JESUS AND THE BEAR
The youthful Savior has gone into the Anti-Lebanon Mountains with his Essene scrolls, water(?)skin, basket of provisions and kundalini rising. Unbeknownst to him his favorite meditation spot has been inhabited by an Asian Black Bear and her cubs. A battle royale follows, brought only to a close by... by... words take flight.Would you like a print of this exquisite religious picture? If so notify me @ jimwoodring(at)mindspring.com
posted by Jim Woodring at 1:13 PM
28 Comments:
Who's that in the distance on the left?
Where's the Bactine?
The figure on the far left is an observant Jew.
JW
I used to think He was just some know-it-all Daddy's boy, but now I think that the Kid's got moxie.
This would make a great cigar box lid design, if you ever go into that line.
Jimeny Cricket!That poor bear!
This is perhaps the most succinct and realistic description of the religious instinct in man as I've ever seen. What else is the crucifixion other than a symbol of man's brutal animal instinct against true consciousness? Nails piercing flesh to remind us of our corporeality. And here's Christ, bloody, beaten, faced with his extermination, persisting, and the bear is yielding. Yet the bear's burden is to know, like the monsters on Dr Moreau's island, the certainty, the inevitability, of a return to unconsciousness. In a certain light, teddy bears always look sinister.
Good lord! What an eloquent exegesis! Thanks!
JW
Beautiful. I love the unity of color and tone, the luster of yellow and gold in the deep brown. After the battle, Ursus and Christos, a shining moment of understanding.
Incredible painting, Jim! I'm excited to see you taking on such a classical vibe. If you think of doing another biblical scene please consider the Temptation of Saint Anthony!
Bear: (with his mouff full of communion wafers) "Jesus Christ, that's good Jesus Christ!"
It's like I'm re-living every intervention I've been to. It's like the bear's saying, "I can stop drinking whenever I want to!" Painful, but in a good cleansing way. Thank you.
God....You Age well...
hermoso
It's the resurrection of Timothy Treadwell! Very nice painting.
Amazing painting. Buddha had an easier time with the crocodiles. though.
Wow! That was worth the wait!
Love the pic-a-nic basket.
I think I just saw your twin waiting for an elevator in downtown Spokane. But then I also once thought I saw Kurt Vonnegut and was wrong.
Jim,
Jim,
A million miles OT, but I have a dreamy recollection of a story you did about Iron Age (?)slaves and their masters. The one where a guy tells a kid to fetch him some leftovers from the king's(?) meal and is then threatened to be beaten with iron bars. What book was that in, and has it been reprinted?
Oh, nice Jesus painting, too ;-)
Rich
I went to a school run by the Christian Brothers and they never taught us anything about that bear. What happened next? Did the cub's go on to become missionaries? Has the bear been canonised?
What happens next?
Its not in the text,
I checked.
The bear certainly looks saddened.
The bear certainly looks hungry.
I feel bad for the bear, to be made to feel guilty and repentant just for being what he is...
It’s not a sin to be a bear, is it?
(If it is I am going to hell...)
That bear is enjoying a taste of bliss so intense that most of us cannot even imagine it. Note that the tears flow fronm the outside edge of the eyes as well as the inside edge.
The bear is juxtaposed; mournful and scared at the same time and who wouldn't be confronted by that bloody Jesus freak.
Bloody Jesus Freak on the otherhand seems to revel in the Bear's innocence...I feel the bear wants to be pulled in and tricked by Bloody Jesus Freak and is crying on both sides of his eyes due to the duality of Bloody Jesus Freaks nature and the Bears desire for meaning in life....but since I had nothing to do with the creation of this painting...
My take, more than a month late, for what it's worth:
Probably the most accurate representation of Jesus I have ever seen.
Beaten, bloody and torn, yet still reposes in peace and love for the one that tried to kill Him. As He did for those that did kill Him.
This is Christ vs Religion ,Christ work is annulled in religion ,the new creation is what counts that is to experience him and enjoy him and bring others into Christ Amen for the life giving Spirit mingled with Christ bro J
The picture is realistic and i love paintings but i am not professional painter .painting is one of my hobby. i don't believe in superstitious but when i saw the painting i thought really Jesus is sitting near to the bear
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