Jackie’s Paintings

In the 1990’s our Centre produced the Walking on Water series of nine educational half-hour videos. The purpose of the videos was to initiate discussions on what it means to be a Christian today. Each video presented a story from real life, interrupted by short reflections to link the story to Gospel texts.

Jackie produced painted drawings, mainly depicting events in the Gospels, that were presented in the ‘reflection’ passages. She drew the paintings on large sheets of coloured cardboard. These were filmed in a special studio. The filmed episodes were then edited to accompany the text of each reflection.

This was a truly international production. The stories were filmed in England, Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya. The videos were translated into 14 world languages. The series was distributed in ore than 40 countries. Because of this international character, Jackie was careful to avoid the one-sided ‘European’ presentation of Gospel personalities that was still common at the time.

We present here some examples of Jackie’s illustrations. Notice the powerful one-stroke lines that

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Methodology

Our videos aimed at ‘adult faith formation’. They were used in the higher classes of secondary schools and in parish groups. A section at the beginning of each video explained how to obtain the best results. (The voice you hear is not Jackie’s voice.)

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Creation

In this section Jackie depicts the main features of the creation story. (The voice you hear is not Jackie’s voice.)

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Fig Tree

In the Gospel Jesus teaches, through the parable of the fig tree, that we should not immediately write people off. Jackie paints the subsequent stages of the parable in an imaginative fashion.

Galilee

Jesus lived in the Palestinian province Galilee. That was also the first area he preached in. Jackie vividly depicts what it looked like.

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Calling Disciples

During his ministry Jesus called others to follow him in a special manner. Some of them he would choose to be part of his special team of the Twelve Apostles. Jackie depicts examples of this process.

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Lazarus

Through the parable of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man Jesus teaches that we should look after the poor. In Jackie’s paintings notice the vivid colours and her powerful style of one-line drawing.

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Nazareth

Jesus hometown was a small village called Nazareth. He worked for some years as the local handyman. Jackie’s paintings illustrate how the residents of Nazareth refused to accept Jesus’ message.

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Palestine Politics

The political situation in Palestine, Jesus’ homeland, was complicated. The Jews lived under Roman colonial rule. Jesus refused to enter politics or to join local rebel movements. He knew that his mission lay on a spiritual plain. Jackie depicts the scenes.

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Slavery

Slavery was common in Jesus’ days. Jesus accepted this as a fact. He even compares the state of total dependence of the slave to our dependence on God. This does not mean, however, that Jesus condoned slavery. Jackie provides memorable illustrations.

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Tax Collector

Although the Romans were colonial rulers, the new world culture of the time was ‘Hellenistic’, that is based on Greek values. Also Palestine had pockets of ‘Hellenists’. The town of Jericho was one of them. The Gospels narrate how Jesus converted Zaccheus, the tax collector of the town. Jackie’s paintings help us understand the background of the story.

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The Poor

As always, in Jesus’ Palestine the poor were looked down upon. Jesus teaches us that we should act differently. We should reach out to the ‘have-nots’, the downtrodden, the outcasts. Jackie helps us imagine what it looked like in Jesus’ days.