The Artist's Story

At the time, this project and process I went through, seemed ironic to me. My private life was separate from the art business world.

I was raised a Catholic and had found that three years earlier my beliefs were shaken when my wife and I lost our son, Cody, at birth. He died during the delivery process in September of 1993. A loss we live with daily. I too was a member of the bereaved parents club. I tried to bury that angry, hurt, chapter of my life. Deep down I felt like I was the last person on earth to want to paint a portrait of Christ. I never let it be known to Jim or George about my personal life. Afterwards, I found out that George was quite perceptive about Cody. From the moment I was introduced to George and sat down to start sketching, he knew. George told Jim later that day, that I had a very young son I had lost, but he was with me in the room. George later shared details that shocked and amazed us. It shook our world to the core. For my wife and I that’s when we really started the healing process. We found comfort in George’s comments and went on to read his books as well.

A few months later in August 1996, I got a phone call from George one evening. He received the first three sketches that were sent to him in the mail. He said the second one amazingly stopped him cold. He held it up to his kitchen light so it was a softer, more transparent backlit effect. Exactly the way he sees Christ. He said “it was so accurate it gave him chills”. I thought to myself he communicates with loved ones on the other side and I did a piece of art that gave him chills! How could a compliment get any better than that? He asked me if I felt guided in some way. I truly believed I was. I suppose in a special and unique way we brought Christ to each other. Funny how things work out. To work with George has been a wonderful process that has involved heart, mind and soul. It has also helped bring a sense of peace to my wife and I.