My Shepherd
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1, King James Version
Not sure which size? Send a photo of your wall and Mark will show you the painting on it, free.
- Free shipping in the USA
- Arrives ready to hang
- Quality guarantee, replaced free if damaged
- On your wall in about two weeks
Description
A word on this verse
Six words, and then the conclusion. Notice David does not say the Lord is a shepherd. He says my. The whole psalm rests on that small word, and it is the one most of us read past. I shall not want does not mean you will be given everything you ask for. It means you will not lack what a shepherd is for: food, water, direction, defence, and someone who comes looking when you wander off.
Where it belongs
This one is portrait, and it suits a wall taller than it is wide. It hangs in a hallway, beside a bookcase, or on the narrow wall by a stair, and it suits a bedroom, a living room or a prayer corner. 12 × 18, 20 × 30, 28 × 42 and 40 × 60 inches, in five framing choices or gallery-wrapped with no frame at all. Often given for someone who is ill or worn out, and to someone who is grieving or a mother, a wife or a daughter.
Painted by Mark Lawrence in 2020. Open edition, printed on demand. The signed limited edition of this painting is at marklawrencegallery.com.
Details
- Scripture
- Psalm 23:1, King James Version
- Subject
- The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
- Style
- Modern abstract, painted in color and light; no lettering on the canvas
- Painted
- 2020, by Mark Lawrence
- Theme
- Peace & Rest
- Shape
- Portrait
- Sizes
- 12 × 18, 20 × 30, 28 × 42, 32 × 48, 40 × 60 inches
- Price
- $169 to $869
- Canvas
- Giclée on 340 gsm poly-cotton, matte so it does not glare, UV-resistant HP Latex inks, on solid wood bars 1.5 inches deep
- No frame
- That stretched canvas on its own, the painting wrapped round the wooden sides
- Framed
- The same stretched canvas inside a solid wood floater frame: oak, dark oak, white or black
- Hanging
- Sawtooth hanger fitted on the top bar, rubber bumpers on the bottom corners. One hook.
- Made in
- United States
- Shipping
- Free to all 50 states, tracked
- Suits
- Modern, mid-century, coastal, farmhouse and traditional rooms; it hangs as a painting first
- Delivery
- Made in 1 to 2 business days, up to 5 at busy times, then 3 to 7 in transit. About two weeks in all
- If damaged
- Replaced free or refunded in full, with photos within 30 days
- Rooms
- Bedroom, living room or prayer corner
- Given for
- Someone who is ill or worn down, or a family in grief, or a mother, a wife or a daughter
- Edition
- Open edition, printed on demand. The signed limited edition is at marklawrencegallery.com
What does Psalm 23:1 mean?
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. David had been a shepherd, so he knew exactly what he was claiming: an animal that does not plan, cannot defend itself, and is entirely dependent on someone else's attention. I shall not want does not mean you will get everything you ask for. It means nothing you actually need will be missing, because the one keeping you knows the country. The whole psalm runs on one line of logic. Because He is that, I lack nothing.
What size My Shepherd should I get, and where should it hang?
It comes in five sizes. 12 × 18 inches ($169, or $229 framed) fits the narrow gap beside a door. 20 × 30 inches ($299, or $379 framed) sits well between two windows or on a stairwell wall. 28 × 42 inches ($449, or $569 framed) holds the end of a hallway or the wall beside a tall bookcase. 32 × 48 inches ($599, or $719 framed) is for a double-height entry, or a wall that needs one tall statement. 40 × 60 inches ($749, or $869 framed) is the largest we make, for a stairwell or an entry with a high ceiling. For a tall painting the height of the wall matters more than its width. Leave at least a hand-width of wall either side of the frame and it will look intended. Hang it so the center of the painting sits about 57 to 60 inches from the floor, which is eye level for most people standing.
Can I see it on my own wall before I buy?
Yes. Take a photo of the wall, straight on and in daylight if you can, with the furniture under it in the shot. Email it to hello@christianmodernart.com with the name of the painting and roughly how wide the wall or the sofa is. Mark places the painting on your wall at the size that fits and sends the picture back, so you see it there before you buy it. There is no charge and no obligation. It is the surest way to get the size right, and he would rather do it than have you guess.
How does it hang? What hardware is on the back?
