Artist's Statements

This watercolor piece was the result of a private meditation on one of C.S. Lewis’ poignant scenes between Jill, the young protagonist of "The Silver Chair", and Aslan, the Narnian Christ-figure. Jill, upon finding herself alone in an unknown land, is desperately thirsty and comes upon a stream. But between her and the water sits the Lion:

“If you are thirsty you may drink.”… and it’s voice was not like a man’s. 

It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way. 

“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion. 

“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill. 

“Then drink,” said the Lion. 

“May I–could I– would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill. The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience…

”Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill, 

“I make no promises,” said the Lion… 

“Do you eat girls?” she said 

”I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it...

The first figure to make an appearance in my sketchbook was that of Jill, tenuous and shrinking yet still inching forward. Sketched for my own edification and painted with a limited palette of just the three primary colors, I viewed this scene as a study. That is until a “chance meeting” with Dr. David Filson at a showing of “Further Up and Further In”  revealed a shared resonance with this particular moment in Lewis' story... the very moment which just happend to be the closing scene of Max McLean’s masterful performance. 

In a season of personal need, I had found solace in the familiar company of C.S. Lewis alone at my desk in Florida. Brushes in hand and “A Song For Jill” by artist Sarah Sparks in my ear. Unbeknownst to me, several weeks later  during a trip to Tennessee, the Lord would weave all these pieces of Good Art into a tapestry of grace. The whole thing impressed upon me anew the magnitude of His sovereingty, sufficiency, and good purposes. 

I pray my image of the thirsty and fearful Jill juxtaposed with The Great Lion may also serve to renew faith in who The Lord is and who we are in relation to Him. There is truly  “no other stream” and although He “is not a tame Lion… he is good” and His living waters satisfy. 

This watercolor piece depicts a moment in the Irish legend of the selkie. This story is found in both Celtic and Norse mythology and is a mournful take on the mermaid tale we know from fairytales. The selkies are seal people, shapeshifters who transform into their sea-dwelling form with the aid of seal-skin cloaks. In the most-told version of the myth, a fisherman and a selkie woman discover each other and fall in love. They get married and the fisherman hides her cloak to keep her on the land with him. They go on to build a life together, however, the selkie is inevitably and irresistibly drawn back to the water and one day she discovers the hidden cloak. In a heartbreaking turn, she abandons her husband and family to return to the sea. It is a haunting Irish myth and, as I considered my depiction of it, I found myself heavily influenced by the Biblical tale of Hosea. In this Old Testament account, the prophet Hosea is sent to the rebellious Israelites and tasked with calling them back to God. The Lord uses his life to paint a powerful illustration. He tells Hosea to marry Gomer— a prostitute— and to love her faithfully even though she will prove adulterous to him time and time again. By this self-sacrificing union God communicates His own unfailing love for His people even in the midst of their sin. This is truly the story I wish to tell through the piece. In many ways, this intersection of figures and themes gets at the true purpose of mythology as both a creative narrative particular to a people and, more profoundly, a vehicle for understanding deep truth. This painting is an effort to bring together the profundity of a Christian message with the imaginative richness of a Celtic legend. I have used the backdrop of a foggy Irish coastline to set the scene with cool colors and craggy rocks. The imagery of the selkie herself represents both Gomer and, more broadly, every Christian. Her expression is conflicted, yet she still reaches toward the ominous presence of the seals which represent the concupiscence of the human condition. Most importantly, the passionate and desperately pursuing fisherman is the Christ figure, an image of God’s faithful love which pursues us even though we, like the selkie, frequently spurn Him.