TRUTH | Impressionism

 

Initially when I began thinking about the painting, I was torn on which style to paint him in. My strategy was to depict the image in one style of whichever art movement would appeal to the most amount of people. Basically I wanted to use whichever style was closest to a "one size fits all" thing. That was the goal.

I was certain the Baroque style would resonate with a lot of people, but this bold and sensual movement was the other style I was contemplating. Compared to the Baroque era, Impressionism is exquisitely rich in texture and shows bold colors to reflect natural lights' effects. Not to mention it is also realistic (hence, direct) but depicts him more as a human being, naturally. I went back and forth on whether relating to him as a human would be more interesting on the subconscious mind or, the other more polished style. It wasn't just what people would visually like better, but which would dig deeper into people's souls more.

That thought trail birthed the concept to creating Jesus in many styles after realizing how different we all are and how different our personalities are. I couldn't pick one style and miss the chance that someone might have had a bigger experience with the other. As I saw the image of Jesus in my mind in these drastically different/unique styles I saw how different we are, and yet how much we are the same. "One size painting fits all" got turned into "one size series fits all" and in that moment I promised myself and God that I would create a portrait for everyone. What makes it even better is that visual language does not require to be translated like verbal language- it is felt with the soul and something that anyone with eyes that can see can participate in.

Each art movement has captured something very powerful that makes it their own unique (visual) language. Up to this point my experience with art was based in realism and portraying an array of movements equally challenged and excited me, but mostly it felt like a gift and quest to my soul. I've always had an inclusive heart and love for all styles, cultures, art techniques and anything that comes in a variety. Needless to say, I had not found or committed myself to a style like most artists do to express and brand themselves... alas, this multiple style series fit my soul perfectly. 

I tried to block out everything I knew about art and focus on the art movement at hand to create a piece that was without future artwork's influence. This was really important and a little challenging, but I did my best to be as true to each movement in my own way. I didn't want to forecast what my paintings would be in other movements... just take it one at a time. This was only just the beginning of knowing how powerful the series would be and showing his multifaceted nature this way. And so, the journey began...

 

ART HISTORY NOTE: Impressionism is all about light and relativity. The same item in the same place looks different depending on the light/time of day around. So there are lots of different effects that light has. The artists would represent this by deconstructing the light (source) and laying colors next to each other (letting your eye manually mix the colors) vs mixing the colors first.

This portrait and the first portrait are interesting to compare because it's the first time we see how tiny changes in color and texture change the whole feel, mood and subject. He is/was both man and God so it's great to have both paintings to represent each of those parts of his nature.