When Simon Watkins, a digital artist from the UK who goes by the moniker Vietnamthemovie, decided to illustrate the Gospel of John, he knew from the beginning he wanted to avoid “normal cliched biblical art featuring doves, rainbows, and image of the cross.”
Instead, he’s come up with 21 images – one for each chapter of the book – that features robots, butterflies, and “a whole spectrum of colors,” he says of the project that took one year to complete. (The robot at right represents Chapter 17: “Lifting his eyes to heaven Jesus said . . . “)
“As I learned illustration and tried to advanced my career, I began to find all doors connected to God would fly open effortlessly while others would be slammed in my face,” Watkins writes. “I came to the conclusion that someone was trying to tell my something and I would find something more worthwhile to illustrate. But where to start? God made it blindingly obvious: The Book of John. I am a born again Christian and that means that someone or something bought me close to Jesus. In my case it was a someone – a someone called John.”
Below is his rendering from Chapter 12, regarding the anointing of Jesus’ feet. You can learn more about the book and see more samples here.
