Behind the Scenes of "Unblemished"
The Inspiration...
I saw this painting in my mind more than 2 years before I began painting it. I was reading I Peter 1:18-20:
I got a vision for a painting of God holding a lamb, both loving him, but also knowing He had to let him go. The lamb, of course, is Christ. We are also all biblically like the lamb in the painting, and God is our shepherd who loves us.
The Models
The first thing I felt like I needed to do was to find someone who raised sheep. I live in Brentwood, TN, and this was no easy task. After calling multiple farms only to find out that there were no places nearby who still did this, I put my search on hold. Then, a year and a half later at an art show, a lady came to me and asked if I could design a business card for her sheep breeding business. I couldn't believe it! I should know by now not to be surprised that God would work like this, but I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it was October and lambs aren't born until the spring, so the wait continued.
The Bearded Gentleman...
The next obvious thing that I needed to do was to find a bearded man to agree to help me. I was on the lookout! One Sunday, a friend called to invite me to lunch after church at Panera. I showed up only to find out that no one was there. But before I left, I saw a man who was perfect for my painting. He was eating with his family, but I just went right up to him and gave him my card, explaining what I wanted to do and would he help me? He was a Christian and was thrilled to help. He plays Santa at Christmas, and he said he could probably wait until spring to shave his beard.
The Perfect Lamb... Unbelievable!
January 1, Paul called me and said that his wife was really tired of his beard, and wanted to know exactly when the lambs were due to be born. I still thought it would be several months, so I was a little nervous that he wouldn't be willing to wait. I called the breeder immediately and she said "You won't believe this, but a little white male lamb was born on Christmas Eve completely out of season. We're bringing all of the animals in tomorrow - can you come then? They grow really fast." My jaw hit the floor... this was coming together better than I ever could have hoped, and it was becoming obvious to me that what was happening was far bigger than my little vision for a painting.
The Amazing Photographer...
Until then, I had only worked with one photographer that I trusted to understand my artistic vision and capture it on film. His name is Riley Spiller, but unfortunately he lives in Missouri and rarely comes to Nashville. I had to have a talented photographer that I trusted, and I was willing to beg and plead for him to come to Tennessee the next day. I called him and, again, God amazed me in his provision. Riley had another shoot to do that weekend (in Nashville) and had just pulled into town! He said tomorrow morning was free and he was happy to do the shoot on a moment's notice. By this point, I was on cloud nine. Within an hour, everything had come together for a painting that had been on my heart for the past two years. It was about to be a reality.
The Photoshoot...
I picked up everyone and we made the hour and a half drive to the ranch. I met the star (we named him Christopher), and we found a good place in one of the barns to take the photos. Paul asked how I wanted him to act with the lamb. I said, "just love him." He was a natural :) I wasn't sure how the young lamb would act away from his mother. I had visions of him trying to kick his way out of Paul's arms the whole time, leaving us with only one or two decent shots. Instead, he just melted into Paul's chest for the whole shoot and quietly let out a little "baaaaa" every now and then to his mother who was in a nearby stall. We took over 200 photos that morning.
The Hidden Cross...
I can't explain how it felt that day, seeing my vision being captured on camera. When I came home and selected the photo to work from, I noticed that part of the barn door behind Paul looked like a cross! I ended up adding a nail with a hint of red near it for added symbolism on this area. The entire process took only 2 1/2 weeks, which is almost unheard of compared to how long I typically spend on large paintings like this. I hope that it will continue to touch people who see it, and that it will always bring God glory instead of me. I think you'll agree after reading that this one was truly out of my hands from the beginning.
Thanks so much for reading.
The Inspiration...
I saw this painting in my mind more than 2 years before I began painting it. I was reading I Peter 1:18-20:
"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days."
I got a vision for a painting of God holding a lamb, both loving him, but also knowing He had to let him go. The lamb, of course, is Christ. We are also all biblically like the lamb in the painting, and God is our shepherd who loves us.
The Models
The first thing I felt like I needed to do was to find someone who raised sheep. I live in Brentwood, TN, and this was no easy task. After calling multiple farms only to find out that there were no places nearby who still did this, I put my search on hold. Then, a year and a half later at an art show, a lady came to me and asked if I could design a business card for her sheep breeding business. I couldn't believe it! I should know by now not to be surprised that God would work like this, but I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it was October and lambs aren't born until the spring, so the wait continued.
The Bearded Gentleman...
The next obvious thing that I needed to do was to find a bearded man to agree to help me. I was on the lookout! One Sunday, a friend called to invite me to lunch after church at Panera. I showed up only to find out that no one was there. But before I left, I saw a man who was perfect for my painting. He was eating with his family, but I just went right up to him and gave him my card, explaining what I wanted to do and would he help me? He was a Christian and was thrilled to help. He plays Santa at Christmas, and he said he could probably wait until spring to shave his beard.
The Perfect Lamb... Unbelievable!
January 1, Paul called me and said that his wife was really tired of his beard, and wanted to know exactly when the lambs were due to be born. I still thought it would be several months, so I was a little nervous that he wouldn't be willing to wait. I called the breeder immediately and she said "You won't believe this, but a little white male lamb was born on Christmas Eve completely out of season. We're bringing all of the animals in tomorrow - can you come then? They grow really fast." My jaw hit the floor... this was coming together better than I ever could have hoped, and it was becoming obvious to me that what was happening was far bigger than my little vision for a painting.
The Amazing Photographer...
Until then, I had only worked with one photographer that I trusted to understand my artistic vision and capture it on film. His name is Riley Spiller, but unfortunately he lives in Missouri and rarely comes to Nashville. I had to have a talented photographer that I trusted, and I was willing to beg and plead for him to come to Tennessee the next day. I called him and, again, God amazed me in his provision. Riley had another shoot to do that weekend (in Nashville) and had just pulled into town! He said tomorrow morning was free and he was happy to do the shoot on a moment's notice. By this point, I was on cloud nine. Within an hour, everything had come together for a painting that had been on my heart for the past two years. It was about to be a reality.
The Photoshoot...
I picked up everyone and we made the hour and a half drive to the ranch. I met the star (we named him Christopher), and we found a good place in one of the barns to take the photos. Paul asked how I wanted him to act with the lamb. I said, "just love him." He was a natural :) I wasn't sure how the young lamb would act away from his mother. I had visions of him trying to kick his way out of Paul's arms the whole time, leaving us with only one or two decent shots. Instead, he just melted into Paul's chest for the whole shoot and quietly let out a little "baaaaa" every now and then to his mother who was in a nearby stall. We took over 200 photos that morning.
The Hidden Cross...
I can't explain how it felt that day, seeing my vision being captured on camera. When I came home and selected the photo to work from, I noticed that part of the barn door behind Paul looked like a cross! I ended up adding a nail with a hint of red near it for added symbolism on this area. The entire process took only 2 1/2 weeks, which is almost unheard of compared to how long I typically spend on large paintings like this. I hope that it will continue to touch people who see it, and that it will always bring God glory instead of me. I think you'll agree after reading that this one was truly out of my hands from the beginning.
Thanks so much for reading.
Labels: Christ, cross, God, Jesus, lamb, love, sheep, shepherd
posted by Kelly O'Neill - Artist of Life at 2:29 PM
3 comments
