Painting the Lion and the Lamb

This is my latest acrylic painting called "The Lion and the Lamb".  It's a symbolic piece displaying two animal portraits that represent the one man Jesus Christ from the book of Revelation.  The Lion stands for the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" who is the dominant king who has been given all authority on Earth and in Heaven.  The Lamb stands for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to forgive the sins of God's people.  The painting is done in a realistic style around the faces which slowly fades to an abstract and expressive style around the edges.  Overall, the painting took about 10 hours to complete and was fun and inspiring to work on!

Time-lapse videos of the process:

 

Finished painting - Prints available

"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

Anyone who has ever attempted to draw in a photo-realistic style knows how tedious the process can be.  Every little detail of the image must be exact.  Especially with portraits of people.  If one line is in the wrong spot or one shape is too dark or too light, the drawing will not resemble the person.  The most painstaking part of these portraits is the hair.  All the lines don't follow in perfect pattern.  They are haphazard and random, with stray hairs going across the other strands making the work very slow.

As I struggle to create each individual line and shape, it forces me to notice the unique parts that make up a face.   You never really appreciate these details until you're forced to see, analyze and copy each one in an artwork.  It reminds me of the incredible amount of detail there is in every single person, animal, plant and living thing in this world... and God created it all.

Jesus said,

"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."  - Matt 10:30


He knows every single detail about every part of us, and far more than we could ever see or understand.  How important and valuable we must be!  How caring and loving is the Great Artist?


"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit."  - Psalm 147:5