Title: Transformation of Saul
1998 – 2001
Medium: Watercolor on Handmade paper
Stories of transformation are inspiring. I love to hear these. Psychiatrists long to create these. The process of transformation in psychotherapy takes a lot to time and energy. It is still worth all the effort. Even in psychotherapy there are few sessions where one feels there is greater progress, when an insight is received and a strong resolve to change is made.
In life I have seen sudden transformations too. My friend’s father quit smoking when my friend at the age of 5 asked his dad, if he could try the same. We have all heard of such men who give up things like drugs for something greater like love for the family following a life changing event.
The picture here is that of Saul. He was a Roman citizen by birth, Pharisaic Jew by religion and was a student of Greek philosophers. He persecuted followers of Jesus Christ with missionary zeal. He had a life transforming experience on the road to Damascus. He witnessed God and heard from Him. His life was never the same. He became known as Apostle Paul. He became part of the community he persecuted. His knowledge and skill became useful to build, what he wanted to destroy. He suffered imprisonment, humiliation and finally death for his faith in God.
I started this painting in year November 1998 and finished it in June 2001 [most likely]. It is an art work I had kept pending for the longest. It is one of the two paintings I have done during my MBBS [Medical Schooling] training years. It speaks of how busy I got in college stuff and how non-serious I was about art during those days. However a couple of years later, there was a transformation in me, a change I cherish.
May your life be transformed too for the better towards the more meaningful and eternal.
Blessings…
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