The Meaning
“Fallen In Blue/The Stars Cry out for Salvation” is the first triptych (of two) I have ever created.
This illustration was done during a time when I was becoming very aware of my own fallen humanity, and I can remember feeling helpless and weak.
This was one of many of the pieces I painted during this time, which were subconsciously created and whatever came out of me, I just went with. I can remember hearing the album “Seal, Live in Paris” at the time and I was greatly inspired by it. He did an interview in which he said that subconscious art (or music) is the best kind of art because you let it out from the heart.
The Doorway
Near the top of the first panel is a ghostly form of Christ inside a middle eastern style doorway with a very intense look on His face. The three balls of fire coming from His loins express the Trinity and the fire in them burns with a passion he possesses for me to open our hearts to Him, despite all the fear that can bind me up inside.
Pleiades
The top panel was inspired by the song, “Pleiades” by Kings X, which describes an open star cluster known as the “Seven Sisters.” The lyric to the song tells of the mysteries of the universe and asks the question of who created them. As you can see, the seven stars represent the cluster and they have faces inside of each, crying out for humanity to see the glory of their Creator. I can remember one verse of the song “Who can restrain Pleiades or know the laws of gravity,” which inspired me to paint the realization of God’s glory in Christ, in the feebleness of my own humanity.
Christ and the Lions
The gold surrounding Christ, the lions, and angels, express his divinity. The silver below them represents His redemption for the human race. The lions on each side of Christ roar loudly for me to let go of all the darkness of the past and to trust the life of His redemption. There are angels behind Him (at top center, in red) ready and waiting to battle the evil ties that bind me in the darkness of the world.
Fallenness
On the bottom panel, I show the fallenness of my own humanity, and I become aware of it which leads to my depression (in blue). I also notice a surrender deep within, with the help of His Spirit (the white dove with a cross in its mouth) as my heart bleeds out of my chest. As I look up, I see white skulls coming out of me (symbolizing surrender) which remind me of all the bad experiences in childhood, adolescence and adulthood that caused my soul to suffer, break and eventually self-destruct in death.
Skulls and Roses
In the middle panel, to my amazement, I see flowers blooming out of the skulls and demons (in green) getting upset that they are losing control of my soul because now, it is guided by a new redeeming nature. I also see angels (in blue and yellow) battling the demons and rejoicing over me being led by their Master.
The Process
Few images on this triptych were sketched. The demons, the angels, the skulls, Christ, and the lions were all created out of my vision as I continued to paint the piece. I started by sketching myself as falling. I remember how relieving this was for me to capture the reality of what I was going through at the time. This gave me the inspiration to finish this bottom panel.