Every now and then we come across a piece of creation and wonder if we had what it takes to do that. An interesting painting by Marcel Witte, a world-class artist who paints realistic animals, caught my eyes and kindled that deep desire to try. My initial apprehension was the patience required to bring out all those details. You can learn techniques through YouTube videos but patience. Not one of my forte.
But then, isn’t fun all about playing out of your comfort zone. So after nearly 40 hours of resisting the temptation to rush through and with a relentless push from a friend, I was finally able to step back from the canvas and admire the finished painting. My own Lion and Lamb.
When you stay focused on a particular subject that long, subconsciously you start forming doubts and theories. Is it a good painting or a sad painting? Should I make the Lion carry a cub instead of the poor Lamb? But then, I wasn’t sure if Lions carried their cubs. I know lionesses do. Should the lamb be scared? Do lambs have an expressive face to show fear or happiness? In cartoons maybe.
Then came the clichéd doubt in my head. Am I the Lion or the lamb? Who would I rather be?
A lion is Powerful and Majestic for sure. That’s cool especially if you play a leadership role. They are certainly Ferocious and Feared. Not too cool but that’s not going to hurt your position as a leader. A mighty Lion grabs what he wants and when he wants it. Modern management gurus will dig this Alpha predator characteristic and set you as the benchmark for Leadership
A lamb, on the other hand, is cute at best. Brings about a smile when you look at their clumsiness. But then they are lunch or dinner for just about every beast with claws or fangs or even a knife and fork. I certainly wouldn’t like to be the vulnerable one.
But then I am not a lion either, as much as I envy most of its power.
By now the painting progressed significantly and reached a point that I had to take that decision of cub or a lamb in the lion’s mouth.
Just then, I remembered a fundamental principle of painting realism. Paint what you see and not what you think should be. The original masterpiece had a lamb in the lion’s mouth and so will my lion too. For the remainder of the painting, I did not worry about the cause or logic. I didn’t care if the lion was hungry or if the lamb was scared. It didn't matter to me if the lion was protecting the lamb or taking it to the dinner table. I became an earnest trier, an artist who wanted to get better, a hobbyist who simply wanted to have fun, a humble student who was not worried about failing and many more at different stages of the painting process. All that mattered was the fun of putting paint-dipped brush to canvas and see those images shaping up. I was many versions of the one person that mattered.
After all, the Lion and Lamb is a metaphor for the ultimate sacrifice (Lamb) of God and his resurrection to life (Lion). Many versions that ultimately represent the ONE
My Lion and Lamb painting might be a humble imitation of the original masterpiece. This painting might not be exhibition worthy or good enough to be sold. It doesn't matter. What matters is that this painting will keep reminding me that we don’t have to be a powerful lion or vulnerable lamb. We don’t have to bother about the game but be the best player while the game is on. We don’t have to understand the play but act the part we chose to perfection. We don’t have to worry about the war but battle hard as a true warrior as long as we are standing. We don't have to be something or someone but be many versions of ourselves that are constantly trying to get better
Because the best way to be is to become the best version of ourselves.
More info: bhaskar2312.blogspot.com
Lion and Lamb
