Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: Bruce Butler
I’m Bruce, and I’ve been part of Park for nearly 13 years. I’m married to Jamie Rosenberry, and we have a two-year-old and another child on the way (likely having arrived by the time you’re reading this!). I’ve worked as a Graphic Designer for about 13 years, originally freelancing under the name Wise Bison, and now full-time with The Fire and Smoke Society, a spice company known for its killer rubs. I also play guitar for Park and in two bands: Last Ditch and Our Violet Room. Outside of design and music, I co-manage Victory House, a sober living home within the Providence Network, and love specialty coffee, cooking for friends and family, and attending shows.
Piece
I chose Psalm 2 as the basis for this piece. The psalm describes nations rising in pride against God, only for God to laugh at their defiance. He establishes His Son—the Messiah—as heir to all nations, calling rulers to serve Him and to “kiss the Son” while rejoicing with trembling.
I represented this theme by illustrating six rebellions against God throughout history, using the number six symbolically—representing human incompleteness and our tendency to fall short. These are not all cases of atheism vs. Christianity, nor are they equivalent in scope or suffering. The six rebellions are:
- The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)
- Pharaoh’s persecution of the Hebrews in Egypt (Exodus 7–12)
- The statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)
- The Roman Colosseum and Christian persecution (1st–3rd Century AD)
- The Crusades (1095–1291 AD)
- Christian Nationalism (present day)
The last two were/are carried out by people claiming to act in God’s name, but their actions in the name of Christ are antithetical to His teachings, with a complete lack of trembling and wisdom by their nation’s “kings.” Jesus, over and over, chose to disregard government, military, or any political movement as a means to achieve his goals, instead calling the Church to action through love. To clarify, there should be an overlap with the government’s pursuits and Jesus commands, like loving your neighbors, caring for the least of these, widows, and orphans, and so on, but Jesus never elected to use government as the means to carry out his mission.
Above these six examples is an enormous, ornate crown with an Alpha & Omega symbol at the crest, displaying God being the king, set apart and unfathomable. Radiating rays shine from the crown, symbolizing His ridicule of humanity’s vain attempts at power and control.
PROCESS: Digital Art
For the process, I used Adobe Illustrator for the line work, trying a few ideas but landing on this concept of the crown above 6 rebellions. Trying to represent them symbolically with minimal detail was a challenge, and after starting with two design styles with the symbols at the bottom, I paused and went to work on the crown, which was more fleshed out in my mind. After finishing that, the rest of the “rebellions” fell into place quickly. I brought that into Photoshop and tried a few textures, but the brilliant colors of the Final felt most fitting for the unfathomable God in His glory.
I call this piece ‘OA515’ (oasis) in response to Psalm 1’s presentation of two life paths for a person to live and walk. One path leads towards rootlessness and death, while the other towards a rooted, abundant, fruitful life in Christ. While reading Psalm 1, a ‘split screen’ image formed in my mind initially, giving the viewer a clear choice to walk down one path versus the other. Upon more readings, I began imagine an oasis in the desert, that one could step into our out of. This vision brought me closer to what you see in the drawing: an overlap of both realities in which we choose to live as sinners and believers. While we strive towards a life committed the Word and aligned with our Father’s desire for us to drink and eat of him, we still wander out into the heat and desolation of the world beyond the lush garden. We follow and become fixed to a windswept track that takes us swiftly towards our own desires. Therein lies the struggle and the choice. With His hand on our shoulder, we may yet again decouple ourselves from that sinful train of thought or action and find ourselves back at the water’s edge.
At Park Church, we work with local partners to love and serve our neighbors throughout the city. This last Sunday, we had the opportunity to hear from David Warren at Open Door Ministries. Open Door seeks to address poverty, build communities, and cultivate followers of Christ here in Denver through Housing, Kid and Youth Programming, Leadership Development, and Local Outreach. You learn more about Open Door, their work, and how to get involved by 
The squares feel as if they move from left to right and create a narrative. Perhaps only one square moves, but we see it pictured in a few “stages” of its journey? The dark square at the beginning (hidden in the fold of the large left triangle) and the dark square at the end (falling out of the larger right triangle) work as bookmarks in a journey: a start and an end. In particular, we may see a movement reminiscent of Genesis 3:19—from dust to dust; a falling like gravity.
Though the shapes furthest back in this composition are dark (perhaps representing original “dust,” as referenced in the Ash Wednesday piece), there is a lighter foreground, appearing as a sort of sash over the purple rectangle (Lent is traditionally represented with the color purple). Taken altogether, this purple rectangle can illustrate the tension we feel in this season: mortality and sin is right behind us, but in Christ we are truly wrapped in His righteousness and life. Furthermore, in the image, the black shape is separated from the purple rectangle by this white sash—just as we are ultimately separated from our sin and death. The question of “how is any of that possible?” is appropriately felt!
Bright yellow shouts of happiness are present, but as in the previous piece for Lent, dark shapes are furthest back in our image. The irony of Palm Sunday is clear—those who know the whole story can rejoice with a “Hosanna!” while knowing that “Crucify Him!” can come from the same place. We say with David “Unite my heart to fear Your name!” (Psalm 86:11). This art piece also shows a white shape entwined above, between, and below the other shapes. As in our piece for Lent, I see this white “path” representing the presence and foreknowledge of Christ in all of the happenings of Holy Week (and how it plays out in our hearts today).
As we get to this piece, all instances of light and warmth are gone. The black present in the other pieces is now the entire background. The white shape and/or path from the previous pieces has turned purple, and is wrapped in red and black serpentine forms. The white turned purple illustrates the royalty of Christ in His death (his upside-down throne). The red and back illustrate the hatred, the sin, and curses that fell on Him in this moment. It’s an entangling, suffocating mess, but the shape representing Jesus is shown as larger as the other shapes, extending well past them and even turning to “see” them. His sovereignty is unaffected.
As you view this piece, I challenge you to picture it as “zoomed out” in comparison to the other pieces. Imagine that its scope has to be much larger! Shapes of yellow and black that previously seemed central are now laying small against a massive, layered backdrop that’s bright with the shades of a dawn sky. The white from earlier pieces now wraps around the sky and amongst the shapes on the ground, even supporting the yellow and black shapes. It’s as if the whole “stage” is now visible, and the end is clear.
As Michael and Mark shared, an important element of CrossPurpose’s work is the cultivation of “Ally” relationships. This Spring Semester, we invite you, your family, or your Gospel Community to join CrossPurpose and its mission by becoming an ally.