Bas-relief is an art whereby images are raised and stand out from the surface, in three dimensions.

Marks and drawings have always been an art form. In the beginning there were the primitive drawings on cave walls, then the relief and sculpture for the Old Testament Kings and the Pharoahs of Egypt. Persecuted Christians hiding in the catacombs in ancient Rome also drew pictures.

Endearing messages such as "John Loves Mary" have been carved in relief from the bark of a tree, or chipped in sandstone, or simply drawn in sand as an ichthus Fish symbol of the first century Christians.

In 1980 the artist, Johnny Johnson, using a patented process of his, took messages from the Bible and rendered, in bas-relief, the inspired words on a textured hand made paper. Sculptured, 3-dimensional, Bible ArtWords was born and has now found a national and international following. Although Mr. Johnson has imitators, he is the originator of bas-relief scripture art.