Matthew

Matthew

Consider The Lillies

  • Mineral Pigments, Kumohada Paper, Gold, Platinum and Sumi ink on Paper.

  • Original Size: 60 H x 48 W x 2 in

“Consider the Lilies” is done with over sixty layers of finely pulverized precious minerals (azurite and malachite), oyster shell white, and painted with sumi ink that has been cured for over a century, as well as gold and platinum powders, and mixed hide glue, to adhere the materials onto the hand-pulled Japanese paper.

The painting depicts Easter lilies, with triumvirate flowers opening up, but with the suggestion that even these common lilies are transformed into a post-Resurrection, generative reality.

From the Artist

“Jesus tells us to “consider the lilies” (Matthew 6:28), instead of being “anxious about life, what you will eat or what you will drink” (Matthew 6:25). I consider this passage to be a crucial step that needs to be taken, before we are able to “seek the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). To assist us in taking this step, we benefit much from the artist’s observation and depiction of the outer and inner worlds, and from the poet’s capturing of complex experiences and nuances of life, to help us grow in our capacity to love our neighbors and even enemies, and to empathize with the needs of our world.”