“Eternal Strength” is acrylic on canvas and is a response to an event I attended a year ago. (Please read below) The painting is a blend of figural realism (using my own reference photo) and conceptual setting representing a spiritual battle. The work fits within my current body of work as I explore how a person reflects their physical, mental and spiritual environments. You are invited to dive into the abstracted areas of the painting, swim around in the unexpected colors and textures and tread among the realistic details. Move over their skin tones, to their eyes and to their souls. Especially moving to me at this time is the inclusion of two ethnicities and that the black male is the one connected to the Spirit necessary to stand firm and be supportive in the darkness.

On March 8, 2019 I watched the premier performance of “Songs from the Spirit” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. My friend and choreographer Silas Farley, his wife Cassia and a small troupe from the NYC Ballet filled the halls of the vast museum with the lament and praise of the Gospel. My urgent response was to come home and paint. The moment that inspired this work of art was when Silas and Cassia gracefully danced through the Chinese Garden Court in prayerful movements to the words and melody of “There is a Balm in Gilead.” Cassia’s posture right down to her despondent eyes contrasts Silas’s Christ-like outstretched arms and upward gaze. The garden was still and white, but I saw a battle. Cassia at the end of herself as she leans on the Silas’s external and eternal strength. His eyes are cast upward to the unseen God, the unseen Spirit. Nevertheless, he holds fast with “eternal encouragement and good hope.” -2 Thessalonians 2:16.

Eva Crawford

Original acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, ready to hang
$1550

I am available for commission acrylic, oil or watercolor paintings and charcoal drawings. My strengths are portraiture.