Illustration for Rachael

So I have a pretty awesome girlfriend. She asked me early on when we started dating (08') to make her an illustration of a little girl sleeping in the shadow of God... It took me a while to figure out exactly how something like that would look. Naturally, I reverted to my usual take on things Godly... Draw a tree.

In this drawing, there's more symbolism than I'm used to doing... Not that it's anything profound, but rather than just drawing a tree with a cross on it, I used the tree to symbolize not just God, but the whole Trinity... You'll notice there's three parts to the tree. The obvious is the tree itself, the brown trunk rising from the ground. There's a few things to note on this tree: There's three nails sticking out of it (a little generic, I know), there's a rose in the center (assuming you can make out that it's a rose) which is held up by a rose vine, thorns and all. This part is (if you haven't guessed) Christ, the son.

Behind the tree there is a much larger shadowy tree. It has visible roots which extend along the sides... It also has branches which almost begin to dissolve or float away in the air... There's a Hebrew letter in those branches (if you can find it) which is called "Shin", which stands for the name "Shaddai", a name for God. i.e. The Father. The third part of the tree is the ghostly light hovering in the branches, making up a sort of spiritual cluster of leaves. Holy Spirit.

Of course, the shadow of the tree which the little girl is resting in forms a cross... And you can make your own interpretation for this, I'm sure it'll be the same as most others.

Anyway, I hope you like it, Rachael. I wanted to draw this for two years now for you, and I hope you didn't think it was due to any kind of laziness that it took so long... I just wanted to be sure I made something relevant that you could enjoy. I don't think anything I attempt to create for you should ever be rushed, you deserve better:) < --- Would like to point out that this is the first smiley emoticon that I have ever used in my blog... And it will be the last:) ... Dangit!

I love you, Rach,
~ Mark