Tempt the Messiah: a work of sequential art about...

[g.owen]

Unique and realistic sequential art...poetic and symbolic...a story about good verses evil, starting with the Devil tempting Christ in the desert.

Go see chapter 2, BREAD ON THE DESERT at:
http://home.windstream.net/themessiah


At the end of the webpage is a link to my blogsite. There are some pencil drawings of some work before I colored them.

[g.owen]

Hey guys, why won't my picture show up?

update: I obviously have a picture now....with some kind help

[WingManMedia]

you put in the wrong type of link.. [IMG] tag.

i really enjoyed this being a believer.. however.. why is Yeshua a white guy... again with the white messiah...

_cole

[g.owen]

you put in the wrong type of link.. [IMG] tag.

i really enjoyed this being a believer.. however.. why is Yeshua a white guy... again with the white messiah...

_cole


Thanks for the interest. And to respond to why Yeshua is white...I am from USA, Georgia, and so I have basically two choices for a model: a white guy or an African-american guy. I went with the white guy. I darkened his skin some, to give him more of an olive tone. But the be honest with you, I never really liked the fact that he looks more European. I later found this guy that had olive skin and looked HEBREW??? who was willing to model for me. But it was too late. For my next project, I hope to use a better-suited model. Anyway, throughout history artists have done that with the image of Christ. Usually, the artist makes Christ look similar to what he is, which is understandable.

As a side note, I will say that most of the time when Christ is portrayed as a white messiah, it is more for artistic reasons rather than trying to make a statement about His race. Even though I darkened my Jesus’ skin, I continually found myself only being satisfied with the picture when I colored Christ light –for artistic reasons. As an artist you learn that the lightest thing in the picture is what the viewer's eye goes to. You usually make the focal point, or main subject of the art the lightest part of the art. So, Christ ends up looking...light, or white. Also, most of the works of the past were painted using the locals as models, which resulted in all the subjects of the painting (including Christ) looking European. Back then, it was common to include the financial sponsor in the painting. So, if you are a European painter, using European models, and you have a European person giving you your paycheck, YOU END UP WITH A PAINTING OF JESUS WHERE EVERYONE IS EUROPEAN --doesn't mean you really think He looks like that. At the close of my webpage I even make a comment about me NOT trying to present an accurate picture of Christ's outward appearance.

Thanks giving me an opportunity to mention this :blahblah: .

[g.owen]

about the avatar...it shows up in my profile, but it does not show up when I post. What's the deal with that?

[Eric Gerhard]

Very interesting work.... Very nice really....

I'm trying to make my way into the comic book world and it is very good to see different work once in a while.

edit: About the linking problems, here you don't link an image you attach it. Go advanced and you'll see there and option for attaching images.

Peace

[g.owen]

Very interesting work.... Very nice really....

I'm trying to make my way into the comic book world and it is very good to see different work once in a while.

edit: About the linking problems, here you don't link an image you attach it. Go advanced and you'll see there and option for attaching images.

Peace


Thanks for the info about images. I'll try that when I get home...and I will look at your art. I grew up being a huge fan of Conan, and all things similar...looking at your attached image, I'm sure I'll be into your work.

[yousir]

this is an interesting approach. i wasnt a fan of the photographic look at first, bit it did start to grow on me.
with the way the bible is written, i think you have your work cut out for you as far the technique you've chosen. it seems that the images lose the thread of the text a bit on the last two pages, but that may be because i havent studied the scriptures...
the portrayal of jesus is interesting as always, particularly when contrasted with the dark-skinned temptor. a political-correctness nightmare.
to be fair, i think christ's robes could have allowed a dark complexion while retaining him as a focal point.

[g.owen]

...it seems that the images lose the thread of the text a bit on the last two pages, but that may be because i havent studied the scriptures...
the portrayal of jesus is interesting as always, particularly when contrasted with the dark-skinned temptor. a political-correctness nightmare.
to be fair, i think christ's robes could have allowed a dark complexion while retaining him as a focal point.


Thanks, Yousir.
On the issue of the Devil having the darker skin and political correctness…..my wife was the model for the Devil >:D – so that’s why the Devil looks that way. She is a Vietnamese-American. I am not trying to make a statement about Asian people here (do not want to offend my Asian friends, or family for that matter).

And you are right about the white robes providing an adequate attraction for the eyes. But I want Christ’s face to be the lure for the eye (even though you never get clear sight of the face). I regret making His robes so light. Next time I will make them brown. And to add to the comments from my last post (those explaining why Christ is often light), the artist of Christ often wants to portray…..an ethereal nature in Christ – and this is easiest done with light, or light color. I am not saying you cannot have a dark-skinned messiah because of artistic reasons. But I am saying that it will be more of a challenge to do that, especially with sequential art where you present the same Christ over and over. If I were doing just one painting, it would be easy to have His skin darker, yet still have those technical details in place that make Christ the focal point. Having said this, next time I hope to have a model of the messiah that is more Hebrew-looking. But for now…..I did the best I could with what I had.

Finally, about the text of the last two pages NOT going along with the scripture…..you have to reach to get it. I don’t want to make it too easy for you. On the last page, look into the eye of the Devil. You will see within it a reflection of Bethlehem and the star that announced the birth of the Messiah. With that in mind, see if the text makes more sense – it is a kind of history there in that part. Every page has symbolism in it, and if you notice the symbolism then the text makes more sense…..well, to me it does.

Thanks for you feedback!!!

[g.owen]

I'm new here, just joined. Looking around, I've noticed that most upload their art, or at least a sample. So, I edited my introduction post to include a sample of my art. Maybe I'll upload more later....maybe some pencil work.

[rockdraw]

great art! like this realistic style very much! did you worked with photos, or are the pics all out of your head? you said that you get paid for this. so is this just for a client or do you realy believe in jesus? would be cool if you answer.
like to see more of your art ;)!

[rockdraw]

wow I did not know that it´s posible to paint over pencil portiraits such pretty well, that they look so photorealistic!!!

[g.owen]

Yes Rockdraw....I actually believe in Jesus. And I think you misunderstood me somewhere - I do NOT GET PAID FOR THIS. Anyway...I have a friend pose as my Jesus model, and my wife is my Devil model (that's kinda funny to me).