Water and the Spirit

16x20, 2018, acrylic on canvas.

This is my most recent self-portrait, in which I explore the ideas of creation, baptism, and identity. The bowl calls to mind a baptismal font, and the peaceful, awe-inspiring clouds, water, and mountains are reminiscent of imagery in Genesis 1, in which God separates the sky from the waters and the water from the earth. The composition is vaguely suggestive of a drop of water. Lightly written in Latin, as if dripping from the hair, one can read "per acquas ad astra"(by water to the stars), a twist on a Roman adage, this time inviting the viewer to think theologically about how Holy Water through baptism can bring one closer to God, and the natural state of Creation.

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2019 Scholastic Gold Key Winner