Jesus Rays

One day I was out walking with a good friend of mine. It had been raining intermittently in varying parts of the countryside, and it seemed like the sun was out here but not there, there but not here, and pockets of shadow stood side-by-side with pockets of bright daylight. Suddenly she pointed and exclaimed, not entirely piously, "Oh look! Jesus rays!"

Ever since then I have been unable to see those stray shafts of sunlight without thinking of them as Jesus rays. Sometimes they creep into my own work, and even when I use them without a trace of conscious irony, it's hard to think of them differently.

So, for when subtlety just won't cut it, and you need a firm clear indicator that this is, by damn, Important, there's always the Jesus ray.

Above is an untitled painting by Agosto Arrivabene, a contemporary Italian painter who reminds me of a cross between Blake and Giger and maybe Anselm Keifer. 

And above is one of my favorite images by Frank Frazetta, usually just titled "Sound." (This is my current screensaver, in fact. Frazetta was always a painter first and an illustrator second, and I like that.) It's not exactly a typical Jesus ray situation but it is, certainly, emphatic. 

Above, another untitled oil by Agostino Arrivabene. 

And these last two are depictions of holy emanations from the master himself, William Blake. These are illustrations from Europe: A Prophecy and Song of Los, respectively.