Debby Topliff

Last night was the opening of ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. All four of my paintings are hanging in one lovely gallery space. I loved watching people look at them and from time to time I’d engage the viewers. Later in the evening a man came in carrying his skateboard. When I greeted him he indicated he didn’t speak English. I tried French—my only other language—but he spoke Spanish.

As he looked at the biblical paintings, I could see Wenceslao (I believe that’s his name) was deciphering what I had painted. Together we pointed and gesticulated and stumbled on words, and for half an hour he and I had an amazing meeting of the minds—all through images and our common knowledge of Scripture.

At one point he held up his fingers and communicated 1 in 3—the Trinity. I looked around the room and took him to the Mark painting and said “Jesu”. Then I pointed to the big dove in the center of Acts—Holy Spirit. Then, getting excited, I ran over to Revelation and pointed at God the Father sitting on the throne. Wow. I had never thought of my work that way. God had taken me deeper into the Trinity.

As Wenceslao (I think the name relates back to “Good King Wenceslas” and the feast of Stephen—-first martyr, recorded in Acts) and I were looking at Revelation, he pointed to the open door into heaven and said “tombe”. I didn’t think that meant door in Spanish; it sounded more like tomb. So I took him back to Mark and showed my the empty tomb. Yes, yes. He was “telling” me the door John went through into heaven was like the open door of the tomb. Another wow.

I am so excited to see what else I’m going to learn from the people who will engage me in front of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—made alive through the living Word, and humbly painted in color by this untrained artist.