It used to be that I became uncomfortable when a client would ask me to create something outside of my usual style. Mainly because I worried that I might be pushing my luck as far as my ability to match their vision. Some part of me has developed more of a sense of adventure with my art which is infinitely more fun because the same challenges that used to cause hesitation now bring excitement. So much of creating a piece of artwork is about being willing to see where the idea takes you and how you will respond to its challenges.
This painting was created to accompany another "Dali-esque" painting, surreal in style, that my client had and wanted a companion piece (in ink and watercolor) to hang in the same room. Surrealism is most definitely a far stretch from my more realistic comfort zone.
I played with some different ideas and ended up with a tree that had somewhat of a facial structure. I really can't pinpoint what made me think of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but I liked the idea of capturing it as something other than an apple tree. Eve at this moment might be pondering whether she should listen to what God told her or give into the temptation to choose otherwise. Outside the Garden of Eden story, there is a tension that alludes to similar choices we individuals make on a daily basis. The butterfly hovering by the tree is symbolic of the resurrection, reflected in 1 Corinthians 15 (MSG):
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!
