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

Person: Margie Keith

I’m currently the Office Manager at Park Church, making the transition soon to full time student!

Piece: Acrylic

After spending a lot of time reflecting on Psalm 113, what stood out to me the most is that it is a psalm about hope; blessing the name of the Lord and also being blessed by Him. It’s about His praiseworthiness, and His active compassion for those the world has forgotten. He raises the poor, lifts the needy, and gives the barren a home.

My painting represents a woman walking from a dark place into a bright field of flowers, leaving the shadows behind and entering into light.

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

Person: Taylor Powers

Taylor is a photographer who grew up in the small mountain town of Woodland Park, CO. She has been working with different types of film for over a decade, and is drawn to the slower pace and unpredictability of the medium more and more.

Piece: Film (35mm)

My goal with this piece was to visually represent how perfect righteousness is ultimately unobtainable through our efforts alone. How does righteousness look through the lens of our sinful nature? I wanted to show an object that represents righteousness to me and ultimately highlight our need for a Savior who is perfectly righteous.

We make an effort to live like the righteous people described in this passage; we strive to be steadfast, firm in our faith, unshaken in our trust in the Lord. The strong language in this Psalm reminded me of the idea of a large boulder, signifying a steady, secure, unwavering presence. In this piece, the original subject of the boulder never changes, even though the pieces are broken and the efforts to reassemble them aren’t aligning quite right. The rock is still the rock, it doesn’t change or shift or move. Our perception of the boulder can adjust and shift based on our current circumstance, conditional. This imagery is obviously falling short of a perfect representation of the original boulder.

Even though the broken pieces can never be a perfect image of the original subject, you can still get an idea of the boulder’s nature and appreciate all that it represents. The broken pieces can still be formed into something that feels like a glimpse into what righteousness is, even though it’s a flawed picture. In the end, the rock is still the rock, it doesn’t change or shift or move regardless of how we are seeing it.

For this piece I used expired 35mm film and an older film camera with a broken light meter, in order to have little control in the process of photographing the actual boulder. I worked to create the original images in a way that had little clarity or direction, it was a guessing game to see where each frame would land in the final layout. The prints of the images were cut into smaller sections, and I did my best to piece them back together to recreate an image of the original boulder.

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

Person: Deannah Baesel

I feel like art chose me when I was a child and it’s never let go! Art has given me a space to be creative, work through big feelings, celebrate others, and enjoy different characteristics of God. It’s incredibly rewarding to work on a project, devoting time/thought/energy to it, then see it manifest. For me, the process of creating can be just as enjoyable as the finished piece! I hold a Bachelor of Science in Art with an emphasis in Design and Composition from Biola University. I’ve taught art in private and group lessons—from 1st graders through adult wine and paint nights. Creating is a place I feel safe and comfortable and I want to help others experience those same feelings.

Piece: Mixed Media

When reading Psalm 111, I kept thinking about the glory, awesomeness, and consistency of God. This passage is full of so many of His characteristics – greatness, glory, majesty, righteousness, graciousness, compassion, remembrance, promise, power, faithfulness, justice, trustworthiness, uprightness, provision. When I think about these words, I can’t help but pause in awe of who God is and the fact that He loves me so dearly. In this piece, I wanted to capture that feeling, but how to you communicate something that you can’t see? I explored this tension using symbolism in the composition and materials, ultimately creating a piece that aims to guide the viewer to seeing the radiance of God, grounded in and overlaid by the truth of His unending glory.

This mixed media piece is created using yarn, hot glue, spray paint, resin, and gold leaf. I’ve never worked with resin before, but the learning process was a lot of fun! The lines represent the radiance of God and are created using a worsted weight yarn. I measured the various points around the panel and hot glued them in place. I decided on a warm color palette because these characteristics of God make me feel happy and I sense happiness in bright, warm tones. The white strokes near bottom where the yarn comes together are created by manipulating the wet spray paint with my hands – a little touch of me laid into the piece. I coated the panel in 3 layers of resin, with each layer curing for 24 hours. As an artist, waiting can be one of the hardest things to do! In our daily lives, waiting can create a place where we listen in order to learn and grow in our faith. While waiting during the creation of this piece, I found myself returning to the passage and reflecting on all of the characteristics of God over and over again. Once the yarn was covered in resin, I laid out the triangle (a symbol of the Holy Trinity) and used gold leaf adhesive to create a crisp edge and organic edge. The crisp edge symbolizes the truth of God and how it is unwavering; God is real and He loves us. The organic edge represents the creativity of God and the space we have to journey in our faith while still being certain of His stability. Gold leaf reminds me of royalty, which felt like an appropriate medium to express the glory of God woven throughout this Psalm. Another 2 coats of resin encapsulate the golf leaf with the yarn which makes the piece layered, but still one cohesive work. The resin’s slight reflective surface also allows the viewer to see themselves in the piece, which is a very important part of the work. When we know and believe in God, we enter into relationship with Him. By seeing your reflection in the center of the triangle, you see how you are surrounded by the 3 persons of the Trinity with God’s love radiating out from your center. That’s the feeling of awe that I wanted each viewer to experience.

