“Be it Unto Me”
(Mary, Joseph, and Jesus)
“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women....      And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”  (Luke 1:28 & 38)
              
Mary has been held up to us as an example of humility and faith.  When the angel Gabriel visited her, despite any doubts she was willing to submit herself to the lord        
            After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph in fulfilling the Law of Moses took the baby to be blessed by Simeon at the temple. And when the priest held the babe in his arms, he pronounced to Mary “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35)
             My goals in this painting were to first show Joseph sharing with Mary the joy of the infant Jesus, and secondly, I wanted to show the mixture of joy and sadness of the future that Mary was foretold. I can only imagine her emotions in knowing that her son would be the Savior of the world but would also have to die to atone for our sins.
            This portrayal has Mary looking directly at the viewer, as if inviting us into this tender family moment to partake of the joy.  I used a soft, natural color palette in warm tones to add to the serenity and peace of the painting as well. This painting has a special place in my heart as it has one of my sons posing as the baby Jesus, and also because of the example of Mary herself. It took 5 tries to paint her face until I was satisfied. I enjoy looking at this painting and pondering her life and faith.                                                            
 
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