The Flogging: Sure Hope

Oil on canvas, 24×36 in, 2024
Framed
Original for sale: $6,200

Christ had a plan, but it would be a costly one. He loved us. Everything He did was for our benefit. But we were separated from God.

Christ’s goal was to make it possible for everyone to live with His father after this life. The cost: Christ had to descend below all people so that He could draw all to Him.

And so He suffered the worst this life had to offer. In Gethsemane, at the hands of cruel and mocking people He had come to save, during His flogging, and on the cross, he suffered. He suffered more by taking upon Himself the pains and penalties of all people, for all time, paying the price for all our sins so that we could qualify for eternity.

He laid down His own life so He could draw all unto Him, if we repent.

Even being scourged, whipped to the point of death, His eyes and soul were fixed on Heaven. No price, no pain could sway Him from His cause, and as a result, no deed we can ever do can separate us from His love. His hope is sure so that ours may be sure as well.

The Idea

As always, the painting begins with the idea. Here is one of my ideas, nestled between concepts for other paintings in my sketchbook. It includes notes like “bloodstained post”, “window light”, “bloody stains”, “Thrown clothes over shoulders. Blood soaks thru. Exhausted,” and a suggestion for the title of the painting, “Stripes”.

In debates with folks online, I decided to downplay the amount of blood shown, as gore can not only be distracting but also off-putting. It would be accurate, though, considering the horrendous process. Here, I decided to let the viewer’s mind fill in the blanks.

The Shoot

A generous neighbor posed in my garage, allowing me to manacle him the flogging post I made out of a cement form and styrofoam hose insulation. The manacles are from a piece of an “Old Shackles” Tavern Puzzle, while the chains were from a chopped-up cheap plastic costume accessory. The crown of thorns, of which I have a plastic prop and a real crown made in Israel, migrated to the floor.

I moved the photo into my Mac, where I used Photoshop to piece things together and move them about, inventing the courtyard, the walls, and the fire pot, using the light from the original shoot as my guide. I prefer to solve all the problems in the computer before putting paint to canvas.

I then printed the final at-size onto cheap paper in black and white, which I taped together and used graphite to transfer to the canvas.

Process

Then I painted the whole thing in oils, painting from the final image on my iPad on a stand next to my easel. Painting took about a week. The final was varnished with a thin coat of GamVar Gloss Varnish. I custom-ordered the frame from StyleCraft Frames in Midvale, Utah.