Original artwork description:

'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.' - Galatians 5:22-23

'Forbearance' is part of the Fruits of the Spirit collection. It stands aloof from the other works in this group in terms of its rich and dark grape colour, which constitutes the hillside.

Forbearance means patience, long-suffering and endurance. Patience is the hardest of these virtues for me as an artist which is also why I have rendered it as a hillside or mountain but, equally, why I have chosen to paint it in such a deep colour. There is a looping, surrealist cloud over the top of the hillside - the viewer is invited to interpret that in their own way. For me, personally, it represents the blessings which come back to us when we persevere or practice patience with ourselves or others.

Please note, this work was particularly difficult to photograph as it changed dramatically in varying light. At certain points of the day, the grape colour is very dark and at other, light almost to violet. This explains the variation in the photography of the work.

Materials used:

Oil on canvas

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