It all started with the idea of wanting to do something to commemorate this monumental event in our lives. I also wanted to use my talents to help bring our child into our family. I wanted to create something, but what? I tried to think of something that would represent so many things. I wanted something that pointed to Christ and gave glory to Him above all. I wanted a symbol of something that represented the bravery we will have to have on this journey. Closing the door to our fertility journey, opening up your entire life to paperwork and home studies, and having to ask financial help of our friends and family is not easy. Finally, I wanted something that this child will one day look back on and be proud of. Something comforting, hopeful, and symbolic. Then it came to me, a lion.
Lions have always been legendary in their representation of bravery, courage, and power. In scripture, we are told to be as bold as a lion in our righteousness. Our Savior Jesus Christ is heralded as the Lion of Judah in the book of Revelation. In literature, we see the powerful Aslan, an allegory of Christ, defeat the evil White Witch in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Art is no exception. Even Eugène Delacroix (you may know him from a little painting titled “Liberty Leading the People” that now hangs in the Louvre) painted scenes of lion hunts. With the powerful colors and brush strokes of the romantic period, he pit these mighty animals against hunters. Sculptures of lions guard city entrances. Some became symbols of power and jurisdiction, like the lion erected by Henry the Lion that stands in our friends’ hometown of Braunschweig, Germany. Lions also are commonplace in heraldry. To bring it closer to home, three lions are prominently displayed on the shield of the Blackmon family crest.
I researched all of this imagery and studied photography of lions. Even though my focus was in painting, I was always told by my professors, family, and Tiffany that my talent truly lies in my sketches. Being an Art Director, I work daily in the Adobe creative cloud suite, and I have been using Adobe Draw to create illustrations. I thought, “This should be no different; this needs to be done well.” So, I took to my iPad and Apple Pencil and began to sketch. I settled on three designs. The first is a sketch of a lion facing you, proud and bold. The second is the profile of a lion created in a geometric style that symbolizes all of our connections. The final design is more about our future child. A lion cub, while small it already symbolizes everything its adult version is known for. All of the possibility, potential, and certainty is there.
It is my hope that everything I have described is apparent in these final designs. We hope to unite our community, family, and friends through these designs as they are featured on t-shirts, prints, and more.
Thank you for your love and support,
Aaron Blackmon
