Our Lady of Tihaljina (near Medjugorje) Fine Art Print

More About This Painting

The original painting of Our Lady of Tihaljina, Our Lady of Grace (aka Our Lady of Medjugorje) was painted in 2011 by artist Richard L George.

For many years the dominating images representing the presence of Mother Mary appearing in Medjugorje were photos of the

Italian-made statue, Our Lady of Grace (located at Immaculate Conception Parish in the village of Tihaljina, Bosnia-Herzegovina).

Because of their parish namesake, the parishioners there have come to regard the statue as the Immaculate Conception. And still another title given by the many pilgrims who visit Medjugorje is Our Lady of Medjugorje.

“What prompted me to paint Our Blessed Mother in this way was that as I grew closer to Mother Mary in prayer and realized how close to us She is, I simply could not relate to the many photos in circulation of the statue of Mother Mary depicting a cold gaze that was either looking down or away from the viewer.”

“I really hoped that this painting would help others better visualize and realize that he/she is very dear to Her and that She is very near to all of Her Children. We are all Her very dear children and She is Our Most Loving Mother. Therefore, I pray this image of Mother Mary will help you better realize Her love for you and be a help for you to remain ever close to Her Immaculate Heart in prayer.” – Catholic artist Richard L George

When I first made the painting public in 2012, I still wasn’t happy with it, but at least it solved the issues I had with the photos of the statue.

I reworked and published the painting several times until I was finally satisfied that the painting looked like I wanted it to look, which was more alive and with the gaze of a warm, motherly look.

Though I had originally painted her with brown eyes, I had several requests for a blue eyed version of the image because both Saint Bernadette of Lourdes and the visionary Mirjana Dragičević reported that Our Lady has blue eyes.

“If you knew how much I love you, you’d cry for joy” – Mother Mary through visionary Marijana Dragovic 21 Jun 1984 – Medjugorje