St. Vincent, 2014. Acrylic on paper, photograph; manipulated in Photoshop.
I was experimenting with layering a couple of images that have been in my mind lately (they're both in previous blog posts, can you find them?) After layering them I began rather mindlessly playing around with endless options of filters and transparencies and Photoshop magic and was surprised to suddenly see this image appear. I stopped, as I had an immediate memory of the sensations I felt as a child in my grandparents church.... light streaming through stained glass windows juxtaposed with the screen that appeared (in shadowy light) when Father snapped open the confessional window.
In the end, I see it as a glorious mix of utter fear (childhood memories that I'm an innately flawed human being that can never be a proper Catholic); a delight in beauty (of the stained glass windows that held my attention far better than the sermons) ; a sense of connection through history (both religious and familial); and, an interesting graphic, though quite dark. And through it all are streams of pure golden light, which I remember staring at during Mass and thinking about how they represented a whole world outside that was bustling along as we sat quietly in church.