NL Bishop lends artistic talent to Alongside Hope Christmas cards

When you order Alongside Hope Christmas cards, your donation goes to programs all over the world. But you’re also letting your friends and family know more about Alongside Hope. This year, you’re also sharing original artwork painted by the Rt. Rev. John Watton, Bishop of Central Newfoundland and Labrador, adding up to a trinity of reasons to update your address list. 

Bishop John was elected Bishop in 2016, but has been painting for 25 years. “I started painting when my wife encouraged me to ‘stop talking about trying to paint, and try it!’ ” he says. 

Most of his paintings are done in oils and acrylics, but Bishop John also uses water colour techniques of pulling colours from berries and grass, and even did a painting that incorporated mud from the River Jordan. 

For Alongside Hope’s Christmas cards, Bishop John offered up several options, all widely liked by staff. The two selected images are titled It Happened in Bethlehem and Winter Light. Both images call to mind the everlasting light of Jesus.

“It Happened in Bethlehem is one of a series that has much to do with my relationship with people before and after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,” he says. “On one hand this painting represents light and hope in the sky over Bethlehem. Bethlehem is of course in the background as there was no room in the inn. On the other side, it represents (in a very deep way for me these days) explosions of violence that push grace into shadow.” 

Winter Light is a “mental composite painting,” says Bishop John. “In central Newfoundland there are several small farming communities. These are beautiful spots, some inland, some by the sea. What you see here are both places. I carry them in my heart.”  

Bishop John’s subject matter ranges from Newfoundland seasides dotted with colourful dories, to local wildlife and still life. “I choose a wide variety of colours, and pay attention to value and tone. Colour then can come alive and speak through the eye then into the imagination and hopefully…the heart. 

“I constantly explore new genres and types of painting and paint in as many styles as I can. My art comes from places and people that have affected and still affect me. Peaceful, frantic, light, dark, heartbreaking, inspiring and hopeful. 

“Some [images are] painted with confidence, others with a tentative heart; just like life where each story, tear, laugh and encounter contains beauty, truth, challenge and possibility.” 

You can view and purchase Bishop John’s paintings online at newfolkart.ca. He has participated in four public exhibits with each one selling out. Money raised from these sales has been primarily given to charity and outreach. Proceeds from the sales of Alongside Hope’s Christmas cards will support families and communities around the world in need.  Support the work, and spread the word!

To order your cards, visit alongsidehope.org/Christmascards2025.