Series One: Painting With Purpose

By: Vashti Graham

Artist Description:

For Series One of my Biblical paintings, it all started with me simply wanting to paint my favorite Bible stories. But as time went on, it naturally grew into something more... painting the stories and moments my Bible study partner, Lauren, and I discussed together. Because I’m a visual learner, creating these pieces helped me remember what I studied and allowed Scripture to settle deeper in my heart.

My first painting of the entire series was the one of Jesus. I chose to begin with Him intentionally, symbolizing that my foundation is built on Christ alone. I even worked on that painting during a trip to Houston to see our friend Kelli, making it a sweet memory tied to the start of this whole journey.

As I continued the series, I also studied Hebrew writing, which became a fascinating part of the process. But something else happened along the way, I realized that many popular biblical artworks and illustrations aren’t actually aligned with Scripture. That bothered me more than I expected. So I decided that if it frustrated me, I needed to be the change I wished to see.

With each painting, I chose to stay as Biblically accurate as I could while still expressing it in my own art style. On the back of every canvas, I included Scripture to show exactly where the inspiration came from, allowing others to connect the artwork and learn with the Word that shaped it.