Myrrh

Myrrh, 65x90 inches, Oil on Metal Leaf, Commission

I recently had a wonderful commission through my gallery in Ft. Worth, J Peeler Howell. The panel had to be custom built because of the size. 65x90 inches! I left it leaning on a wall to work on it as my easel couldn’t fit or lift it.

A Myrrh tree grows in arid, rocky places. Areas of desert and lack. I tried to depict it growing from the rocky landscape (much like our Juniper that grow in dry, rocky conditions). The surface was metal leafed and I coated it with several layers of red iron oxide and gold green for a nice sheen. The tree is partly in the dark and in full sun as I wanted to depict it’s coming from darkness to light.

Myrrh is harvested by scarring the tree bark (scraped) in order for the resin to ooze out and harden into large tear shapes. This hardened resin is then carefully picked off and bundled for market. Myrrh has so many healing properties (it even fights cancer). Ancient people valued myrrh above gold. It was used to rub on the dead loved one. It’s fragrance reminded ancient peoples of sorrow and love mingled together.

Even at Christ’s birth this gift was an exact representation of his life. Given by a wise gentile who believed in a king. This tree grows in barren places among rocks and parched earth. A tree that holds healing and sorrow together in its wounds.