I recently was pointed towards an artist and preacher named Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980). In 1956, she believed that God was urging her to paint. Because she was not formally trained as an artist, her work was considered outside of the main stream at the time.

She understood the act of painting as a tool to be used in her service to the Lord. Sister Morgan used her early paintings as visual aids in her sermons and teachings, often with children. 

This painting is titled New Jerusalem. It is inspired by Revelation 21. In that chapter, a new and perfect eternal city is revealed. “Look! God now makes his home with the people. He will live 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. And there will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.“

Though her paintings now hang in the Smithsonian and she is considered a “self-taught genius”, she insisted, “Just be sure and give Jesus credit for what I do. He’s the one that deserves all the praise. He’s the one that made me do it.”

12”x19” acrylic and tempera on cardboard