Gay Jesus

Model: Steve & Steve

Warm Up Sketch... WTF???

Wondering what I could do to make the next painting more interesting, I hit on the idea of painting a mirror image, duplicating every stroke I made on the left in reverse on the right and seeing how identical I could make them.

Preparatory Sketches

I failed, but it was an interesting failure as the two "identical" clones began to take on different and distinct personalities...

I began with a loose sketch which I traced and flipped. I noticed that when I did so the twins appeared to be holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes. In this staring match a kind of power play seemed to be taking place. The figure on the left became more dominant whilst the figure on the right became weaker and more submissive.

Dom & Sub - right side image flipped for comparison...

Our model, Steve, was looking particularly messianic that day, with his comb allergic hair and biblical beard. Walking around my colleagues' easels it was wall to wall Jesus, albeit, because of the grubby scout hut interior, Jesus in a bedsit. With this in mind I added a stark lightbulb to the top of the image.

I was very pleased with the result. One of the organisers came around to check on my progress;

"Very good... but... it's a bit gay isn't it?"

"Gay Jesus" I replied.