only by His power am walking in His way, the way of life! I am a wife of 44+ years, have four children and nine grandchildren. I feel God‘s joy when I am creating❣

Piece: Acrylic

This piece is based on Psalm 140. In this psalm, David talks about evil men, men of violence, who make plans to trip up his feet. My thought process brought me to 1 Peter 5:8. I was reminded that our true enemy who is planning to trip us up and devour us is the devil. I thought of the myriad of ways that we get tripped up in our lives. So I used these thoughts to make a wicked net, or a snare Satan often uses to trip up our feet. These are just a few ways we can get snagged on our journey.

It might be easier for you if I list them here instead of you having to read them off of the picture…

Pride, sexual immorality, unforgiveness, fear, shame, addictions, comparison, anger, love of money, distrust, worry, vain regret, complaining, envy, jealousy, unthankfulness, conceit, hopelessness, despair, deceit, lies, denial, taking offense, blaming, isolation, false identity, worthlessness, old wounds, greed, bitterness, gossip, control, idolatry, disqualification, worry, perfectionism, religion, violence, a slanderous, tongue, malice, bad habits, pettiness, desires of the flesh, autonomy, personal history, hatred, cares of life, shallowness, backbiting, vanity, circumstances, negativity, self indulgence, self justification, self gratification, self victimization, self protection, self-pity, self improvement, self-help, self-centeredness, self absorption, selfish ambition… to name a few.

Praise our merciful Lord that we have been delivered from these deathly traps!

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Rachel Buterbaugh

Rachel Buterbaugh is a Denver native and private music teacher who has always harbored a passion for the visual arts.

Piece: Photography

“The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” (v.3)

The picture the psalmist paints in this verse immediately jumped out at me and provided the inspiration for the main image of this piece. I knew I wanted the furrows to be actually cut into the picture instead of just drawn in, which was the jumping off point for the 3D elements. As I started to create furrows on a human back, I got to thinking about what comes later from furrows made in the ground. Their purpose is to make room for seeds in order that there might be a harvest later. In the same way, the Lord is capable of bringing great blessing out of great suffering in our lives. The image of marks on a human back also brought to mind Jesus’ scourging prior to His crucifixion, and yet, not a single drop of His suffering was wasted. Death, sin, and wickedness did not prevail against Him. On the other side of Jesus’ unimaginable suffering was unfathomable life and blessing.

Process:

This piece is paper layered on paper. There was a lot of measuring and cutting involved throughout the process (and hot-gluing for the flowers). The different ways the different types of paper reacted to the adhesive was the most challenging aspect to creating this piece, which I eventually solved by layering on yet more paper. My main desire was to represent life out of suffering, thus the flowers growing out of the furrows. I chose colors and textures that had a royal feel and suggested the future glory that those in Christ will one day experience.

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: John Forney

I came out to Colorado 20+ years ago and have lived here ever since. My wife, Veronica, and I can often be found riding trains throughout Colorado with our 11-year old, Grayson. I’m a black and white photographer who enjoys using an 8×10 large format camera.

Piece: Photography

I wanted an image that conveyed blessing, fruitfulness, and family (family tree). The image I shot is from a fruit tree in a vineyard.

Process:

I used an analog process called lith printing. Part of the lure of the process is the ability to work with certain papers that have been out of production for decades. The image was taken with a lens from the 1800’s that rendered a rather soft image. The lith process allowed for a high contrast print I was looking for.

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Lou Ann Summers

I am a mother of four and a grandmother of eight. I’m in love with flowers! I am also obsessed with creating things!

Piece: Acrylic

When I read the words of Psalm 127, “ unless the Lord builds the house,” I thought of the saying “a man’s house is his castle.” How fitting then is this warrior contending with his opponents. “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior… Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them!” If you’ll take a close look you’ll see that this quiver has four different arrows representing our four children.

Process:

God allowed me the perfect opportunity to go and visit my sister who is a professional artist. She is my artistic hero, and I was blessed for her to “hold my hand” while I painted this picture!

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Anna Armstrong

My name is Anna, and I’m finding my way as a new mom while balancing my career and creative pursuits. These days you’ll find me drinking lots of coffee, snuggling my daughter Margot for as long as she’ll let me, and dreaming about the next mountain adventure or trip for our little family.

Piece: Acrylic

This was a deeply meaningful piece to create. I lost my brother to cancer last November and Psalm 126 was a balm to my soul as I watched his health decline. We who sow in tears will reap in joy. I wanted to create a piece that conjured the beauty that can be born from faithful suffering.

Process:

The idea for this painting came to me one day while I was on a walk. I had the image in my mind of a bountiful field of wheat held within a teardrop. As I started painting, a scene emerged that blended my image of a wheat field with an image of the meadow where we laid my brother to rest. Within the tears is a place of bounty. The process of creating this peace was a small step of healing and faith.

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Steve Vanderheide

Hi! I’m a filmmaker and producer and I like to dabble in visual art.

Piece: Composite Photography

This actually started out as a sketch during Project 101010 (where a group of artists from Park post art that they spent 10 min on, for 10 days, with 10 Psalms). I was drawn to verse two which says:

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds His people,
from this time forth and forevermore.” (v.2)

It made me picture the Lord reaching down into the dirt and lifting up his people. It made me think of words like “support” and “protection.” He is lifting up the land of those who serve Him, saving them from the temptation of “the scepter of wickedness.” The mountains are there not only to give a literal visual element to the verse, but also to represent protection: cities that are surrounded by mountains have a natural fortress that makes them harder to approach. Jerusalem, in the middle of mountains, is represented here by Denver as a way of personalizing it for me, for our church, and to paint a hopeful picture for those in our city that could come to know the Lord.

Process:

This artwork was created in Photoshop, and the big hurdle I had to overcome was getting light and shadows to fall in the same direction. I chose to have light coming from the far left, so you’ll notice that the shadows all fall that same direction on each mountain peak. I had to look for, and cut out photos that I’ve taken of different mountains over the last 12 years. Mountains from Colorado, Wyoming (Grand Tetons), and Iceland are all featured. I then went outside and took a photo of my hands, with a flash off to the left, in an attempt to match the lighting angle from the mountain photos. Finally, I “cheated” a bit and found an aerial image of Denver with similar lighting on iStockphoto that felt like it was the correct angle. It was a challenge, but a blast to put together.

Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.

Person: Kari Langford

Hi, my name is Kari! I am a recent BFA Studio Art graduate from Denver University. I moved to Denver about five years ago and have been coming to Park Church ever since. I am currently working in Business Development and Marketing. I love to read, hike, and hang out with my little pup, Kia.

Piece: Oil & Acrylic

“We have escaped like a bird from the snare of fowlers
the snare is broken, and we have escaped!” (v.7)

This piece shows the magnitude and weight of our escape as followers of Christ. The background shows simultaneously what we escaped from and to-dark and light, a painful but beautiful past and future. The primary color, red, proclaims our identity as His redeemed sons and daughters, through the blood of Christ. The sweet freedom that is depicted by the flight of the birds is both our hope and promise.

Process:

I first sat with the passage and found the themes of freedom and escape to be most intriguing. I looked at artists such as Rothko and Matisse. I primarily used oil paint and oil paint sticks to create this piece. I built layer upon layer of thick oil paint on top of a light wash of acrylic on the base, showing the complex nature of our redeemed life with Jesus. The last touch of the work was the birds, the light shadow of them as they fly forward and upward.