Painting Reveal! Crown of Thorns Commissioned Art
“O thou Memorial of our Lord's own dying! O Bread that living art and vivifying! Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live; Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.”
-Saint Thomas Aquinas, Adoro Te Devote
I’m happy to share a new painting with you on this Ash Wednesday. Please know I will be keeping you all in my prayers this Lenten season.
This commission was created for an individual who purchased prints of all three of my Holy Family Hearts. He reached out again requesting a painting of the crown of thorns in a similar style for his home chapel. I loved the prayerful-brainstorming that went into this piece, though it took about a month before my paint brushes finally hit the canvas.
Why so long?
Well, for one, we started out with a mere idea rather than a reference photo to be copied. When dealing with an idea that has yet to be fully formed, like this commission, the process becomes a bit tricky, as ideas typically start off blurry and gradually gain clarity with time and prayer.
It’s not like the Saint Clare rush-order I completed a couple months ago, which required me to dress up like a religious sister, snap a pic…and paint!
This commission required phone calls, emails, many small mockups, and of course…prayer. But, with time, what was once a vague idea gradually became clearer.
While I don’t personally know the client who commissioned this piece, I love how bits and pieces of him made their way into this painting through the initial design process. Along with the crown of thorns, we decided on other elements that would serve as opportunities for meditation:
a chalice
a dove to represent the Holy Spirit
three crucifixion nails
a crucifix
And, if possible, the Latin phrase, “Ave Crux Spes Unica.” (Hail to the Cross our only hope)
The problem was, we were working on a small canvas, and adding all these elements would potentially make it fairly crowded. With a bit more brainstorming, however, we were able to join these individual pieces together in a pretty creative way...I’m so glad with how it turned out!
Did you catch last week’s reflection regarding the Sacrifice of the Mass?
Many of the themes from that reflection fit well within this painting. Instead of only using a chalice and host to portray the Blessed Sacrament, we also have the bloody crown of thorns, crucifixion nails, and “Ave Crux” prayer to call to mind how our Lord’s Sacrifice is made fully present on the altar during Mass.
Likewise, we have the dove on the chalice, which I believe can work twofold, the first being a message of hope. By Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection, we were given an Advocate (the Holy Spirit) to aid us on our pilgrimage to Heaven.
Furthermore, the dove may act as a reminder to always call upon the Holy Spirit before spending time in prayer. My hope is that commissions like this may serve as much more than just a decorative piece. But also be a cause for deeper reflection and, in a way, serve as a “meeting place of the heart” for viewers and Christ to meet.
Within the next month, I hope to open preorders for paper and canvas prints of this piece…so be on the lookout! I only offer canvas prints once originals have sold…and since this was a commission, canvas prints will be available!
When varnishing this piece, I decided to finally varnish the original Holy Family Hearts paintings as well.
I LOVE how they all look together.
Please say a special prayer that this new painting makes it safely to the home chapel of it’s new owner. It is always so scary sending paintings in the mail!
Thank you to all those who have offered support and referrals. I’m not very active on social media, so referrals from people like you are one of the main ways others hear about my art and the commission process.
I will be back next week with another reflection for the Adoro Te Devote Series.
For His Greater Glory,
Haley Dessauer
**Disclaimer: I try very hard to make sure the content of these reflections align with Church teaching…but I am still human and fallible (and may need occasional help from my brothers and sisters in Christ!) If you read something in one of my emails that does not align with Church teaching, please let me know! Likewise, when in doubt, seek out more information and contact your parish priest.
