Burnt Sienna 20 kaftan;
Sky Blue 22 linen blouse beneath;
Scarlet 18 a bowl of apples in the background—to be resurrected for
stigmata, spear, and thorn crown wounds.
This is the benevolent Jesus,
a man in his prime, limbs supple, clear‑eyed (no Bloodshot Red 16); face Flesh (a) 8; Brown 21 beard and hair; nimbus faint but Goldenrod 7, pristine
against a Pure White 1 wall.
The back of the artist’s
head is dented but he holds a steady brush, a dart precisely aimed. His Scarlet 18 and
Bloodshot Red 16 eyes water. The
canvas has Sharp Blue 25 stripe‑borders, Easy Gray 29 shadows, Simple
Black 31 outlines, Banana Yellow 6 light specks. You can
mock a man but can’t humiliate him unless he believes you. That’s what he said, the artist, Chalk White
2 Marine.
Orange 12 dawn light streaks
through an arched window mixed with Yellow 4 rays. Granny Apple 26 and Avocado 27 blend stems
for Electric White 4 lilies in a vase on a Chartreuse Yellow 11 shelf; through the window,
a blurry row of Olive 28 treetops sits in the distance; the curve of a pear next to the Scarlet 18
apples on a small Brown 21 table by the window has a Soft Yellow 4 glow.
Touches of Rust 19 on his
cheekbones; Spring
Rose 13 cheeks above his beard.
I’ll be going home, the artist says. His right arm gone, fingernails on the other Flesh (b) 9, just like Jesus,
his half‑chopped right ear a hump of Electric White 4 bandage. Do to
no man what you would not want done to you.
Spots of Flamingo Pink 15 on the hump.
Find your purpose and
fulfill it, Excellent Gray 30, and when you go to meet your maker, be sure
you’ve scrubbed the sin, Devilish Pink 14.
Sweet Jesus take me home, he says, right toes missing, lips Pomegranate 17, sweet Jesus, why do these eyes, Jet Black 33, eyelashes and hair the same, hate me so? His left nostril missing, nose braced by a
plaster half‑mask, Electric White 4, spotted with Red‑orange
11. See
those hands, he says, Flesh (c) 10 with Simple Black 31 lines. Strong,
ain’t they? Carpenter’s
hands.
The
silence, Glass 24. Sadness, no color. His right kneecap shattered. Jesus’ eyes Bone White 3 and Cerulean
23. His mother, the artist says, is all
rainbows, then he screams: Jesus, Mommy, just look what they done to
your boy.
April
2007