Lauren Pickens: World class compassion

Painting notes Lauren Pickens: World Class Compassion, Hope for Sudan. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 x 1.5 inches.

IPHC World Missions Ministries commissioned me to make 3 portraits to honor people who made a significant impact on global ministry. Lauren Pickens is one of the honorees in 2017. I always begin by praying and asking the Lord for a specific word that will guide me through the painting. For the 3 commissions, I sensed a theme to unify the 3, “World Class Christians”.  We think of world class athletes, world class scholars, and world class artists and musicians. They are people who through sacrifice, vision, the pursuit of excellence, personal discipline and talent set the bar for others to follow. They rightfully deserve honor and recognition. In missions, we often speak of “world Christians”. These are World Class World Christians. I then began to pray and meditate on each person and asked the Lord to show me what made e/o unique, worthy of honor and world class. 

Jesus cares for the individual as much as for the multitudes. He is compassionate. He is the good shepherd. World class world Christians are not merely developing global strategies and large scale projects. The glory of the Lord must first fill the heart of an individual. 

Kingdom work requires Kingdom compassion. Otherwise, it can be motivated by human ambition. I believe when God looks at Lauren Pickens and Hope for Sudan, he sees powerful instruments of divine compassion. World Class Compassion.

The Development of the Painting:

I think the painting speaks for itself. Just a note on color. Blue-Green which is the dominant color. The beige sandy color, represents the dry land of Sudan. Lauren and Hope for Sudan are bringing refreshing. Turquoise is a semi-precious stone and relates to joy, life, refreshing and abundance. It is also used in jewelry. Lauren and her teams are jewels of the Holy Spirit that bring life, prosperity and refreshing hope. And in every reference photo, the compassion and love for the “least” of these shines like a beacon in Lauren’s face. Jesus said in as much as you did it to “these”, you did it unto me. She entered the compassion of Christ, saw sheep w/o a shepherd and stood in the gap for them.

Impressionism: My preferred way to paint is to give the work a “sketch-book” quality. Rather than a highly polished, extremely tight work; I love a “freshly painted, painted on the spot and straight off the easel” look.