Gaze & Glory
Sparrow On Wire · Matthew 10:31 · On the photograph
View larger
Desk edition

The story behind the photograph

I'm not yet a big "birder" as far as photography goes, though I have started to snap a few. Seems the older I get the more I'm tuned into the different songs of different birds as I spend time outdoors. This little guy was on my property one sunny day, a fun capture, and an amazing reminder of the mighty diversity of our wildlife.”

— Tom Bartel
View larger
The story
Sparrow On Wire · Matthew 10:31 · On the photograph, the words, close up
View larger
The words, close up
4″ × 6″ in its oak stand, beside a 12 oz mug. Drawn to scale.
View larger
On a desk
← Scripture Art

Sparrow On Wire · Matthew 10:31 · On the photograph

“So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:31 · BSB

In Tom Bartel's words

“I'm not yet a big "birder" as far as photography goes, though I have started to snap a few.”

Read the story →

From the photograph Sparrow On Wire by Tom Bartel, Colorado · View the original →

Picture

ArtPhotograph

Verse

Format

Mounted on a rigid board and set in a solid oak stand. For a desk, a shelf or a nightstand, and an easy gift.

Size

4″ × 6″, mounted, in a solid oak stand

Excellent detail. The file holds the resolution labs aim for at this size, enough to hold up close.

Above 0″, printed from an enlarged file

The piece was developed in our studio using digital and AI tools, and the same tools enlarged it for large-format printing. At these sizes fine detail is interpreted rather than photographed.

$39
  • Printed to order and with you in about 5 to 10 business days.
  • $9 shipping within the United States.
  • Damaged in transit? We replace it free, within 30 days.
  • Each piece is printed for you, so we can’t take back an undamaged one.
Read the story behind the photograph →

A small streaked brown sparrow grips the knotted junction of a woven wire fence, feathers lifted slightly by the air, with nothing behind it but clean blue sky. Low sunlight rakes across the bird from the side, picking out the pale eye-ring and the warm edges of each wing feather while leaving the shaded underside in soft shadow. Dry grass seed heads rise blurred into the lower frame, catching the same light at the end of the season.

Why these words

A single small sparrow on a wire, the whole sky empty around it, is exactly the image Jesus uses for the value of what looks negligible. Nothing in the frame is grand, which is the point of the verse.

Sparrow On Wire

The photograph that inspired this piece

Sparrow On Wire

It begins with an original photograph by Tom Bartel of a real place. This version was developed from that photograph in our studio, using digital and AI tools guided by the original’s own composition, and these words set over the finished picture. How these are made.

Own the original photograph →

Keep looking

More like this