This is only a very little progress on a much larger drawing I am undertaking as a Lenten meditation of my own for this year, but may not complete before Easter. The scene is Christ seated on a rock alone in the wilderness, surrounded by stillness, silence, and the harshness of the wild. The drawing is a copy of the very best painting I have ever seen of this subject, by the great Russian painter of the 19th Century, Ivan Kramskoy. You can see in Christ's eyes the fatigue of the fast and the grim understanding of all that his mission to redeem the world will cost. Christ has his battle face on, because that is why he went out into the desert: "To be tempted by the Devil." He went into the desert to face down every kind of evil the world has known through the weakness and sinfulness of man. Kramskoy's painting captures the seriousness of this moment, and also the paradoxical beauty of the lonely deserted places where we can be quiet, and hear the "still, small voice" of God. I love the ruggedness of the Christ Kramskoy envisions in his masterpiece. Move over Bear Grylls. Hopefully I will be able to complete this work before Lent is over.
David, I love your work. I work for a campus ministry and I received my degree in art, emphasis in drawing and graphic design. I have been commissioned by my boss to do the Stations of the Cross series an a Lenten experience for myself. I was googling pictures when I stumbled across your blog and your work. You have inspired me.
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