Beauty and Provision (version 4)

Mixed Media (acrylics & gold leaf) | 12x18" box-type canvas plus frame | 2024

I remember a pond in Laguna Philippines where the main attraction was the waterlilies. While I was amazed with the beauty of the flowers, the tour guide said that it’s also a fishing pond with lots of fish (Tilapia, typical food here in the Philippines) underneath. I thought, that is such a treasure - beauty & provision together. So I painted my versions of "Beauty and Provision" to remember the abundant gifts of flowers and fish, from God to us.

Trivia: "Tilapia is rumored to be the fish that was caught by St. Peter in the Sea of Galilee and fed to the masses of Tabgha, an ancient town on the north-west coast of the sea, by Jesus. This is one of the reasons why the fish is also known as “St. Peter's fish” and is separated from meat according to Lenten standards."

(Source: https://thehealthyfish.com/the-biblical-origins-of-tilapia/#:~:text=Tilapia%20is%20rumored%20to%20be,meat%20according%20to%20Lenten%20standards.)