The Last Battle
Thoughts: This painting was commissioned by Amos for his father. It depicts the scene from The Chronicles of Naria in the last battle when they come to the new and restored Narnia. While all of them feel it, the unicorn expresses what they are all thinking by saying "I have come home at last. I belong here! This is the land I have looked for all my life, though I never knew it till now. Come further up, come further in!"
Farsight, the Eagle, has just seen that this incredible land is in fact, Narnia!
The characters, from left to right are: Peter, Lucy, Edmund, Dr. Tummus, Poggin the dwarf, Eustace, Reepicheep the warrior mouse, Puddleglum, Jill, King Tirian, Puzzle the Donkley, and Jewel the unicorn.
Aslan is depicted in the sun!
I added the characters to the left of the piece so it would feel like they are coming into the new land. I wanted Narnia to appear rich and glorious- and the best way I knew to do that included an incredible sky complete with light rays! I was just thrilled when I realized how wonderfully the light rays could play into Aslan's mane!
I listened to the audio book of The Last Battle before starting this piece and then enjoyed Mere Christianity while creating this one. I love the mind of C.S. Lewis- how descriptive he is in drawing such vibrant comparisons in his fictional stories, and how logical and function his comparisons are in a more intellectual piece like Mere Christianity.
I loved the story of the last Battle. Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk. ;)
I loved how Aslan is such a clear symbol for God. In the last battle, the deceitful ape convinces the donkey to wear a lion skin, impersonating Aslan. The ape then deceives the Narnians, saying he will represent Aslan, and the Narnians can only come to Aslan through him. It paints such a clear picture of the Pharisees, or of a church structure that claims "you can only reach God through others who represent God." The ape twists the Narnian's love of Aslan to take what he wants from them, selling them into slavery in the process.
When the good king Tirian finally discovers the ruse, that this has been a donkey in a lion skin all along, he frees some dwarfs from slavery and reveals to them the ruse, believing they will join him. At this point, all but one of the dwarfs, Poggin, to be specific, want nothing to do with Aslan after all they've been through. It's such a beautiful parallel for anyone who has been burned by religion. Their experience with the fake Aslan has ruined their experience of the real one.
There is so much more symbolism- the coming of the real Aslan, who represents Jesus, and the destruction of the old world, the stars falling, and then the beautiful unveiling of a deeper, more real, more beautiful world that is at once the same world- the new restored Narnia. This new Narnia is a symbol for a new and restored Earth. :)