I started using coloring books last year as a kind of sketchbook to experiment with new visual and conceptual ideas. Many of my colorings have Biblical themes behind them, some of which are based on specific verses. Here’s a few examples including the scriptures they’re based on and how I decided to visually render them through coloring.

The first one is from one of my favorite passages, Romans 8.  In Romans 8:18-23, Paul is talking about the future glory that we’ll experience in the next life being face to face with God and how creatures in this world yearn to be with the God of peace and life.  What I love about this passage is that it describes how all of creation suffers pain and decay but also longs for life with God that leads to true health and happiness.  In this drawing, I wanted to express how even the natural world suffers but yearns for a better life.  I experimented with levels of transparency, leaving some of the coloring unfilled, and fully shading other areas.  The birds seem empty in part but have bits that hint at the potential vibrancy of their fully-redeemed bodies.

The next one is based on two passages:  Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-15.  Just as the bronze snake in the wilderness took away the poisonous snake venom for those who looked on it in faith, Jesus’ punishment on the cross takes away the due punishment for all who look on him and believe he is their savior.  The snake is traced lightly to look bronzy, and I added black vertical lines to reference the pole.  The red, representing the blood of Christ which purifies us, is solid and bright so that it stands out within the snake.

The last one is based on 1 Corinthians 13:12.  In this passage, Paul describes the surpassing value of love which lasts forever versus the partial and incomplete gift of knowledge.  He uses a dim mirror as a metaphor for our limited knowledge in this life.  In the coloring, the two flamingos are mirror images of each other.  One is the flamingo in its future fullness, vibrant and completely colored in, and the other is its reflection in this life, like a ghostly skeleton of itself.