It hangs from a sawtooth hanger, already screwed to the center of the top bar when it leaves the workshop, so there is no wire to fit and nothing to assemble. One picture hook or a nail in the wall is all it needs, and the sawtooth lets you nudge it level once it is up. Two rubber bumpers on the bottom corners hold it off the wall, keep it square and stop it marking the paint. For the largest size, put the hook into a stud or use a proper wall anchor rather than trusting drywall alone. Take it out of the box, find the hanger, and it is on the wall in a minute.
Is My Shepherd a good Christian gift?
Yes, and most often for someone who is ill or worn down, and for a family in grief, and for a mother, a wife or a daughter. Psalm 23:1 is the kind of verse people want to put in someone else's house rather than keep, and a painting says it without preaching. It arrives ready to hang, and it can ship straight to the recipient's address with no prices or paperwork in the box. If you do not know their walls, the 20 × 30 inch ($379 framed) is the size that fits almost anywhere.
Will it look too religious in a modern home?
That is the most common reason people find this store, and it is a fair worry. Most Christian wall art goes one of two ways: traditional to the point of looking borrowed from a church, or so washed out and beige that the faith drains out with the color. Mark paints the other direction. These read as contemporary abstract paintings on the wall, alive with color, and the verse is there for anyone who looks. No lettering across the canvas, no ornament, nothing that announces itself before the art does.
Which rooms and interiors does it suit?
More than you would think. Because there is no lettering and no picture of a church on it, it hangs as a painting first. It sits well in a modern room with white walls, where it is the one thing alive; in a mid-century room, where the color picks up the wood; in a farmhouse or coastal room, where it warms the neutrals; and in a traditional room, where a modern abstract beside old furniture looks like a choice. The rooms it was made for are listed under Details. If you are unsure, send a photo of the wall.
Who painted My Shepherd?
Mark Lawrence, in 2020. Mark Lawrence painted the original. He has painted Scripture since 2008 and works one verse at a time, in color and light, which is the part most Christian wall art leaves out. Every painting in this store is his own work, dated to the year he painted it, and his signature is in the paint rather than added to the print afterwards. The signed limited edition of each painting is at marklawrencegallery.com. What you are buying here is the open edition of that same work.
How is it made, and how does it ship?
A giclée print on a heavy 340 gsm poly-cotton canvas with a matte finish, so there is no glare from a window or a lamp, in water-based HP Latex inks that are UV-resistant so the color holds in a bright room. The surface is scratch, crack and warp resistant. It is stretched over solid wood bars an inch and a half deep. Every option starts as that same stretched canvas. Choose no frame and you get it on its own, with the painting wrapped round the wooden sides, the way canvases hang in a gallery. Choose oak, dark oak, white or black and the same canvas sits inside a solid wood floater frame, with a fine shadow gap all the way round. Either way it arrives ready to hang, with a sawtooth hanger already fitted and rubber bumpers on the back to protect the wall and keep it straight. Production takes one to two business days, occasionally up to five, and delivery inside the United States takes three to seven business days after that, tracked, with the tracking link emailed to you. US shipping is free. It is printed, stretched and framed in America, and the box carries no printer's branding. It comes from the artist.
Do you ship outside the United States?
Not yet. Today the store ships inside the United States only, where shipping is free at every size. The printer does have presses abroad, so it is a question of opening it properly rather than a question of whether it can be done. If you are outside the United States and one of these paintings is the one you want, write to Mark at hello@christianmodernart.com with the painting and the country you are in, and he will tell you honestly what he can do and what it would cost.
Can I get a custom size?
Ask. The sizes on the page are the ones we sell every day, but the printer makes others in the same shape, and if one of them fits your wall Mark can put it on the page for you. Write to hello@christianmodernart.com with the wall's width and the painting's name, and he will tell you what is possible and what it costs. No charge for asking.
What if it arrives damaged, and can I return it?
Every canvas is made to order, so there is no stock to return it to, and a change of mind after delivery cannot be refunded. Please check the size and the frame before you order; the size question above is there to help. If it arrives damaged, or with a fault in the print or the frame, send a photo of the problem, one of the packaging and one of the shipping label to hello@christianmodernart.com within 30 days of delivery, and it is replaced free or refunded in full. Orders go into production soon after they are placed, so if you need to cancel, write immediately and we will do what we can.
Something else? Write to hello@christianmodernart.com and Mark answers it himself.