“God speaks to me through creative views, pictures and music,” Sharon Rapp of Ohio said. “I want Him to use my paintings to change lives.”
She started painting when she was in her 40s. That also is when she graduated from college. She allows God to lead in her ventures.
Early on, she felt frustration because her art didn’t fit the typical “religious” themes. “A lot of the art had sheep and children,” she said. “Mine wasn’t like that. I didn’t know what to do.”
While waiting with her husband, Jim, for their motorhome to be repaired, she received confirmation about her calling as an artist. A gentleman saw her reading an art book and asked if she was an artist. His interest led to sharing paintings stored on her iPad. One piece with rocks and trees caught his attention. He told her he saw Jesus standing in the painting. That was when she realized the power of God to touch lives through her efforts on canvas.
She describes her work as prophetic art because she creates a composition with color from inspiration. The final product belongs to God. “Your job is to do the painting, God told me, and it is My job to show them Jesus,” Sharon said.
She prefers watercolors, which she said requires planning. “With watercolors you have to figure out ahead of time how you want the picture to be. You cannot just slap paint on the paper and cover up mistakes.”
Sharon has won many awards at different galleries, and the Ohio Watercolor Society selected one of her paintings two years ago for show.
However, she believes that a plumber with a wrench and a bookkeeper with organized files are as creative as someone with a paintbrush. “They all require practice and skill,” Sharon said. “We all were created by God to create. Our Father takes everything we create and, in a sense, puts it on His fridge with pride.”
She finds great joy creating and has seen paintings done earlier in her journey encourage someone years later. Cataract surgery temporarily has slowed her art, but she presses into God to find happiness. “Jesus goes before us to prepare a place, so we can be where He is. I don’t think heaven is a mansion and golden streets as much as it is being with Him. That’s where we are happy!”
She and her husband love traveling, and they look for divine appointments wherever they go. One of her favorite stories is about a friendship that developed in an unlikely place. What started as an awkward association bloomed into a transformed life.
Sharon wants to show God’s love wherever she is. “Our testimony is a story that draws others in, like Jesus’ parables. When we remember what God has done for us and rehearse those events by repeating them, hope grows in us and makes God real to others.”
Great article and explanation about prophetic art by Matt Tommey:
https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/what-is-prophetic-art.html
YouTube link for MercyMe’s “I Can Only Imagine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng
YouTube link for Jon Reddick’s “God, Turn It Around”
