Inspiration:

A little over a week ago, a friend told me that her son had melanoma.  I immediately felt the pain of a mother and her child.  I went up to my mountain to pray, the next day this painting poured out of my hands.  Art as prayer:  “Laying on Hands”.  How precious He is to hear our prayers.  Have you ever prayed for anyone so passionately that it felt like you personally?  There is such blessing in loving and caring. 

Blessing.  A person blessing another laid hands on the one receiving the blessing (Genesis 48:14).

Jesus laid hands on children to bless them (Matthew 19:15).

“After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.”

Healing.  Healers laid hands on the sick or disabled (see Mark 5:23; Luke 4:40; Acts 9:12).  Here the act clearly indicates transference of God’s healing power.

‘And implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”

‘While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

‘and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.’”

Technique:

Jesus hand is directly on the boy’s head and our heavenly Father’s hand on top of Jesus’.  To the right of the boy (the hand he is hugging) is the biological father’s hands and the other set of hands to the boy’s left belong to the church.

I’ve had comments that the hands painted are ‘perfectly executed’ with great feeling and passion, but the face of the boy ‘isn’t correct’ –siting that ‘his eyes’ aren’t right.  The funny thing is that the critiques are from ‘artist’s’ who should realize that the ‘imperfection’ of the eyes and face are to project to the viewer that this child has need of ‘laying on hands’.  Why would I make him look perfectly fine?  Painted the way he is here, one could get the impression that he might have down syndrome or other physical problem, but surely ‘cancer’ isn’t necessarily ‘visible’.