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New from Jan's easel...
November 2019 "He is not here, for He has risen." Can you imagine sorrow giving way to surprise mingled with hope as you peer around a boulder and into an empty tomb? Watch the progression of Jan's new painting, which appears on the cover of her newest release, "Away on a Hilltop: The Continuing Story of the Manger Baby." This moving hardcover book shows the next chapters of the Christmas story and the reason behind it all. |
Special thanks to our dear friend Celeste, her sister Bethany, and
our daughter Tynáe for posing as the women at the tomb. |
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April 2019
"Not my will, but Yours be done." This painting depicts the deep emotions of Christ as He faces the impending anguish He is about to face. You can feel the tension as He heroically relinquishes His will to His Father and goes through with the ultimate sacrifice of love. This scene appears in the new book Away on a Hilltop. (Click the video below to hear a message from Jan.) |
Special thanks to our son-in-law, Mike O'Keefe, for allowing Jan to use him as a model.
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It seemed only natural to want to include this person among my portrait tutorials. Long ago, through this messenger I first heard the Good News that I could come to Jesus just as I was, and He would welcome me in His loving arms. I recently painted this portrait with gratitude as a tribute to that faithful messenger. I referred to a photograph taken by Russ Busby, a longtime personal photographer of Billy Graham, having received permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I painted it in oil on an 11x14 smooth board.
Did someone share the Good News with you? Who? PLEASE SHARE this video, perhaps with a comment letting others know that you are STILL FOLLOWING JESUS.
Jan Bower paints a familiar face
In 1970, after watching a Billy Graham film at a theater in Traverse City, Michigan, an 11-year-old girl invited Jesus to come into her life and be her savior. At that moment Jan Norris (later Bower) began a very real love relationship with Christ that would continue to grow over the next 52 years.
Jan has painted more than 2,500 faces, but probably none more well-known than that of Dr. Graham, who has preached to an estimated 215 million people worldwide, not counting TV audiences. Over the years he has been called by many "America's pastor."
Wanting to honor this faithful servant that God used to influence her life, Jan she secured permission from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to paint Rev. Graham's likeness from a photo taken by the evangelist's longtime photographer Russ Busby. The 11"x14" piece was done in oil on a smooth panel. The background music is a new original rendition of Just As I Am by Charlotte Elliott (1836) created and recorded by Jan's daughter Jasmine Bower.
can you kEEP UP WITH JAN'S PAINTBRUSH?
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"Farmer Boy" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? The featured little boy on the John Deere is the adorable grandson of a friend from our church.
"Perfect Pumpkin" appears in the book The Garden Where I Grow. The boy is a nephew who held an Easter basket. Jan changed the object and the season.
"Young Builders" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? Our grandson is on the left, our son on the right. Jan followed some Norman Rockwell advice: If something seems to be missing, add a puppy. Baxter was Jan's brother's dog.
"Good Inflation" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? Our grandson is pumping up the bicycle tire of his little sister. Once again, Jan added a dog to balance the scene.
This "Little Hero" is all smiles on the cover of the book What Do Heroes Wear? This young man is the son of a good friend that our daughter made when she lived in Tennessee.
"Sailor Boy" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? This cheerful boy is the son of a friend and grandson of our former pastor back in our college days in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
"Bountiful Blessings" appears in the book The Garden Where I Grow. It features two of the nineteen Duggar children of from the TV show "19 Kids & Counting."
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"Doll Hospital" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? The girl is a sweet friend and neighbor that our daughters have babysat for years.
"Heavenly Peace" will appear in a new book about the life of Christ called Away. One of our teenage daughters posed with our infant grandson.
Jan portrays "Garden Help" in this painting featured on the cover of the book The Garden Where I Grow. The girl is one of our granddaughters.
"Future Teacher" appears in the book What Do Heroes Wear? These are three of our pastor's children. The desks were from the one room schoolhouse Jan's parents attended.
This "Little Preacher" holds the truth high in the book What Do Heroes Wear? This young man is the son of one of the pastor's at a church some of our adult children attend.
"Perennial Love" appears in the book The Garden Where I Grow. It features bestselling authors Eric & Leslie Ludy and their clan. The painting now belongs to the Ludy family.
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