This painting was inspired by the song “Rose Petals,” by Dee Wilson of Common Hymnal. Each rose woven into the crown memorializes individuals killed by police: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and from Colorado Springs, Jeffrey Melvin and De’Von Bailey.

The symbolic roses, combined with the solidity of the mountain encourage us in solidarity as we seek the kingdom of heaven. Hosanna refers to Jesus’ return and the crown of thorns spell Black Lives Matter.

36 x 48” oil on canvas © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

While mountains do not grow or embark on journeys, they are transformed by the arrangement of their clouds, the play of their light, and the change of their seasons. And in those arrangements, they offer us the gift of witnessing a daily miracle, a glorious display of both change and permanence.

22 x 36” oil on canvas © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

McCluskey shares a story about kayaking on the Pacific Ocean when she was overcome by the “vast blue above me, around me, below me. I inhaled it, swayed over it, felt it within me, on me.” The sight resonated with words from Psalm 42: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; All your waves and breakers have swept over me.”

Months after the experience, McCluskey was not surprised when a poem came to her one midnight that captured the experience of standing with “one foot in forever, one here on earth, standing on the threshold.” God knows our depths and treasures them, and “deep calls to deep” as he calls us to draw closer to his healing presence.

24 x 30” oil on canvas © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

Created for the Anselm Society’s Your Imagination Redeemed Conference in 2019, Cathedral Skies invites the viewer to not only see God’s glory in the here and now, but also look forward to our eternal future that is, for the moment, unseen. This is an image to remind us of glimpses of heaven that stir hope.

48 x 72” oil on panel © Anselm Society, Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

24 x 30” © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). What is true peace? Telling the truth, loving the truth, and being the truth—but this is a difficult fight that leaves us raw and still longing for beauty, freedom, healing, and belonging. The sunset is beautiful but the light is dying and the night is coming… and then finally, the morning.

24 x 36” oil on canvas © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS

Commission for Compassion International Global Summit 2021

“Kaya partnered with us on a video project for a global audience focused around inspiration through painting. She was a fantastic collaborator from the start. My team was able to lay out a rough idea and parameters and I could sense her immediate emotional involvement and investment. Kaya applied her boundless creativity, and came back to us with a painting concept full of life, joy and hope. My team of videographers was able to capture the beautiful journey of creation. When direction was needed for our specific needs, Kaya was accommodating and a complete natural; artist-actor badge earned. The final painting and video were both beautiful and continue to have a meaningful impact on our audience.”

Ian Johnson, Creative Director, Compassion International

72 x 47” oil on paper, canvas © Kaya McCluskey, 2022

SEE KAYA’S PROCESS