The Meaning

“Descending Spirit” expresses the ascension of Christ while inside a gold crown, which He will inherit after His resurrection.

Hand of Father God

His Father’s hand is motioning Him up to be with Him forever.

Fire Descending

As a result of this, there is the descending of the fire (symbolizing His passion for people) that comes upon His many future children on the earth.

This piece relies heavily on symbolism, much like my piece, “Dose of Reality.”

The Process

El Greco partially inspired this piece (especially the face of Christ). After sketching out the face, hand, crown, fire, dove, and earth, I began to blend the yellow and white oil paint inside the crown and used acrylic gold paint on the crown itself. Then I blended yellow and red inside the fire outline with a rag instead of a brush and then painted in the dove and, lastly, the earth. The black background was then filled in around the rest and I added the stars last.

I used Galkyd as a sealant to give the piece more pop and dimension.