Raising up the lame man

The process for starting a new painting is always different. I'm working on an acrylic painting of Peter raising up the lame man which will be used for a book cover illustration by author and missionary Russell Stendal. A commentary on the NT book of Acts, Russell writes about how as Christians we need to obey the Spirit's leading and not just do the "right" things.

Above is a photo my friend and I @fotojunky took (well, actually the camera sitting on the tripod did) this morning as a reference for the painting. We dressed up in the biblical clothing in front of my studio.

Did we care what people thought about us?

Not a bit!

Well, maybe for a second or two, but it didn't stop us from doing our thing and being artists. :)

I want to take you on this journey and show my process. You saw it here first on Steemit!

The New Testament Christians were not a little group of nice grey-haired ladies (not that I have anything against nice grey haired ladies) or a board of deacons having a tidy business meeting in a small church building in a little suburban town. These people were non-conformists, bucking the religious system of the day. They didn't care if they were jailed or beaten for doing what God called them to do: to testify that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and to show it by doing some of the same miracles He did before He was crucified and rose from the dead.

I look forward to sharing more of the painting process with you.

Have a blessed day,

See more of my artwork at: [MattPhilleo.com}(http://mattphilleo.com)