Resurrection

I have been working on Caryl's Stone Angels book. Sadly, this is the last book in the round robin. At a time when I'm seeking to purge myself from involvement in round robins and swaps, I'm still sad to see this one end. It has been an incredible journey. The quality of the art in these books has been superb. When I started on my spread for Caryl's book, I had an idea in mind along with a particular embellishment I wanted to use. As so often happens, I ended up 180° from where I thought I was going. My pages tell the story of hope, resurrection and life after death.

As I worked on these pages, I kept hoping they wouldn't seem too dark, but it's always darkest before dawn, right? And that's exactly what I was trying to express. Inside the crown are the words, "Rise, crowned with Light." I was running the crown down one of my sheet music covers, auditioning words to show through the opening in the crown, and these words seemed perfect. The music behind the angel is "What Wondrous Love Is This," one of the most hauntingly beautiful hymns ever written. (In my humble opinion.) The tune is early American and comes from Southern Harmony, a songbook published in 1835. To hear a beautiful rendition accompanied by touching photos, click on this link to YouTube. Here are the words.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
to lay aside his crown for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down, 
When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul.
Christ laid aside His crown for my sou.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing,
to God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
while millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free I'll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
and through eternity I'll sing on.