Robert A. Boyd is well known for his breathtaking LDS Temple photography. However, he is also a very talented painter. At Altus, we are proud to host several of his paintings featuring sacred landscapes and pictures of Jesus Christ. 

For this blog, we wanted to highlight one of his newer pieces: “To the Rescue”.

Robert has been a professional photographer since 1995, traveling the world photographing for clients. His work has won multiple awards including the national 2004 PPA Photographer of the Year Award and the 2005 Uta Best of State Award.

He instills his photography with a sense of peace, light, and balance which may be one of the reasons Temple photography has become a deep passion for him. A Utah native, Robert currently resides in Houston Texas with his wife and their five children.

Our paintings and photos of Jesus walking on water have become some of the most popular in our collection, especially in the past few years. Perhaps this is because many of us can relate to the feeling of trying to cross crashing waves and push through angry winds. We live in unique times full of natural disasters, conflicting voices, mental illness, broken families, and a shared uneasiness about the future. 

The image of Jesus walking on water is calming and reassuring. It reminds us that we can always rely on the strength of our Savior. It reminds us that as we keep Him the focus of our lives, we do not need to fear the raging storms around us. As the apostle Paul taught: 

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

This particular painting stands out for multiple reasons. For one, the waves in the image are are actual photograph of the sea of Galilee during the evening. Robert used the image to add realism to the scene.

Second, the pale moon hanging in the sky is one of the first things thing to catch the eye. It shines down on Jesus, who crosses the sea with nothing but a calm certainty in his expression. It is an artistic contrast to the dark clouds and waves surrounding the apostle’s ship. The ship itself sits at a slightly diagonal angle whereas the figure of Jesus Christ is strong and balanced. Similarly, when we feel like our lives are off-kilter, we can look to the stabilizing influence of Jesus Christ. 

Robert puts a lot of heart into every aspect of the piece in a way that is not distracting but rather engaging. It flows together so nicely that it is easy to forget the handiwork and get lost in the scene itself and what it means for us as followers of Jesus Christ. 

What is your favorite part? We would love to hear about it in the comments below!

You may also recognize these stunning pictures from Robert's collection.

While there is not enough room in a single blog post to cover the extent of Robert’s vast LDS Temple collection, we wanted to feature a few favorites here. He travels all around the world to capture each of these photos so there’s a fair chance you might find your temple in his gallery!

To see Robert Boyd’s entire collection, visit his Altus artist page! 

For more featured art pieces, you might also like:

New Release by Simon Dewey - Love's Pure Light

Within Our Grasp: Taking Jesus' Hand