In September I began a project to copy and make my own version of the Divine Mercy image.
What is the Divine Mercy?
The Divine Mercy is a popular and powerful religious devotion in the Roman Catholic Church. The Divine Mercy is a devotion to the Messiah Jesus Christ who appeared in a miraculous vision to a Catholic nun named Sr. Faustina Kowalska.1 Jesus Christ appeared to Sr. Faustina on February 22nd 1931, pointing to His heart and emitting rays of pale and red light.2 The streams of pale and red light represented the blood and water that poured forth from His heart on Calvary when He was crucified in 33 AD. The apparition was a symbol and an exhibition of Jesus Christ’s mercy. Jesus Christ appeared to Sr. Faustina multiple times over the course of her life and communicated with her personally.3 Sr. Faustina’s visions, internal locutions, and other mystical experiences are recorded in her diary, the beautiful and powerful autobiography “Divine Mercy in My Soul.”4
Jesus Christ appeared to Sr. Faustina to tell her that He is merciful. As a reminder of His mercy he gave us this beautiful image and promised generous graces to anyone who looks upon it. Jesus told Sr. Faustina to commission the image and to publish it far and wide along with the good news of His infinite mercy.
You can find the original Divine Mercy image here. It is very beautiful.
Jesus Christ is God and He is merciful. Jesus loves us.
The Project
I wanted to share this image and its wonderful message with the world. I love the Divine Mercy image so much I wanted to make my own version.
Phase 1: Rough Sketches
I started with the original Divine Mercy image as a reference. I intended to copy it closely. I began with a simple sketch, breaking down the image into simple shapes and rough lines. These serves as markers to help me develop the forms and maintain proportionality in my drawing. I made 2 versions of this initial rough sketch, intending to save one as it is and develop another into a more refined piece.
Phase 2: Refined Drawing
In the next phase I took one of the rough sketches and refined it. I added bolder, cleaner lines and erased some of the placeholders shapes and lines.
Then I drew a background for the image. I drew the background separately because I did not want to damage the drawing from phase 2. I intended to scan my drawings and upload them to my computer. From there I intended to merge the images together. Keeping the drawings separate allowed me to treat the subject (Jesus) and the background as separate layers. This would give me more freedom in the editing process and allow me to move the background around, accommodating the subject and preserving detail.
Phase 3: Background Drawing
The original Divine Mercy image does not have a detailed background. Instead, the original Divine Mercy image places Christ on a dark background. This emphasizes Jesus and the bright rays of light emitting from His Sacred Heart. It is an excellent design choice. I decided I wanted to include a detailed background because I like detail and because I felt that it would add to the storytelling aspect of the image. I felt that in my case adding a detailed background would add to the quality of the design.
Phase 4: Digital Editing & Colorization
In the final design phase I scanned my drawings and saved them in the png file format. Then I opened them in GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) where I combined the images as layers. Then I cut out sections of the image as layers and colorized them. Then I blended the colors using various blending modes. I found the “multiply” blending mode worked the best, boldly adding accurate colors while preserving the detail of the drawing in the layers underneath. I made a few different versions of the final colorized image, including versions in portrait and landscape orientations. Below you will find the best versions of the final blended image.
My work is nowhere near as good as the original artwork and it does not do it justice. But I am still satisfied with how it turned out.
Copyright Approval Process
Copyright for the original Divine Mercy image in the United States is claimed by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. The Marians also assist in maintaining the National Shrine of Divine Mercy and work to promote the Divine Mercy message throughout the United States and the world.
I communicated with the Divine Mercy copyright office during the development of this project. I requested written permission to produce derivative works based on the original Divine Mercy image and share them on my website and social media. The Divine Mercy copyright office was very gracious with me and very kindly granted me their written permission.
Attribution
The Divine Mercy copyright office requested that I provide the following written attribution:
Used with permission of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Stockbridge, MA USA.
Copyright & Permissions Guidelines | Marians of the Immaculate Conception
Divine Mercy Resources
The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception are currently working to elevate Sr. Faustina from a canonized saint to recognized and honored doctor of the church. They currently offer a petition to support this cause on their website. You can sign the petition here.
You can obtain a copy of St. Faustina’s diary “Divine Mercy in My Soul” here.
The Marian Fathers of Divine Mercy also provide an excellent podcast about “Divine Mercy in My Soul” called “Saint Faustina’s Diary in a Year.” I highly recommend you check it out.
The Marian Fathers and their associates do great work and provide a lot more great resources. For more information on the Divine Mercy visit https://www.thedivinemercy.org.
Notice
Please do not modify or redistribute my work. If you would like copies of the images above and if you would like to use them for your own purposes that might possibly be arranged. Such an arrangement would require my approval and the approval of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Please feel free to contact me about this project or any of my other work.
God bless you.