Painting: Ronald Raab,CSC
“Anticipating”

I painted this piece in acrylics in one of my first classes this summer. The exercise was to paint from a photo that was upside down. This method frees the brain not to paint an eye or mouth, but to just begin to see the shapes and shadows. Even though this is one of my first efforts, I really like this woman.

I see in her Mary Magdalene before she meets Jesus. She is haunted by her past and the seven demons she carries within her soul. She waits for healing. This is today’s gospel story in acrylics.

Her eyes anticipate the healing gifts of Christ Jesus. She in fact received what she was anticipating by becoming the “Disciple of the Disciples”, the first to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ Jesus.