therevelationpainting.com

Revelation and the Catcher and the Rye

I feel it is very important for me to share something that I learned yesterday about myself.  Upon designing various scenes of the painting I realized my ignorance about the rest of the world.  My focus was on America/Americans and their contributions to humanity, such as Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy.

It was when I read about Michael and his angels who came to fight the devil, I thought who are those angels?  It dawned on me that America is not the only country in the world who has sacrificed lives for "making things right".  I thought what a perfect place to add historical figures into the painting-as angels!

The first man I came across was Gandhi.  I was amazed and embarrassed when I read what he had done for society and the world.  I wondered why we, here in America-land of the free, home of the brave had only heard mere parts of this man's sacrifice.  Personally I had not learned about him in school.

He is a perfect example of our American "slogan" as he fought for freedom in a very brave manner, and was also assassinated for standing up for the rights of humanity.  My first instinct was to place him at the right side of Michael.  Read about him here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi

My mission is to look at the world and the historical figures who wrapped humanity around themselves as a blanket.  The Revelation Painting is teaching me more than you could ever know about life, other people, faith, science, imagination, corruption…it is overwhelming but easily continued.

I have been asleep and now awakening.  Although there are no women mentioned specifically as angels that I have found, I will focus on that as well.  There are so many changes which occurred within me and my ideas for this painting yesterday.  I will be writing about those as well.

Imagine my home and the color growing around me as I move canvases up and down?  They are all over the place giving me opportunity at any time to paint what I feel about this painting.  There are index cards scattered about with new and exciting plans and designs!

There is a section of Revelation which mentions 144,000 people of every nation, tongue, and tribe.  Immediately I thought of the first 144,000 visitors to the painting’s reveal taking a piece of it with them as a representative for their nation, tongue or tribe!

As small pieces of paper about the size of fortune cookie paper are removed from the painting, the faces of those 144,000 become visible.  How dramatic and exciting for the one removing the paper.  The face may be of any race, ethnicity, nation, tongue or tribe!

The leaders of a new world are mentioned at the end of Revelation but who are they?  I thought the children who visit the painting and its massive size.  Then I thought the children can see the new leaders as they stare at their own faces in small mirrors placed at their own level!

I thought I was a multicultural person.  I thought I understood the struggles and plights of other nations.  I believed I was a budding humanitarian.  I found that I was like the character in The Catcher and the Rye feeling obligated to induce a change by helping others from falling when all along it was me who was falling.

I hope that by the time the painting is complete, I will be a much better person and that I can take many with me on this journey of self.  It is an amazing world!