His art reflects his faith

In 2020, when the pandemic hit the United States, Ernest Herrera, a parishioner from Most Precious Blood, single-handedly demolished the COVID-19 virus in an oil painting. 

Herrera often uses his art to reflect his thoughts – thoughts that are directed to his faith.
 

Oil painting by Ernest Herrera | for STC Parishioner Ernest Herrera from Most Precious Blood, depicts the Holy Spirit who in the form of a dove comes down to earth, and using rays of light and shock waves, destroys the coronavirus.

His son Ernest “Valentin” Herrera III gave the painting its title shortly before he died on August 27, 2020, of a disease unrelated to COVID. Valentin attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy, King High School, and North Texas University in Denton.

“Before he passed away, I did send him that image that I painted, and I asked him if he could come up with a title,” Herrera said. “What came to his mind was 'Come Holy Spirit in Our Time of Need,' so that’s what I titled the painting, and I wanted to share that with whoever would like to see it.”

Herrera had a family to feed, so in the late 1990s, he gave up on his dream of painting for a living and made it his hobby. Now retired, he is motivated to paint about his faith. He has previously painted action shots depicted in the Ten Commandments, the Annunciation, the Holy Eucharist, St. John Paul II and many others.
 

Drawing by Ernest Herrera This drawing of Pope John Paul II was displayed in a South Texas Catholic commemorative edition shortly after he died in April 2005.

He and his wife, Gracie, continue to embrace their faith. “I don’t know how anyone could possibly walk through what we walked through without believing in God, believing in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.”
 

The Holy Eucharist by Ernest Herrera

The Annunciation, Oil painting by Ernest Herrera