How can this be ?

I originally painted this as part of a series on Mary of Magdala (John ch 20 ),
when the person she thinks is the gardener finally calls her by name...

I had spent days...weeks... trying to visualize that part of the story...
thinking that it must have taken Mary some time to really turn around from her grief and wailing compounded by the fear that Jesus' tomb had been desecrated and his body removed.

 I wanted to try and portray that initial surprise, an in-drawn breath,
  thinking...
 part of her mind must have been saying "how do you know my name ?"
 even though a deeper level of herself actually recognized his voice.

 Surely, I thought, there must have been an "in between" moment
 when time stood still: 'but how can that be...?"
and then her mind began to adjust to the "impossible"...

 and that moment was what I tried to convey in this painting.

 But when my husband first saw the painting, he thought it depicted the Annunciation.

He saw the bright background as the presence of the Angel Gabriel,
and then Jesus' mother Mary reacting in surprise,
wondering just what this could mean...

another in-between moment
when time stood still
and her mind needed to adjust to the impossible

"how can this be...? "        


I find it fascinating when people react in very different ways to a painting...

and so I offer it to you...
perhaps you see something different ?

I would love to know if it communicates something to you...

do leave me a comment... I will not publish your name or email address:
your comment will come direct to me
and if you do not wish me to make it public on this blog,
then just say so and it will be for my eyes only.

Just after writing this blog I received an email sharing another blog on the Annunciation with paintings for reflection... "the pause before yes" by Debbie Thomas:  http://www.journeywithjesus.net/