The subject matter for this is from my own photos manipulated in Photoshop to get a digital image to work from. The sparrows are regulars at my feeder and from a big series of photos I took over a few winter days of strong backlighting. The eye is my own from a selfie I took last year for another project.
My heart has always been in art that portrays spiritual subjects based on Christian themes. This one is based on the theme of God's care for us in Luke 12: 6-7 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
I see 3 levels of meaning in this as I worked on it:
- It is God's eye: God watching over sparrows, and yet the eye is not focused on the birds before him, but on the viewer. He watches over us: we are his precious sparrows.
- It is a person's eye: God is outside the image watching the birds, but looking beyond the birds to the person who he dearly loves and cares for.
- It is your eye or my eye: As we become more like Jesus in our values, we do as he does and watch over his 'sparrows'.
Hi Sandra. I saw this over at WetCanvas, and was curious about the symbolism, so I came to check out your blog. I love the story behind this, and the fact that you tied Christianity to this beautiful artwork. That verse is so comforting, isn't it? Beautifully done!
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