David Cunningham
David Cunningham

Time Lapse Speed Painting of “Alpha and Omega”

Time Lapse Speed Painting of “Alpha and Omega” created in September of 2015.  Video is 50,000 xs faster than life.  (boy don’t I wish I could paint that fast!)  I am not sure if you can learn “How to Paint a Still Life” from the video, but it will give you a basic understanding of the process I used.

The title is Alpha and Omega (beginning and the end). This is a name of God used within the Hebrew/Christian tradition. It represents the coexisting paradoxes that are an essential part of the divine. The black background is death/our ultimate end (there are skulls hidden in the pattern) It is flat and lifeless. 2dimensional. Through the window, we have the egg (potential, life, beginnings) It is blurry in places(being formed/coming into existence.) It reads as photographic and 2 dimensional. The stones represent the trinity (the 3 parts of God) Father, in the middle, son, on the left, and Holy spirit on the right. (God is often referred to as a rock in scripture. Many scholars believe that Jesus was actually a stone mason more so than a carpenter.) They are the only parts of the image that are truly 3 dimensional (real) Compared with the bright colors of life they can appear achromatic and cold (unchanging). Compared to the unwavering flatness of achromatic death they appear alive and vibrant. All of this is to say, I am happy that the work is open to many interpretations. This is just what I was thinking when I made the image.