All the Colours of the Wall--New Jerusalem Foundation Part 3

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ”

— Revelation 21:19,20 NIV

Twelve colourful stone foundations for the walls of the New Jerusalem—detail of painting by Joan C. Thomson

Progress!  All the gem colour “stripes” for the wall foundations in the New Jerusalem (in my painting series) along with their gold “mortar” are painted.  I’m struck with how contemporary the colours look.  Gorgeous!  Imagine the light of the glory of God shining through the stones and reflecting off them.  

I’ve also painted the detail of the bits of “gold” (pyrite) on the lapis lazuli or “sapphire” foundation.  Looking at pictures of the various stones on the internet was helpful but better still, is seeing the real stones.  I was pleased to find three of the stones at our local German Christmas Market: chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis.

Chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis lazuli—three of the stones in the wall foundations of the New Jerusalem.

Jasper, according to Pliny the Elder—a first century historian, was green. Sapphire was the name for lapis lazuli though the other stones seem to have kept their names.  There are different versions of the stones on the internet—and in various Bible translations, but I’ve tried to stick close to the literal Greek words and their meanings (biblehub.com).

Faceting of gemstones didn’t begin until much later, so it’s likely that the Apostle John saw smooth, highly polished stones.

With this series of paintings, I’m hoping to provide a glimpse into what this heaven-coming-to-earth looks like but even the best image falls short of seeing the real thing in person.  The New Jerusalem is the place that Jesus has prepared for those who follow him—believing is seeing.

The next stage in this painting will be to add the names of the apostles—one on each foundation colour, in gold leaf.

““Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:1-3

The Colours of the Foundation Part 2

The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Revelation 21:18-20 NRSV

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New Jerusalem Wall painting process first four foundations

Amid a flurry of year-end paperwork, I’ve been diligently exploring how to paint the colours of the foundations of the New Jerusalem walls—and painting them. I wanted to attempt to capture the luminous qualities of light glowing through and bouncing off this variety of precious and semi-precious stones.

Since this body of work is largely abstract or abstracted realism, I chose to represent the “adorn[ing] of the walls with every jewel,” with a stripe in each gemstone colour. To create the appearance of translucence, I mixed a little of the paint colour with acrylic glazing medium, building layer upon layer, varying the brushstrokes for visual texture of crystal formations in some of the gems. However, the character of paint being what it is, not all colours, such as red-orange and yellow lend themselves to transparency. Some of the stones themselves, such as lapis lazuli (sapphire) are entirely opaque.

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New Jerusalem Wall Foundations Painting Process

It’s a joy to watch the vibrant colours emerge—what a combination! The majority in any one colour are a version of green—four out of twelve, so it seems that the answer to the age-old question of God’s favourite colour is green. According to Pliny the Elder, a writer and historian of the first century, jasper was green—the entire wall above the foundations is jasper. Sometimes different sources have different colours for the same stone and some, like beryl can come in red, yellow, blue or green, as in emerald; emerald is already the fourth foundation so the eighth—beryl, can’t be the green one. We’ll see.

I Go To Prepare a Place For You—a new painting series on the New Jerusalem

Over the last several years my heart and imagination have been captured by the sights, the idea of the New Jerusalem as described in the Bible, the place that God will make his dwelling place with his people on the new earth.  Humans have—since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, had a longing to be where we’re no longer “alien” or don’t fit in, but a place to look forward to that goes beyond simply dying so one can be with loved ones. There’s more--living in the beautiful New Jerusalem that will come to the earth--the place of no more crying, no death, no pain. A place where God will dwell with us. This glorious place Jesus has prepared for us will be a long while yet in coming but we have his promise.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

On the day I understood that when Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you,” he spoke of his special place--the New Jerusalem, I felt so loved.  This is the glorious place he’s been preparing for his followers.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

Most people—in the Western world anyway, have an idea of Jesus being born; even other religions  acknowledge his virgin birth. Most have some sense of Jesus having died on a cross; they may even know of his resurrection from the dead to save those who believe in him.  However, people often don’t know what we’re saved to--our destination.

What will it look like? People have speculated but we really have a pretty good idea written for us in the Bible books of Revelation and Isaiah, Ezekiel. I’ve been writing about it for a while, researching and have made a couple of paintings; now I’m beginning a body of work for a solo exhibit. I want to share a glimpse of this glorious place.  I won’t be illustrating but exploring what it will look like since I’m a visual artist and most of what is described in Revelation and the Old Testament prophets is visual. I’ll be painting in mixed media on square canvases since the New Jerusalem is square. There won’t be a particular chronology to the paintings or posts since I’ll be painting as ideas and inspiration come to me for each aspect.

 I hope to go beyond bringing viewers food for thought—I want to offer a “ holy encounter,” as I am experiencing while I create the exhibit. Along the way I’ll share my progress and insights here on my blog, both artistically and spiritually, as I paint and write about the glorious New Jerusalem—the future hope of all who follow Jesus.

Square Canvases