Icon of Jonah (commission)
11 in. x 14 in., acrylic on canvas
This piece was commissioned to capture Jonah crying out to God from inside the gullet of the fish. Jonah, who attempted to run away from the mission God gave him to call the people living in Ninevah to repent from great evil, is pictured here having been rescued from drowning. He does not yet know his fate, has no idea he and God are "still on" for his assigned task, and isn't expecting what will unfold in Ninevah.
I painted this with a nod to Christian iconography. The esophageal ribbing and distant dark stomach valve symbolizing the thread of being digested to death are situated behind him to create a halo/nimbus around his head. He kneels in the putrefying liquid of seawater and acidic saliva, yet his face and hands are upturned in prayer and worship The utter darkness of the belly of the beast is illumined by the Presence of the Holy Spirit, unseen and outside of the frame, but yet setting alight his features and dancing on the surface of the water.
I would simply like to say that there are some pieces where I perceive God leading me every step of the way. When I ran out of ideas about what the next step in the compositional process would be, He just, well... brought it to mind in a much different way than when my own mind works to come up with solutions. This piece was an intriguing painting experience for me. I hope it continues to speak to the one who commissioned it for a long time.
