Interview with Kathleen DeJong on His Mercy Endureth Forever: Psalm 13

Kathleen’s illustrations include both full-page paintings created with acrylics and simple drawings. Not only are the illustrations engaging, they serve the beautiful message of the psalm: God is faithful to his covenant people and to their children. To introduce RFPA readers to Kathleen and this new concept of children’s literature, we recently interviewed her about her illustration work and her upcoming book. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

1. Why did you choose to illustrate a psalm? Why did you choose to illustrate this particular psalm?

Psalms are some of the easiest Bible passages to follow, which works well for a children’s book. Psalm 136 in particular has a lot of beautiful imagery to make art from.

2. Were there any children that you especially had in mind when you creating your illustrations? What did you want them to get out of the book?

I had my nieces and nephews in mind. I want them to see how beautiful and diverse God’s creation is, from fields to mountains and the changing sky, and how amazing his miracles are, like the pillar of fire and just giving us food every day. His mercy endures forever.

3. What do you think is the benefit of a book that contains only the words from a Bible passage with illustrations?

Having this psalm illustrated gives you pictures to think of when you read it. For people who learn in a more visual way, this can even help them memorize the psalm.

4. Was there a particular message you were hoping to get across in your illustrations?

I wanted to get across the scope of God’s creation in many of the illustrations, which I hope I did by keeping the people small and the backgrounds large and colorful. God’s creation is so vast and complex, and yet he made us the objects of his love. For this and all the other things he has done for us we live gratefully every minute.