We at VP3 are really excited about a recent project that has come to completion and is now available. Imago Dei to Missio Dei: An Art Experience is a compilation of watercolors and reflections which in the words of the artist/author Preston Pouteaux, “I originally created these pieces as a gift for my church family. I hoped they would see in themselves and each other the beauty God sees through Jesus. Each piece I painted was a prayer.”
A couple years ago I received the substance of what you find in the pages of Imago Dei to Missio Dei in an email from Preston. I was immediately struck by the beauty, simplicity, and challenge of the work. I printed off a copy off and began to work my way through this “Art Experience.” The faces and stories in these pages capture a very particular collection of people from one local church community in Calgary, but they reflect more universally the dignity, mystery and uniqueness of all humankind, men and women created in God’s image. The more I sat with it, thumbing my way through the portraits and the meditations, the more I sensed Preston’s deep care for these people and for God.
In today’s day and age, many of us struggle at our deepest core with believing our lives really matter. The many voices of our culture have, sadly, led us to believe that we are less than what we are. This piece reminded me that the gospel graciously awakens us with the truth that our lives matter immensely because we have been created and loved by God. As C.S. Lewis put it, “There are no ordinary people.” And until we begin to embrace this reality—that we are God’s beloved creatures—we will not be fully freed up to share in God’s mission in the world, reflecting God’s always creative and reconciling presence in our communities; hence the title of this piece, Imago Dei to Missio Dei.
We are so grateful to Preston for his work and for working with us to get this “Art Experience” into the hands of our VantagePoint3 tribe of folks. Spirit of God, be generous and generative among us; may Preston’s portraits and meditations shed light upon the uniqueness and beauty of our neighbors and of ourselves, in Jesus’ name.
To purchase Imago Dei to Missio Dei: An Art Experience, click here.
Here are a couple more of Preston’s paintings:
