In the Image of God: Faces and Souls That Reflect Their Creator

Colorful and highly personal portraits of people from every nation, tribe and tongue accompanied by inspirational comments and quotes. I love just viewing a couple pages at a time and meditating on the incredible variety of self-expression of human beings as well as our common humanity. This book will appeal to those who enjoy artistic but realistic depiction of people, culture and ordinary life. Those interested in world missions will find this book a wonderful prayer reminder. I've already given copies of this beautiful coffee table book to 5 friends and am planning to purchase and distribute several more. It's rare to find a gift so universally appreciated.

This coffee-table book is a delightful collection of gorgeous full-color paintings by the author and other artists from around the world, showing how wonderful, varied, poignant and powerful the witness of individual lives can be. All of these illustrations are done with a great tenderness; indeed, tenderness is perhaps the common thread that runs through the glorious artwork depicting cultures that span the globe, that are represented in the book. The art is by Hyatt and Anne Moore, as well as 50 other artists. The book also features poignant meditations on what it is to be created in the image of the One who created all. The poetic text accompanying the many illustrations draws inspiration from and echoes familiar passages of scripture. The words enhance the art, such as this passage, which is paired with a painting of for men from Mexico who are seated by the road, called "Four Hats": "Sometimes we sit and wait, watching, anticipating, biding our time. It's an active rest, waiting, like a cat content to sleep most of the day yet with an eye that opens at the first rusting. Such can be our most pleasant moments, if we'll see it. Often we don't. But life can't happen all at once..." (Page 17). The scripture with this is Isaiah 40:31: "Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." Every page offers similar rich gems of spiritual insight, alongside beautiful portraits and landscapes from far flung corners of the globe. Rarely have I seen a book so perfectly designed to engage and inspire the reader. The art ranges from oils, acrylics and watercolors to pen and ink and pencil sketches, sculpture, collage, etchings and linocuts. On would have to travel the world, looking in unusual shops and out of the way galleries to begin to assemble the kind of a collection that is presented here--and even then, such a journey would not be able to draw together the truly inspiration text, all presented with an eye toward edifying one's Christian faith. Long what he terms "an occasional painter", Hyatt Moore began painting in earnest in 1996, first focusing on international peoples, then to full time occupation in 2004, with an ever-broadening array of subjects and approaches.