Peace and the essence of love are recurring themes in my work. Nowhere is this more evident than in this painting,entitled “Love’s Calling.” This work shows Nelson Mandela being crowned by an angel with a halo with the words for love in all of the official South African languages. This highly emotional piece displays the respect and honouring of a great man, who has brought love and inner peace to people the world over. I had the opportunity of meeting President Mandela when I was asked to work with the Secretary General’s office of the ANC in 1993. Since then, I have had a burning desire to give back to the man who has given so much to the world. In this painting, I wanted to create the dignity and yet humanness of President Mandela as he waves and smiles to all of us, while being crowned with Love. I called the painting "The Gift of Love" is appropriate for the South African man who walked to freedom not only onto the world stage, but into the hearts of millions. The original painting is not for sale.
5 Comments
Heloisa Castro 22 Jun 2014
Great tribute!Pashia Dsouza 05 Oct 2011
De-light-fully expressed.Yvette Snow 17 Mar 2011
Awesome tribute, simply awesomemarie-claire gallet 03 Mar 2011
A fantastic tribute to Mr. Mandela, this painting is awesome !! Congrats Michael !!Sharon Gonzalez 02 Mar 2011
MEANING, PAINTING, EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL, MICHAEL!!!!!