“I have used a voyage on a river as a metaphor for the journey of life in many of my paintings,” says James C. Christensen on "Passage by Faith." “Sometimes we travel alone, sometimes with friends and family and often with a mixed group of strangers, human and not so. But the journey is inevitable, and our task is to make the best of the ever-changing voyage. We don’t always control the river, but we often have choices that determine what will happen next on our odyssey.

“The man in the boat is one I call the Everyman. His hump identifies him as a non-perfect being, a symbol of human imperfections. Some are physical, others are of personality or character, but none of us is perfect. The world is crumbling a bit around our Everyman in his boat but he doesn’t stop moving forward or become distracted by things that might pull him off course. The fish - the symbol of wisdom and magic - follows behind him whispering encouragement and the candle in front of him represents his faith that lights his way. Will he avoid rough waters and the certain challenges of life’s journey? I think he is prepared to make good choices and has the faith to know he will be guided through the difficulties to come. For the moment, he rows."