Diocesan Director of Ordinands to display artwork in Salisbury

The paintings try to capture some of the beauty and intensity of what it is to live a life in God that is ripening like a piece of fruit. 

"I hope the paintings are little shards of beauty in themselves, but also I want people to meet the poems of Rilke. Most of them are very short but capture either a moment of longing, or awareness that that God is very near," said artist Nigel Done. Each painting is displayed alongside the poem that inspired it. 

Nigel’s day job is Diocesan Director of Ordinands. In this role he enables the ripening of God’s call in people’s lives to find a fruitful ministry. "When I was a parish priest I painted the landscapes and stories I came across in ministry. Now I am in this role its been quite a surprise to see how this diocesan role has influenced what I paint."

Two paintings have been bought by a group of leavers from Sarum college and gifted to the college’s permanent collection. All the paintings (and some prints) are for sale. The exhibition can be seen during regular church opening hours of 9am-4pm everyday.

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,

then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,

go to the limits of your longing.

Embody me.

Flare up like a flame

and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.

Just keep going. No feeling is final.

Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.

You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

I, 59