Hope of Harvest

Most of the time I start with a concept and then find a way to portray it visually. This painting came about a bit differently. I was drawn to the imagery of a hand in wheat. (Think of the scene at the beginning of the movie Gladiator.) I had my husband take a reference shot by the side of the road over a month ago. I wasn't sure why that imagery was so powerful in my mind. As I thought about the imagery, I thought of hope: hope of seeing a harvest, results for work done, a sense of satisfaction, of homecoming. I ran across the following passage:
"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." John 12:24-25 (The Message Version) I portrayed a young mother with her child. She gives of herself generously, endlessly, dying to self for the sake of caring for and training her child. She looks forward when she will see the results of this loving sacrifice in her child's life. The wheat is a reminder, a promise that that time will come. Her efforts will be rewarded.