Leighton Ford

This painting comes from a sketch I made on the Devon coast of England in the early 1990’s. I was leading a retreat for young leaders and during free time wandered to the coast and sat gazing at this scene. In the white house on the hill, the red cliffs plunging to the sea, and […]

Mepkin Abbey is a Trappist monastery on the Cooper River, in the low country of South Carolina. I have gone there many years for some day of retreat, observing the silence at night and during meals, finding refreshment in the lovely grounds. Once I saw another artist sitting unmoving by a pond. She was the

Whenever I look again at this scene in the Virginia countryside it seems like a renewed invitation to walk this shadowed path into the brilliant and beckoning colors of autumn. The leaves scattered along the grass and ground are reminders of times past. The receding sunlit trees and the curve in the path assure me

On a summer afternoon I was on a leisurely drive through England’s lake district. I came to this lovely bridge and had to stop and rest. I sat on some rocks and sketched the bridge, captivated by the view and the thought of those who crossed the stream across the years. Watercolor • 2000

The aspen grove in its full fall color is glorious. Yet there would be no growth if not for their hidden root system. One aspen grove in Colorado has forty-four thousand trunks, mostly hidden from sight. This painting is a symbol of leaders who do not just make a public display, but whose roots are

This flower in our backyard was a special gift to my wife Jeanie – just to celebrate springtime, when azaleas fill the air and the eyes – announcing God’s gift of new and fresh life. Watercolor • 2012

In the western hills of Virginia there is a home and retreat house built by our friends Anne and David Grizzle. From the house a path leads up to a circle of stones on top of the ridge. There a group will often gather, as intimated here, to lift their hearts in prayer. Watercolor •

Billy’s gate opening out to the mountains from his home, reminding of how many he has led through the gate to Jesus. Watercolor • 2014

This is one of my earlier paintings from along the Blue Ridge Parkway.