It is from the book of Genesis that I draw my inspiration in creating this first piece in a series of paintings depicting the Garden of Eden. I enjoy giving the person who views my work “a mini theater for the eyes” - various vignettes that play, dance and calm - several paintings in one.

As I did in my last painting, “…no room for them in the inn”, I have chosen to utilize several elements of the painting in a symbolic way rather than camouflaging or hiding a character which I feel somehow makes it seem trivial. As Christ speaks to us in parables, there are messages much more powerful in the text than we may first realize. Albeit I have no brilliant lesson to offer like Jesus does, I am simply trying to capture a moment of divine essence - a subtle magnificence, a whispering shout of glory. This is not only how God manifests himself to us in our lives, but also in nature.

I wanted to wrap Adam in this divine essence that is nature, to envelop him in it. As I staged this scene with Adam at its center, I was reminded of surfers I had seen while researching this painting. I wanted him to have the feeling of vulnerability as the surfer who could be engulfed at any moment by the huge wave he is riding, but I also wanted him to represent a confident survivor, an ambassador for humankind. I wanted him to represent one who can lead us through the passage of time with the grace of God.

The seven white horses that gallop across the scene signify the seven days of creation and represent the breath of our Creator. One horse pauses as he glances toward Adam symbolizing God’s special love for us all. The eighth horse is a young colt; he brings the message that one day God will send his son to us to deliver us from evil.

The lions represent the scientific belief that the dawn of man