Kelly's Notes
Occasionally, I get a vision of a painting idea that won’t leave until I’ve painted it. The colors, composition, and other details are as clear in my mind as if I were already looking at them on canvas.
“Unblemished” is the result of one such vision. I was reading in 1 Peter, and I found this passage:
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.”
I got a picture in my mind of God as an old shepherd, embracing a perfect lamb, loving him, but knowing it was time to give him up. That lamb represents Christ. God allowed Jesus to come to earth and die because he loved US so much. In this way, many people who view this painting see themselves as the lamb, in the loving embrace of their Father.
It was two years between the time I envisioned this painting and when it finally came to be. The circumstances are incredible, and I hope you’ll take time to continue reading.
The search for a lamb:
After trying for months without success to find a nearby farm that raised sheep, a woman approached me at an art show one day and asked if I could re-design her business card. Her livelihood? Raising sheep! I kept it and started looking for a model.
The search for an elderly man:
He had to match my vision. A friend invited me to lunch one afternoon in November, but I accidentally came to the wrong location. Before I left, however, I saw a perfect, bearded man with a kind face. His name was Paul Shoun. I approached him and found out that he was growing his beard out for his annual Santa gig at the mall. He was a Christian, and loved the idea of the painting. He agreed to let his beard grow until spring rather than trimming it January 1st like he usually does. However, on January 5th, he called and said his wife really wanted him to cut it. “How long before the lambs are born?” he asked.
A hopeful phone call:
I immediately called the sheep tender, and asked her when she expected new lambs. She said, “You’re not going to believe this, but a little white, male lamb was born completely out of season on Christmas Eve! You can come tomorrow and photograph him when we bring all of the animals in. He’s growing really fast.”
Lining up a photographer:
Elated at the latest developments, I still had another detail to nail down. I couldn’t use just any photographer. It had to be Riley Spiller, who has done the majority of my photo shoots from Day 1. However, he lives in Missouri (and I in Tennessee), so this would be tricky. I called him, ready to offer him as much money as necessary to make the trip in the morning. He answered and said, “You’re not going to believe this, but I just came into Nashville to see some friends. I’ll be there!”
The day of the shoot:
It was obvious that this was coming together much faster and more amazingly than I could have ever hoped. Paul asked me what I wanted him to do with the lamb. I said, “Just love him.” I have never been around lambs, and I was a little concerned that he would try to get out of Paul’s arms the whole time. However, he was still and at peace, letting out a little “baaa” every now and then to his mother in the nearby stable. We took over 200 photos that day, and when I came home to look at them all, I realized that there was a cross in the background. None of us had noticed it during the shoot.
It’s clear to me that this painting was meant to be.
While I painted “Unblemished,” I do not feel that it is mine. In fact, it was one of the few paintings I’ve done where I can’t remember actually sitting at my canvas making strokes with my brush. I hope you will enjoy its message, and feel loved.
