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United Kingdom
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8 x 12 in ($40)
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White ($80)
Mother God A PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST BY JOHN MCDONALD Mother God is an original painting by the Butterfly Cry Artist, Scottish artist John McDonald, commissioned for Déda Derby Inspired Reflections exhibition. This painting is dramatic, powerful and touching, depicting what appears to be a grieving mother holding a bundle in her arms. Her gaze is directed upwards towards a depiction of the crucifixion. It is a gaze recognised by anyone who has needed to ask God or the Universe: 'Why?'. The subject for the portrait is a Derbyshire based female artist whose own work focusses on neo-natal death, and who in fact lost her beautiful baby son after just a few weeks of life. A bundled blanket or scarf represents the child's absence, and in a beautiful and loving gesture, John has painted a tiny portrait of the baby in his mother's necklace, and the letters of his name can be found in the pendant chain. The depiction of the crucifixion is one of 13 painted by John. He ascribes his passion for art to his experience of Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross, which he saw as a small boy in Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow. There is evidence here of John's growing exploration of gender equality, both in the title Mother God, and in the power and strength shown in this woman. The painting is uplifting rather than despairing and seems to suggest that the strength of this 'mother' is great enough to hold her incalculable loss.
Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper
Size:8 W x 12 H x 0.1 D in
Size with Frame:13.25 W x 17.25 H x 1.2 D in
Frame:White
Ready to Hang:Yes
Packaging:Ships in a Box
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a box. Art prints are packaged and shipped by our printing partner.
Ships From:Printing facility in California.
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United Kingdom
Born in a Glasgow tenement in a sectarian district, I left school with a piece of paper (no certificates) saying that I was deaf and would be best employed in a noisy environment as everyone would be similarly disadvantaged. Born under the image of Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali. This huge painting in Kelvingrove art gallery seems to have an impact on me becoming an Artist in my 50s. Can I say that I spent years of my childhood evading gallery custodians and sliding along the polished floor under this painting? Unknown to me at the time, this painting by Dali, with its dynamic perspective and monumental scale, planted the seed for a love of art, and awakened the soul of this deaf kid from Drumchapel. When I first picked up a piece of charcoal as an adult and started to draw, it was a version of Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross which I created. Following a decade working in noisy environments, my real education began: in a Merseyside Unemployed Resource Centre. Training to become a Welfare Rights Officer I became hungry for education. In becoming mentally astute in the law, politics, and history that inform welfare and union work, I found, with naivety, myself. My fine art practice is informed by the dual and equal passions of my life: a passion for creative arts, and passionate campaigning for social justice. I have always been involved in the arts, through theatre, film, directing, and spoken word performance. For a long time I needed to shout, and I used performance to shout publically, about abuses and inequality I witnessed in mainstream services, to shout out for social justice, and educate on behalf of silent minorities. I am profoundly deaf and found that being involved in the arts was a way of being included. I started painting about 6 years ago on an old van that had been converted as a camper, just a plain white van that became a giant 3D canvas. I was conscious of passers by either watching or commenting, both were a challenge because of deafness but it was this situation that allowed me to be more included in my community and society in general. People liked my work and over a period of years as the van canvas was filled so was I, with confidence and more involvement with passers by, some who became friends. My painting is both the catalyst and the fruition of a personal journey towards peace.
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