I am going to give you a little bit of background to each one of the Christmas cards up until now. You will notice that I have just designed a new collection of Christmas cards, which I will be writing about in the upcoming weeks which once again are my take on the real meaning of Christmas, so whether you are a believer or not I am convinced it is very important to consider.
In relation to Christmas you will often hear me say that when it comes to the images and rhetoric of Christmas we can often become all too familiar. Which is a shame as it is full of deep meaning and powerful truths, ideas and even values that everyone can learn from the concept of Christmas.
As an Artist it is my desire and I endeavor to portray the deep meaning behind each of these stories we find in the narative of the first Christmas story.
We think we know the story back to front, we think we get it, however actually I don't think we do.
The Immaculate conception
Let's kick off with many people's favourite of the collection, and the very first one I painted. I painted immaculate conception when I was in London in a house in Grove park road in Bromley. This is when I was working with Youth with a Mission a missionary organisation, as a staff team we had recently moved to London from Derby. We lived in this massive house on the edge of Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich. I remember I had a table in the corner of the conservatory of this building as I shared a room with 5 other people. Who when we were not running schools changed all the time. I had very little space of my own. I am very blessed to now live in a 5 bedroom house with my husband, one of the rooms we have turned into my studio, that is where I am currently writing from.
Nonetheless the couple who ran the team and house were very supportive of the fact that I was an artist. I had recently been part of an arts team in Argentina and they very much wanted me to continue my ministry as as Artist when I joined them. Later I was part of setting up an arts team in the team where I worked.
At this point I had not discovered the wonder of canvases so I was still working on paper. I had moved away from recycled art, and I was developing my painting skills. I imagine it was a few months before Christmas when I painted this. Later after it was finished it was the signature piece of an exhibition I did in both Bromley and Catford called Light in the Darkness and it was on my business cards for a while. I remember it evoked many conversations and still does which is one of the purposes of my art to get people to ask questions. Many people as always have come to their own conclusions about this painting but I am going to tell you what it is all about.....
The moment that this painting captures is often glossed over and the focus is often put on the person of Mary. Now obviously she is a central character to this story, we hear the main part of the greeting from the angel Gabriel;
"Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with Child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus." (Luke 1:30-31)
This is mind blowing enough, there are many questions that come to mind when we think about this event, why was Mary chosen, what was it that meant that she had found favour with God. Many many questions come to mind, I am now leading a church in another hat I wear so I may explore some of those questions in that forum. I have just set up a forum on this website so that might be a forum where we can talk more about it.
However this painting is based around the second character of this story who we perhaps do not consider and that is the person of the Holy Spirit. Consider these verses
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, " since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will overshadow you. " (Luke 1:34-35)
When you see many pieces of Art about the immaculate conception they focus around Mary who has a halo around her head and they are often gentle looking.
However I wanted to portray another side to this story and to focus on the character of the holy spirit. I wanted to create a simple image but one that showed the power and the magnificence, grandeur, awesomeness and the dramatic nature of the moment that the Holy spirit descended on Mary and must have impregnated her.
You may notice that in my painting the Immaculate conception there is a thunder bolt which lights up the little house in the middle of the painting. I imagine that the house that Mary was staying in was a small one in the middle of nowhere. People lived much further apart in those days. The fact that the house is on its own means that it adds to the dramatic nature of the image.
The dark background of the night sky only adds to the drama of the moment the holy spirit comes upon Mary. Although in my painting the Holy Spirit is depicted as a massive thunderbolt with almost cosmic proportions. As if this object was other worldly, in fact the Holy spirit is clearly from heaven. Heaven is not only other worldly but in a sense from another dimension.
I wanted to capture the supernatural essence of the story of the Holy spirit coming upon
or as in this painting striking Mary almost like lightening.
The supernatural is a strong characteristic of the majority of my paintings, I believe the supernatural is a huge concept that we miss out of so many things particularly those things that are even deemed religious.
The supernatural in today's society is often associated with horror, Halloween or the dark side or at least new age and the occult. Yet the very existence of God and his kingdom is supernatural. This is one of the most amazing parts of being a Christian which sadly even many Christians are missing out on, but lets talk about my take on the supernatural another day.
I hope you enjoy this painting which is the first in my collection of Christmas cards from last season on sale now for £1.50 and packs for £4.99 but there is a sale on Christmas cards 2 for 1, you can choose which season or I can make you up an assorted pack check out my website link in bio, to order or drop me a DM
COMING BLOGS BELOW
Angels and Shepherds
The Nativity
Silver Streams
Winter Wonderland
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