Lion of Judah

In the bible Jesus is revealed as a suffering a lamb who took the sins of the whole world upon himself to provide freedom and restoration for all of mankind. The other side of Jesus that may not be as obvious to people is the image of a conquering lion. In the book of Genesis after man fell from God’s presence, provision was immediately made. God covered them with animal skins and prophesied of a redemption to come. This prophecy was a foreshadowing of Jesus, coming to save mankind from the power of sin and to restore us into right-standing and fellowship with God. I won’t get into the specifics of Revelation 5:5-6 (don’t hesitate to look at it for yourself, that’s what Bible study is for : ), however one of the main ideas that is presented in this book of prophesy is that Jesus is coming back again to finalize and establish his kingdom here on the earth. There’s several verses that give beautiful descriptions of what this new kingdom will look like. In the book of Isaiah it’s prophesied that Jesus will wipe away our tears, there will be no pain and suffering, and in fact the earth will be completely filled with the peace, joy, and love of God, leaving no room for sins, pain, or suffering…. Why do you think they call it The Good News!!! The Creative Process This particular piece was painted digitally on a cintiq graphics tablet, and then printed on canvas as a Giclee print. I then embellished it with gloss gel to create texture and realism, making the peace appear to be like a more traditional painting. The style was influenced by a genre of painting called spontaneous realism which combines abstract elements such as loose brush strokes with the sharpness and detail of realism to create a strong focal point. In this case I wanted the mane to be loose and painterly to create the effect of fire. The face of the lion is detailed, sharp, and highly realistic to create the focal point. The expressiveness of the snarl, the wrinkling of the nose, and the contortion of the face is what says it all! I enjoyed making this piece immensely and I hope it encourages you to take a deeper look at the person of Jesus (The Lion and Lamb not the hippie ; ) -God Bless