The Meaning

“Saved from the Leopard” was created for my sister right after her first son Jameson was born.

The Leopard’s Fury

The setting is in Africa with a vicious leopard roaring in the tree.

Protection

The lion protecting her son is a real faith-based innuendo which has a benefit of protection for him and her family.

In many other pieces like “Mouth Of The Lion,” done eight years before this one, I used the lion to convey a different principle like the choice of a human holding onto fear and taking a leap of faith into the redemption of Christ.

In “Sacred Heart/Beast In The Way,” the lion is characterized as a ferocious beast who desires to attack the evil which tries to block the way of an authentic believer who desires to continue with their relationship with God despite the attacks or resistance of fear inside.

In this piece, I show the lion at rest and at peace in a protective role that brings peace instead of fear and anxiety, which both my sister and I had experienced growing up.

The Process

This is one of the few pieces I have done on paper with an oil medium. The recycled paper that I used here worked very well for me and I can see the brush strokes very well throughout the lion’s mane and the golden wheat field and the tree in the background. I loved how this kind of paper gave the brush such a great grip while the oil paint medium was applied.

I can see the influence of Thomas Hart Benton once again in the cloud formations and also the colorful influence of Peter Max who was very influential to me right from the start of my creative and colorful animated characters I have developed over the years.