Painting A Tree Taught Me About Strength, Freedom, Refreshment and Safety

A friend asked me for an oil painting of a single tree, with a thick, sturdy trunk, in a wide-open green space where heaven and earth overlap by a swimming stream where the water endlessly refreshes and the shade is safe. Her request inspired me to incorporate the ideas of strength, freedom, refreshment, and safety into the painting. It invited me to also consider that when we have these things in our lives, we are greatly blessed. The opposite also is true, that when we don’t have them, we are in great need. The process of painting this tree provoked me to reflect on how what she described and what this painting represents is actually what all humans long for.

“The principle of true art is not to portray, but to evoke”

Jerzy Kosinski

Strength… “A single tree with a solid, thick sturdy trunk…”

The trunk is the strongest part of a tree supporting the full weight of all the branches, fruit, and leaves. It has a tough outer covering of bark which protects the tree from harm. I think about some of the strongest people I know. They are not easily blown about by trouble and are able to bear the weight of life. They have an inner resolve that is something other than this world. They are not without fear, but are not overcome by it and are willing to stand in the midst of whatever it brings and continue growing.

For a video showing the progression of this painting, see the bottom of the Sold Artwork page.

Freedom… “in a wide open green space where heaven and earth overlap…”

There is something beautiful about painting a tree with all the space and freedom it needs to grow. Its leaves reach out soaking in the sun and the roots are not crowded; able to move through the earth unhindered. Even though this tree is rooted in one place, it is actually free, because it is doing what it was meant to do and has everything it needs to continue flourishing is here. It’s the same with people really. We need to be able to breathe in our relationships, have space to grow, and feel grounded to enjoy the freedom to do what we were meant to do.

Refreshment… “by a swimming stream where the water endlessly refreshes…”

The tree and all life on earth for that matter is completely dependent on water. The blue stream spreading across the horizon in the painting reminds me that water is life-giving and ensures the survival of the tree. I happen to live in an area of the world where I have never spent a day or even an hour longing for water and not being able to have that need met. It is sobering to consider that is not the case all over the world. There is a ministry I support in Africa called Amazima and this article is a beautiful story of how their students brought refreshment to a woman who lived a 1-hour walk away from her nearest water source. It drives home the gift of water that endlessly refreshes, inspires hope, and sobers me with thanksgiving.

Saftey… “and the shade is safe.”

Sometimes we sense danger in shadows, but this tree creates shade that is safe. The shade here brings relief from the intense exposure to the heat of the sun. This shade is a place to linger and enjoy. We all long for places of safety as well. My heartfelt prayer for the orphans, the widows, the oppressed, and every human is that they would become strong, find freedom, be refreshed and rest in a shade that is safe.