Mary Paintings

When someone lives a good and virtuous life, it becomes embodied in their outward appearance.  A kind and loving person takes on a certain beauty in their face, their appearance.  The insides seem to extned to the outsides.  This is why there are so many diffeent images,  different facial features in paintings of Mary.  Each culture is trying to show what  this loving woman might look like in that culture.  It is not about duplicating a Jewish face in the time of Jesus.  Mary will look one way in Asia and another in Mexico or France.  Paintings are not photos or portraits when they are of Mary.  They are expressive of spiritual ideas, of the results of the human journey well traveled.  I have found that when I am at peace, in a good space within, the camera captures that.  When I am stressed, a whole different image shows up in the photo.  My driver's license picture is dreadful!