About this print

Misty Valley, Psalm 23:1

A small figure, a few sheep, and a great deal of soft morning air: Psalm 23 painted as a place you could walk into.

What is painted

A path runs along the bank of a clear, shallow stream that curves over pale stones. Walking on it, seen from a distance, is a shepherd in a light robe with a staff, and a handful of sheep trotting ahead of him. Weeping willows lean over the bank on the left. Beyond, the valley opens into layers of hills and mountains half lost in mist, with a few dark cypresses and a hint of a village far off.

It is painted in olive green, sage, soft beige and misty lilac, in a gentle painterly style whose edges feather into the cream paper. Beneath, in a classic serif type, the verse reads “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”, and Psalm 23:1 is set in small letters under it.

Beside the still waters

Psalm 23 is a psalm of David, who had tended sheep near Bethlehem as a boy. After the opening line, the second verse turns it into a scene: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” This painting sits in that verse. The water is calm, the pasture is green, and the shepherd is walking at the pace of his flock.

“I shall not want” means I will not lack anything I truly need. It is the kind of trust a sheep shows when it follows without knowing the route. And the valley matters too. Two verses later the psalm walks through “the valley of the shadow of death” and says “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” The mist in the painting leaves room for that part of the psalm, without any darkness.

Christians hear the psalm alongside John 10, where Jesus says he is the good shepherd who knows his own sheep.

For a peaceful room, and for times of loss

With its wide landscape and quiet colors, this print fits a living room, a bedroom or a long hallway, and it works well with natural wood and linen. Nothing in it shouts, which is why people choose it for a room where they rest or pray.

Psalm 23 is also read at a great many funerals, so this makes a gentle sympathy gift or memorial piece for a grieving family. As Christian wall art it is also given at baptisms and housewarmings. This Christian poster is printed to order in the US on heavy archival matte paper, in sizes from 5x7 to 24x36, and ships unframed.

The same misty valley style appears in the Green Pastures shepherd and the lamb resting under the olive tree. Read Psalm 23 and what it means