Many moons ago I was asked what my favorite Bible story is. I had never really thought about it before, but quickly realized it is the woman who touched Jesus’ garment. Then just this week I decided to try drawing it in line art. I’m always creating things but I don’t do much drawing or illustration, so it was a challenge and took me quite a few hours to create…first, sketching it out by hand, then rendering into vectors. I never tried line art until now…it’s surprisingly difficult, even though it looks like simple lines!
I’ve added it to my Etsy shop (link at top of page) as a digital download!
I created it in a free web app called Vectorpea. It worked pretty well, but I ended up completely redoing it 3 times because the file I saved became corrupted. So if you use the program, save your file, DO NOT CLOSE your working window, and open the saved file to be sure it’s saving correctly.
At first I tried drawing the whole thing with just lines, but that didn’t create the unique shapes and pointed edges I was going for, so I drew shapes with the pen tool (black fill only; no outline).
I had lots of inspiration for this piece, and one was the series The Chosen. It’s FREE to watch, so if you’ve never tried it, you should! You don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy it. I’m a visual learner, so getting to watch stories from the Bible is an incredible experience for me. I was so excited to see my favorite story play out (which turned out to be season 3, episodes 4 & 5).
While I didn’t depict that specific character’s outfit, I was inspired by getting to feel like I was there, and I also found inspiration from Mary Magdalene’s look, from her long hair, robe, and long head covering. This way I hoped to give the piece a graceful, flowing feel, conveying beauty, as faith is beautiful!
Another strong inspiration was the art of Ty Wilson, which I’ve been a fan of since childhood. I’ve had The Date print framed in my bedroom for so many years that the red roses have faded to brown, but I still love it! To me, the incredible thing about line art is how it can tell a whole story with just a few strokes.
And of course, the main inspiration was the story itself. Apparently your favorite story is a good indicator of your spiritual gift(s). This story is about many things including faith and healing, but for me, Jesus’ compassion stands out. She was just another face in the literal crowd to everyone else, but not to Jesus. Ever since I was a small child, I have always had a heart for people who are hurting.
The woman appears in 3 of the 4 gospel books: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with my favorite being Mark, partly because it includes Jesus calling out, “Who touched Me?” while He’s in a crowd of people shoving in every direction. The disciples look at Him like He’s crazy, but He felt the power go out from Him. It is a story of faith and grace…how just a little faith goes a long way.
If you’re reading this thinking Man, wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus was still around to heal, I can tell you that He still is. Sometimes He heals from heaven, and sometimes He heals through His followers (like my good friend whose hands would become “hot” and she could lay hands on people and heal them through God).
On the flip side, God also allows suffering. There’s a scene in The Chosen (which to me has been one of the most profound) where Little John (there were 2 disciples named John) asks Jesus why He doesn’t heal him. The conversation is not from the Bible, but from what I have seen both in real life and in the show is consistent with all other parts of the Bible. So take heart if you are in suffering…Jesus sees you and He loves you.
What’s your favorite Bible story? Have you ever tried your hand at some line art, or simple art? Let me know with a comment, then as we say at my church, “Go and be blessed, and BE a blessing.”
