Jake Weidmann
C.S. Lewis & the Untamed Lion
One of the world's most prolific storytellers, C.S. Lewis, is immersed in his own tale as he encounters the face of Aslan, a most Untamed Lion.
Inspired by Lewis' life, Weidmann portrays here one of the most prolific experiences C.S. Lewis would have had, in the depths of his study, a face-to-face encounter with his God in the form as a lion (God references to himself as the Lion of Judah throughout the Old Testament). His relationship with God is the inspiration behind the all-powerful and beloved character, Aslan as the hero and king in his book series, 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. So in this encounter, not only is Lewis met with the face of his beloved Aslan, but faced with his God and King.
A few interesting facts about the making of this piece: In all of his research, Weidmann could not find a proper reference photo of Lewis smoking his pipe, so Weidmann posed for his own reference photo, holding a pipe in this position drawn here. Weidmann found photos of Lewis' favorite pipe which is drawn here, but the hand holding the pipe in not Lewis': it is actually the hand of the artist, aged and plumped to form Lewis's hand.