Thank you all for coming.
Thank you to my mother, who with Savi has been slaving away all week for us so that if you don't like the painting, at least the food is worth coming for.
Thanks to Kevin Murphy, my art teacher and friend.
It has been amazing to see how clearly God has led me on this path in becoming an artist with all of the caring people he has put in my life.
Finally I am so grateful to have had as wonderful a client as Beverly. In our first meeting we just sat down and immediately launched into this King David idea, and I was so encouraged by your passion for the Bible and for King David. I am so grateful for this opportunity that you've given me to portray David in this way.
One of the things we touched on is that Beverly wanted a painting that would keep revealing new things to her every time she looked at it. This painting will be hanging in her house for her lifetime, her children's lifetime, and her children's children's lifetime. And as I was working on the painting and listening to David's story on an audio recording - I read from 1 Samuel to 2 Kings to get an understanding of the times before his life and many generations after to really understand his impact on the nation and to become fully saturated into who he was - I was really struck by how, the deeper we dive into the Scriptures, the more gold we find within them, even though its been studied for centuries upon centuries.
Sometimes when I read a passage in the Bible my initial reaction is, "Hmm, okay," but then when I study further and meditate on the words, the passage really begins to hum with life. I've had the pleasure of spending a lot of time delving into the story of King David and pondering over his compassionate heart, his confidence, his outward focus and yet also his internal struggles.
Now, I'm no Rembrandt or Michelangelo, but it is my hope that this painting, like the Scriptures, will continually reveal itself to you over time.