Artist bio

Hello, my name is Natalie Brendle. I’ve been an artist for most of my life. I dabble in many different mediums of art with a main concentration of Visual Symbolism of Scripture. Art is something I’ve been passionate about it throughout my life, and I aim to glorify God through it as He is the true artist.

Title

Armor and prayer

Medium/Genre

Painting

Artist Statement

This painting is both a literal and symbolic representation of Ephesians 6:10-20, particularly verses 10-18.
The man is like any normal man, except he has clothed himself in the full armor of God. The armor is accented with gold and gold crosses to create a sense of light coming forth from his armor. He closes his eyes in prayer. He cannot see what is happening in the heavenly realm around him, but he is standing firm and trusting in God to protect and guide him. I created the snake to symbolize the devil, and the fire and smoke that make it up represents Hell. Fiery darts are spewing out of the snake, but they are extinguished by the shield of faith. Some even lay on the ground smoking. The light that bursts forth is the light of God, and it devours the darkness and burns the devil that dwells in it. If you look at it in the sun, you can see more gold accents that reflect in the light. The ground I made to look like water over glass to show that the setting is not in the physical world, and he is not battling flesh but instead the spiritual darkness. The whole piece is a visual representation of a spiritual battle.

How it fits into contest

For my art piece, I wanted to capture most of Ephesians 6:10-20. In this painting, I was able to encapsulate verses 10-18. It is a visual representation of spiritual battles in the spiritual realm. The man is clothed in the full armor of God. Instead of trying to fight His spiritual battles alone, He is praying to God for protection and for help against the spiritual darkness and the fiery darts of the devil. He is standing firm and trusting the Lord. It is not flesh that he is facing but the spiritual forces of evil. Verse 10-20 speaks of clothing in the full armor of God so that we can “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) It also says we are not facing “flesh and blood” but against “rulers,” “authorities,” and “cosmic powers of present darkness”, as well as evil forces in the heavenly places (v. 12). This is why I created the snake. It is supposed to represent the devil and the evil forces in the heavenly realms. Verse 16 mentions to take up the shield of faith so that we can “extinguish the flaming darts” of the enemy. The center of the piece has the darts hitting the shield of faith and being extinguished. Verse 13 commands to “stand firm” and 18 says to “pray at all times.” This I exactly what the man is doing.

Credits

God gets all the glory for this piece. I spent a good while praying about it before I began. The more I prayed, the more clearly an image came to mind for what I was going to paint. My hope was to get it as close to literal as possible with some symbols. God helped me out with that as I studied. I would also like to thank my husband Luke. He was my biggest support through this process. He encouraged me through it all and gave me some suggestions as to how to best make the figures interact with one another. My family and my husband’s family too were involved in the prayer that went into creating this piece. I love them all and am grateful for their support and prayer in this.

How to Purchase this Artwork

$750.00 is the cost for this painting. To purchase it, visit my Instagram page @natalie_claire_art and message me directly.

Other Goods & Services Available from this Artist

I am a commissioned artist and painter. Most of my work can be found on my Instagram page @natalie_claire_art. I offer commissioned pieces, originals, and prints. Message me directly through that account or through my Facebook Natalie Bourgoin-Brendle to inquire more.

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Curious? Interested in submitting artwork to our contest? Know someone who might be? Through April 14th, 2022, the Engage Art Contest is open to the whole world! Get your foot in the door by claiming your Artist Page now!