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

Person: Alyssa Beck

I’m Alyssa Beck. Wife, mother to 3 littles, and a graphic designer.

Piece: Soft Pastel

I hope to spend my life in a posture of seeking to understand God’s character. One question we like to ask in our family is “What must God be like…?” I wanted to illustrate that question in meditating on Psalm 110. I learned that this Psalm is commonly quoted in the New Testament to support the understanding that Jesus, the Messiah, is both King and Priest. The visual that came to mind in meditating on this Psalm is a picture of a victorious, strong, awe-inspiring, fear-inducing lion- the reigning King juxtaposed with a silent lamb to the slaughter, in the most humble upside down position, broken.

Side-by-side this is such a beautiful reality about the character of God that surpasses my comprehension and brings me to worship. He is the lowly, willing sacrifice and the omnipotent, holy Alpha & Omega! Truly, what must He be like?

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

Person: Benjamin Rogers

Benjamin Rogers is an instructor of Painting and Drawing at Red Rocks Community College. He received an MFA in painting from Arizona State University and his work has been published in New American Paintings, Create! Magazine, Fresh Paint Magazine and ArtVoices. He lives in Arvada with his wife Emma, and two children.

Piece: Acrylic Painting

This piece examines King David in a place of darkness, doubt, loneliness and despair. I painted the piece in acrylic to emphasize the plastic nature of the Little Tike toy, which represents King David. He is seated on a black surface lit by a single light source. This psalm is a lamentation for the circumstances that David finds himself in, surrounded by wickedness and deceit. The black surrounding the toy in the painting illustrates the wickedness surrounding him and the evil that happening to him. The light source is symbolic of a source of hope in God, as the only means of restoration.

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

Person: Kari Langford

Kari, originally from Houston, is currently pursuing her BFA at the University of Denver. Growing up in a small waterfront town, she has always connected to God through the ocean. Nature is an important means to relate to God and the people around her. She has recently been exploring color, light, and form in her paintings, as well as performance and ceramic work.

Piece: Oil Painting

The last couple of months have been hard. They are unprecedented and difficult times that have caused an aching and longing in my soul for God to restore. All the day long, I cry out for the Lord to redeem this land, to wipe away the tears.

In the midst of this season, I have been home in Texas; I have once again returned to the water and greenery of a Texas landscape. So many times, I have woken up in the morning to look out the window and see warm, beautiful hues of greens and yellows. This time has forced me to slow down and look around—as if the Lord was calling me to “Awake!”

While I have been spending time in Psalm 108, I have been reminded of the Lord’s goodness. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.

My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
For Your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
(Psalm 108:1–4)

I was struck by this image of worshiping with all of my being, with awaking the dawn with praise. In response to this, I woke up at 5am, went to the neighborhood dock, and greeted the dawn with praise for our holy God. The clouds and the sun and the water and the trees, all point us to the Creator. They show us glimpses of His steadfast love—of His faithfulness—that reaches beyond the things we can see.

My prayer is that in the midst of sorrow, we can rejoice in who God is, and that one may look upon this burst of color and light and be moved to praise our incomprehensible God.

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

Person: Lou Ann Summers

My name is Lou Ann Summers. I grew up in Littleton, Colorado and since then have lived in Missouri, Texas, New Mexico, and Utah. We have now been in Arvada for five years. I have been married to Brent going on 38 years and am a mother of four and a grandmother of six. I come from a very artistic family, a few of whom are professionals. It was not until adulthood that I discovered a knack for painting. I am an amateur artist and make art for the sheer joy of it. I was fortunate to have the chance to teach art to sixth graders for five years in public school.

Piece: Acrylic

Being in my 60s, I have had the opportunity to practice my artistry plenty, and like they say, practice makes perfect. Haha! Not that I’m perfect! but that I have had plenty of practice. I never went to school for it. My sister became a professional artist and because i grew up beside her, I absorbed much of her eye for color, light and shapes. As children she and I had a drawing game we would play together in church while we were listening quietly. In later years we would paint together as she instructed me. I have also enjoyed watching painters on TV, learning much from them. I feel God’s joy when I am creating!

