The Prodigal Son
Faculty Mentor
Sally Jablonsky
Presentation Type
Creative Work
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
Art Building Gallery
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Art
Abstract
This work, titled “The Prodigal Son,” displays a landscape with billowing golden-orange clouds that consume a large portion of the composition, paired with an atmospheric, textural blue sky. In the foreground, a man on horseback races with implied motion towards a more hidden figure on the left side of the canvas. The second figure is lightly covered in smears of gray, making him blend into the shadowed green field that is the foreground. Slightly above the center of the piece, a table sits in a patch of flowers parted by a green pathway. A combination of expressive texture through the use of a palette knife and fine detail are used together to create a diverse visual experience for the viewer.
This scene is a Western spin on the Bible story from Luke 15. A son shamefully returns home to his father after squandering his inheritance. The son expects to be met with disappointment and anger from his father, and yet when the father sees his son from a distance, he immediately races to him, embraces him, and clothes him in their finest linens. This story has held deep significance in my life, it has brought hope and belonging.
Recommended Citation
Bale, Carly Michael, "The Prodigal Son" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 2.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/cw_2025/art_2025/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Prodigal Son
Art Building Gallery
This work, titled “The Prodigal Son,” displays a landscape with billowing golden-orange clouds that consume a large portion of the composition, paired with an atmospheric, textural blue sky. In the foreground, a man on horseback races with implied motion towards a more hidden figure on the left side of the canvas. The second figure is lightly covered in smears of gray, making him blend into the shadowed green field that is the foreground. Slightly above the center of the piece, a table sits in a patch of flowers parted by a green pathway. A combination of expressive texture through the use of a palette knife and fine detail are used together to create a diverse visual experience for the viewer.
This scene is a Western spin on the Bible story from Luke 15. A son shamefully returns home to his father after squandering his inheritance. The son expects to be met with disappointment and anger from his father, and yet when the father sees his son from a distance, he immediately races to him, embraces him, and clothes him in their finest linens. This story has held deep significance in my life, it has brought hope and belonging.
