Lamb on a Blue Blanket Christian Wall Art

What is painted

A cream lamb lies curled into a round bundle, legs tucked beneath its body, one small dark hoof just showing. Its head rests on a folded blanket of soft slate blue, eyes closed, ears drooping in sleep. The wool is built up with little overlapping washes of cream and honey, outlined with a fine brown line.

An olive sprig with a few gray-green leaves lies across the blanket in front of it. A pale green shadow grounds the scene, and the rest of the page is plain off-white watercolor paper. There is no text at all, which keeps it restful, and the lamb is drawn close enough that a small child can pick out its closed eyes, its soft ears and the tiny hoof tucked under its chest.

Why a lamb for a child

Lambs run all through the Bible. The Passover lamb in Exodus 12 protected each household of Israel, and John the Baptist, seeing Jesus, says: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). For Christians the lamb is a picture of innocence and of Christ himself.

It is also a picture of being carried. Isaiah 40:11 says of God that he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom. A sleeping lamb is a lamb that feels safe.

The olive twig brings the idea of peace, from the dove that returned to Noah's ark with an olive leaf in Genesis 8. Put the two together and you have a very simple prayer for a baby: rest, safety, peace.

For the nursery and the baptism

This print was made for a nursery. The slate blue suits a boy's room without shouting it, and it works as easily in a neutral or gender-neutral space. It is a lovely baptism gift, christening gift or baby shower present, and it looks just as right in a grandparent's guest room.

As Christian wall art it is faith-filled without any words, so it fits families of any tradition. The Christian poster is made to order in the US on thick archival matte paper and ships free within the US without a frame, with paper margin around the lamb. Sizes go from 5x7 to 24x36, plus metric and A sizes, and a digital file is available.