Be Set Free

Here’s another painting which has found a new home in the UK, part of the me I left behind. With pleasure. This is a painting I never expected to sell. At All. It is far too difficult a story. Here’s what I wrote about it https://www.elizabethgrayking.com/be-set-free. Fundamentally, it’s a story of control, of spiritual abuse. The model is a dear friend, a bit the way Andrea Kowch, hyperrealistic painter, paints her close friends to capture close reality. The story is from another close friend, so I heard it with painful empathy. For her sake, I painted this to get her story, anonymously, into fresh air. I worked in and around the edges of Safeguarding in my role with the United Reformed Church for a significant number of years and heard too many stories of the misuse of church for the benefit of those who chose to be abusive. I never expected to sell this painting, but always chose to exhibit it. The story might have helped someone tell their own story. As it turns out, that’s what happened.

The new owner had a number of personal stories I could have painted to bring them into fresh air and destabilise their historic power. Rather than the painting telling of the past for this gorgeous new owner, Be Set Free speaks more loudly to them about the future and a future free from historic shackles. The owner says, “2 Corinthians 3.17 is one I associate with the painting and my life and ministry - ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’. This freedom speaks to me through the painting Be Set Free because the way of Jesus is inviting and not controlling, colourful and beautiful in its challenges not enclosing nor gripping tightly. There is a song by Vicky Beeching with the words from the verse in Corinthians and yet they were written when she was in the closet. She has not been able to sing her songs since. I think partly that’s to do with the rights to her songs and the Christian record label who ‘own’ them. Being set free means from previously held expectations. Being set free by God is a moment by moment unfolding which invites immersion and devotion to God and to the life God has already given each one of us in community. Breaking chains which confine and harm is part of that. For me they are theological and embodied and there is a long way to go so all can be set free and live as free people.”

I am moved beyond imagining that Be Set Free continues to speak and to participate in much needed healing.

Please contact me if you would like prints. The following formats are available. All prints on paper are sold on ivory mounting board. Frames may be ordered. Prints on canvas are stretched on wood.

Art Prints: Art Prints are created with laser printers onto quality wood pulp art paper.

Gallery Poster: Gallery Poster is a typical art gallery format with laser printer on poster paper, supplied rolled in a tube.

Giclee Prints: Giclee Prints are inkjet sprayed onto quality cotton rag paper. They’re known for their vibrant colours, fine details, and archival quality. The term "giclee" comes from the French word meaning "to spray," referring to the precise inkjet spraying process used in their production. They’re guaranteed to last at least 100 years (though no one’s been alive long enough since development to know…)

Embellished Giclee Prints: Embellished Giclee Prints are customised by me adding details, textures, or hand-drawn elements to make each cotton paper print unique. The result is a print that combines the advantages of digital printing with a personal touch.

Giclee Prints on Canvas: Giclee Prints are inkjet sprayed onto artist canvas material. This gives the print a texture and appearance similar to a traditional painting on canvas so that they resemble original paintings.

Embellished Giclee Prints on Canvas: Embellished Giclee Prints on Canvas are customised by me adding details, textures, or hand-painted elements to make each print unique. Embellishments added on top of canvas give the print a more three-dimensional painterly effect.