Digital icon I drew and painted on my iPad of St. John Climacus who is known for his spiritual masterpiece called “The Ladder.” He is beloved both in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic traditions.

Charcoal portrait drawing of an Orthodox monk.

This charcoal drawing depicts the moment St. Peter hears the cock crowing for a third time and the sudden horror that comes over him as he realizes his betrayal of Jesus, his Master, by denying knowing him.

The story of the prophet Elijah encountering God in the cave is found in 1 Kings 19:11-13

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

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This drawing of Elijah was executed with a Sailor Fountain Pen and a brush pen.

Digital iPad drawing of the Buddha with a spiritual quote.

Pen and watercolor drawing of The Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus). Stylistically I was inspired in part by  observing much of Mexican folk art which can, at times, straddle the fence between naturalism and a kind childlike rendering of their religious subjects.

A charcoal drawing of the head of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. Buddha's long earlobes symbolize a conscious rejection of the material world in favor of spiritual enlightenment.

Digital icon painting I created of St. Francis of Assisi on my iPad.

Digital drawing done as a commission I received for designing advertisement for an ad campaign from a non-profit organization that sold fair trade coffee for the purpose of fundraising.

The title of the piece “I Am Awake” is a humorous play of the name of the Buddha which literally means “One Who Is Awake”. Note that the sitting Buddha is holding a cup of coffee.

A pen and brush ink sketch of an aboriginal shaman. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil, and is thus a spiritual leader. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practice divination and healing.

A semi-abstract, expressionist pen and watercolor piece depicting the spiritual transformation of an individual. This could be read as symbolizing the graced spiritual metamorphosis that occurs at any stage of the spiritual walk: the painful purgation or cleansing that occurs among neophytes as they loosen their grips of sin and vice, the illumination of faith, the trial by fire and suffering, or the dissolution of the ego as one is gifted with habitual union with The Divine. Or finally, the fire could symbolize momentary ecstatic experiences of being gripped by God’s love and glory.

A Sailor Fountain Pen drawing of a Zen Buddhist Monk sitting in meditation while holding prayer beads.

Sailor Pen Drawing of the profile of St. Francis of Assisi with a halo.

Two versions:

1. with his name “St.Francis of Assisi)” at top

2. with no name.

St. Francis of Assisi has been a spiritual model and guide for me throughout my life, so much so that in my early twenties I began my studies in theology with the intent of joining a Franciscan order (the Order of Franciscan Minors - OFMs). About ten years ago I was reading one of the modern accounts of St. Francis’ life and discovered that in the final couple of years of his life, he suffered greatly, both physically and spiritually, and yet retained his characteristic joy. I came to view him at this point in his life as a “wounded healer”. I tried to convey this in my sketch of him, portraying him with melancholic countenance that, at the time, was filled with a deep love for and understanding of the suffering of others.