This particular piece was inspired from Psalm 107. It speaks repeatedly of the people crying out and God providing for, and saving them. V.35 says, “He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs, there He brought the hungry to live and they founded a city where they could settle.”—an oasis in the middle of dry sand! Like our children cannot stay out of the water in the summertime, I cannot live without his living water! I can’t count the number of heart-scorching times during “Covid” where I have had to run to the fountain of life to drink, or die. And He offers me an oasis of water where my heart can settle 🙂

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

Person: Nikki Rasmussen

Nikki Rasmussen is a Colorado-raised artist and designer who graduated with a BFA from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in 2014. She has been drawing since she could hold a crayon and has always found visual art to be key to her self expression and identity. She currently lives in the Boulder area with a big dopey dog and two goofy little cats where she continues to create regularly and thrives off that beautiful mountain view.

Piece: Digital Design

Many times He delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress,
when He heard their cry.
For their sake He remembered His covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.
(Psalm 106:43–45)

It’s always striking to me how patient and forgiving a father our God is. To look back through human history is to review a long succession of sin; we push God away, disobey Him, allow the enemy to seep into our very culture and establish “norms” that are toxic and painful and that go against all that God had intended for us. We get a clear perspective of this is Psalm 106 as the psalmist lists out all that God’s people have done and yet, in spite of it all, God remembers His covenant. Every time we trip and fall, God the Father is there to pick us up and bandage our wounds so that we can continue on, learning from our mistakes and using them to grow more into the people He intended us to be.

I chose to focus this image not on the falling or the lifting up, but rather on the wounds now covered by God. Sin is shameful and scary, but we can wear these bandages with immense gratitude knowing that they came from God and that from them we will experience growth we might not have even known we needed.

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

Person: Daniela Lozano

Hi, my name is Daniela Lozano. I grew up as a missionary kid in Costa Rica and Guatemala. I went to the Air Force Academy and served in aviation in the Air Force for 7 years, during which I deployed twice. I currently serve people as an Optometrist and take care of their eye care needs. I love art, hiking, cycling, and snowboarding. And I love bringing my fur-baby, Snoopy, to the dog park.

Piece: Watercolor

My piece, “The Covenant,” is in watercolors and is inspired by Psalm 105. It also captures the symbols of God’s Old Testament covenant: God moving through the halves of a burnt offering.

Art is very therapeutic for me. In this case, I was upset about impending Memorial Day at the time of the painting. It’s always a difficult holiday for me because it honors service men and women that were lost in combat. Having been in war, the pain of their loss is real to me. But, God’s covenant is also very real, and it reminds me that HE will never leave or forsake His children. We are always in a better place if we’re in His will.

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 been here ever since. My wife, Veronica, and I have a blended family and are blessed with five kids. I’m a self-taught black and white photographer shooting with old school 8×10 large format and medium format cameras.

Piece: Black and White Photography

From a young age, my experiences out exploring and camping in northern Minnesota lit a fire in me that has never gone away. Photography has always been a means for me to slow down, be present, and share my love of God’s wonderful creation with my family. This image was shot over 10 years ago when I was camping with my four oldest kids along the rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The negative has always been one of my favorites but as time went on, I always printed more recent images. While reading Psalm 104, It seems impossible not to be caught up in euphoria along with the Psalmist as he praises the Lord’s “splendor and majesty.” I still recall being in awe as I looked out at this scene years ago. Experiencing the sheer heights and the depths on the edge of that rim coupled with the approaching rain backlit by the sun moving through the canyon. It was awesome. The psalmist illustrates God’s providence: He stretched out the heavens, makes the clouds His chariot, set the earth on its immovable foundations, and rebuked the waters so that they will never again cover the earth. He is totally in control. There is a place and purpose for all creation, and “the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work (v.13).” He is the Provider. “In wisdom You made them all (v.24)” and all creation looks to Him for food (v.27), satisfaction (v.28) and life (v.29). The psalmist gives us a recounting of the perfectly-created world, yet does not overlook the sin and wickedness that will be consumed and be no more (v.35). I look back on that camping trip over 10 years ago. Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the brokenness that would ensue in my family’s life since then. This image helps remind me to reflect on His promise that our present sufferings can not compare the future glory that awaits us. He is our hope. Praise God.