The Light of God Part 2

More layers of light! More layers to represent the many facets of light, but also because more layers give depth and keep the eye looking for longer. How to make another luminous layer, especially since I’ve chosen a limited palette of yellow, white, and gold for this painting? First, there is more than one colour of yellow and of white—even of gold, and tints of each (adding various amounts of white). Good. But this painting of God’s own glorious light needed more.

Acrylic paint on Mylar sheet awaiting transfer to a canvas

I studied printmaking in college; I’ve loved it since learning to make linocut prints in school when I was twelve. I enjoy combining art techniques, particularly adding printing to my collages and paintings. The idea for the next layer came in a flash; that Mylar wrapping (thin, transparent and flexible but still a bit stiff, plastic) that I had saved from one of my orchid plants would work to print a layer of paint. We artists think nearly everything will either help make art or be art! I cut a piece the size of the area I wanted the layer to cover and squirted yellow (cadmium hue) acrylic paint in a starburst pattern. It did look a bit like mustard.

Transferring acrylic paint from Mylar sheet to canvas

Fortunately, the paint is thick enough that I could reverse the Mylar without dripping. Using a favourite printmaking tool--a bamboo rice spoon, I rubbed the dry side of the reversed Mylar—transferring the paint to the canvas. Then I lifted it to see if the results were what I wanted. Definitely! However, the paint was too thick for the layer, so I had to carefully lift the excess with a brush and search for other paintings-in-process that could benefit from some cad yellow paint. No paint wasted!

The finished layer of “light”

More layers to come!

The Names of the Apostles New Jerusalem Foundation Part 4

“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ”

— Revelation 21:14

The names of the twelve apostles are written on the twelve foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem, but which twelve apostles?  Who is the twelfth? Certainly not Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, since Peter declared that Judas left his ministry to “go where he belongs,” (Acts 1:25). Is it Matthias, chosen by lots to replace Judas (Acts 1:15-26)? But what about the Apostle Paul, hand-picked by Jesus in a supernatural overtaking when Saul (then named) was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians?  Many argue that this man, writer of most of the New Testament, called personally by Jesus like the other eleven—unlike Matthias, who only won the casting of the lots, must surely be the twelfth apostle.

As I pondered this question before the Lord—I had to know before I could finish this painting, and researched on the internet, the answer (and there definitely is one) initially became less clear.  A huge number of internet articles argued both sides—convincingly. We’ve never heard about Matthias again but without Paul, most of us would never have heard the good news of Jesus bringing the kingdom of heaven to us.  Surely he deserves great honor.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ”

— Ephesians 2:19,20

And there’s the key; it’s not about what either of them deserves, though the right actions of followers of Jesus can bring them eternal rewards. I eventually came to see that there’s a bigger picture.  The naming of the foundations is about representing “The Twelve.” The Apostle Paul, great as he is, and for all the good things he’s brought to the world (yes, even to women—much of what he said about women has been abused and twisted) was never listed or reckoned as one of “the Twelve.” He was (often painfully) aware of this (2 Corinthians 11:5). However, Matthias was brought in as one of “The Twelve,” in response to the believers’ prayer (Acts 1:23,24).  Casting lots was a God honouring Hebrew tradition throughout the Old Testament for deciding matters “in the presence of the Lord our God” (Joshua 18:6).  As far as I can tell, while our brother Paul will certainly be honoured and rewarded—Matthias gets this one, his name emblazoned on the top foundation.

I’ve ordered the names based on a list in the Bible after finding that there were several lists—that didn’t immediately match up.  Thaddeus was listed sometimes and not others—why?  Because he had more than one name, rather like Simon, who was also called Peter. I studied and studied it, settling on this order only to find yet another list.  Sometimes more knowledge stalls, but I needed still more research before I could commit the names to gilding. This is too important to get wrong, yet in the end I can only “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and do the best I can with what I can learn as I seek God.

I researched and painted then got hit with a (different) virus. Now that I’m recovering, I’ll delve back in to the research.  Meanwhile, since I work on more than one painting at a time, I’ll post next time about my The Light of God painting in this series.

Sometimes I hand draw my text. Being left-handed I’ve had to teach myself to draw letter forms and do calligraphy since my teachers didn’t know how to teach me.  Other times, I use printed text to trace and transfer either because of the size or the amount of lettering.

All the Colours of the Wall--New Jerusalem Foundation Part 3

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ”

— Revelation 21:19,20 NIV

Twelve colourful stone foundations for the walls of the New Jerusalem—detail of painting by Joan C. Thomson

Progress!  All the gem colour “stripes” for the wall foundations in the New Jerusalem (in my painting series) along with their gold “mortar” are painted.  I’m struck with how contemporary the colours look.  Gorgeous!  Imagine the light of the glory of God shining through the stones and reflecting off them.  

I’ve also painted the detail of the bits of “gold” (pyrite) on the lapis lazuli or “sapphire” foundation.  Looking at pictures of the various stones on the internet was helpful but better still, is seeing the real stones.  I was pleased to find three of the stones at our local German Christmas Market: chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis.

Chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis lazuli—three of the stones in the wall foundations of the New Jerusalem.

Jasper, according to Pliny the Elder—a first century historian, was green. Sapphire was the name for lapis lazuli though the other stones seem to have kept their names.  There are different versions of the stones on the internet—and in various Bible translations, but I’ve tried to stick close to the literal Greek words and their meanings (biblehub.com).

Faceting of gemstones didn’t begin until much later, so it’s likely that the Apostle John saw smooth, highly polished stones.

With this series of paintings, I’m hoping to provide a glimpse into what this heaven-coming-to-earth looks like but even the best image falls short of seeing the real thing in person.  The New Jerusalem is the place that Jesus has prepared for those who follow him—believing is seeing.

The next stage in this painting will be to add the names of the apostles—one on each foundation colour, in gold leaf.

““Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:1-3

The Colours of the Foundation Part 2

The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Revelation 21:18-20 NRSV

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New Jerusalem Wall painting process first four foundations

Amid a flurry of year-end paperwork, I’ve been diligently exploring how to paint the colours of the foundations of the New Jerusalem walls—and painting them. I wanted to attempt to capture the luminous qualities of light glowing through and bouncing off this variety of precious and semi-precious stones.

Since this body of work is largely abstract or abstracted realism, I chose to represent the “adorn[ing] of the walls with every jewel,” with a stripe in each gemstone colour. To create the appearance of translucence, I mixed a little of the paint colour with acrylic glazing medium, building layer upon layer, varying the brushstrokes for visual texture of crystal formations in some of the gems. However, the character of paint being what it is, not all colours, such as red-orange and yellow lend themselves to transparency. Some of the stones themselves, such as lapis lazuli (sapphire) are entirely opaque.

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New Jerusalem Wall Foundations Painting Process

It’s a joy to watch the vibrant colours emerge—what a combination! The majority in any one colour are a version of green—four out of twelve, so it seems that the answer to the age-old question of God’s favourite colour is green. According to Pliny the Elder, a writer and historian of the first century, jasper was green—the entire wall above the foundations is jasper. Sometimes different sources have different colours for the same stone and some, like beryl can come in red, yellow, blue or green, as in emerald; emerald is already the fourth foundation so the eighth—beryl, can’t be the green one. We’ll see.