The Baptism

The Baptism
2010
24 x 36
Acrylic on canvas

I created this piece while listening to a sermon at church on the baptism of Jesus. The sermon was from Luke 3:21 in the Bible. During the sermon the pastor showed a video of his baptism in the Jordan River, which gave me a good sense of the location. As the sermon progressed I created a sketch that became a painting. In Luke 3:21, the scripture says heaven opened up and dove descended in a bodily form. The passage painted and image in my mind. There are many numerical symbols in this piece such as: 16 rivets in the shell represent John 3:16, 10 swirls on either side of the shell represent the 10 commandments, 3 branches on the far sides of the painting represent the trinity and the third chapter of Luke. In the water you can see two swirls. One swirl is representative of Jesus and the other of John the Baptist.