For You (2008)  (30x40) oil on canvas 

     "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed."

    - Isaiah 53:4 and 5

    While watching Mel Gibson's movie The Passion, I noticed that throughout the film, Gibson emphasized encounters between Christ and individuals... the High Priest's servant who lost his ear to Peter's sword in the Garden of Gethsemane, a guard in the praetorium of Pontius Pilate, and Simon of Cyrene, who helped carry the cross. As the movie progressed, I found myself longing for such an encounter with Christ; I wanted Him to look into my eyes.

    It was then that I decided to paint this painting. I wanted to portray the crucifixion with Christ gazing at me. I know I can never grasp the love He has for me, but meditating on the crucifixion with Christ reaching out towards me and looking deeply into my eyes has given me a glimpse of that love. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)