My painting And a Child Shall Lead Them is my interpretation of the book of Isaiah 11:6–7 (NIV), which reads:
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The background of this painting was inspired by crisp autumn days at the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During my time as a graduate student, my landscape painting class frequently visited the park to paint en plein air. In the distance, I included my own rendition of Andy Goldsworthy’s Grand Rapids Arch. Installed in 2005, this permanent sculpture is made of striking red sandstone imported from Scotland.
