I wanted to show Simon and Andrew at work on their boat in the moments before Jesus called them to be disciples. This provided a chance to incorporate the motif of order and chaos that I’m working with in the paintings I’ve made so far this year. In most of the other paintings I’m making, this motif is sounded through squares of abstract color combinations that exist side by side with figurative images. In this painting, I played with having those abstract squares make up the nets that Simon and Andrew are casting into the sea. As if to say that their mission and their discipleship will be, in part, about that delicate balance of order and chaos as they try to honor the past while incorporating the new, and lend themselves to help with God’s task of continued creation.
I love the blues of the net. The patchwork design draws our eyes to it. Maybe the viewer will be caught up in that net and gathered in. I also love the lovely bright colors of the sea creatures and plants below the boat.