Vigil of St. Mark

This Trompe-l'œil mural was painted on plywood panels and installed in 2008, on the west side of St Mark Presbyterian Church.

Quick Description: This mural depicts peaceful coexistence with the natural environment and landscape. A winged mountain lion stands atop a building facade, protecting the food chain as he balances the other species below him with an eye to peace.

Title: Vigil of St. Mark
Artist: Esteban Camacho Steffensen
Dimensions: overall: 24’ x 16’
Location: 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd.
Date: 2008
Medium: Acrylic on wood panel.
Discipline: mural

ESTEBAN CAMACHO STEFFENSEN Portland, Oregon camachosteffensen@yahoo.com

Artists Statement. I have developed my painting skills as a muralist because I believe the power and creativity of large scale visual arts can awaken and empower public concern for critical issues such as peace and diversity. Most of the 25 murals I have painted over the last ten years feature aspects of specific local environments and cultures. I have experience working with arts councils in Oregon, Kentucky, Costa Rica and Spain. I typically involve youth in various stages of my mural productions for its educational and community development benefits. My artistic style is geared towards largescale murals with dynamic compositions. When I produce a natural scene, I draw the elements in the background as realistically as possible but I exaggerate those in the foreground to make their appearance have an anthropomorphic quality or a shape that is unexpected and yet harmonious. I often use multi-angular perspective to create a more complex image that is highly dynamic from different angles.

Above artist's statement is from the Regional Arts Council [RACC]

Esteban Camacho on [Ecomurals]

Waymarking article on this Mural [LINK]

Wikipedia page on the Trompe-l'œil technique [LINK]

Symbolism of St Mark as a Winged Lion

Editor's note: These paragraphs copied directly from WikiPedia. See the Wiki for references and footnotes. [WikiP]

The representation as a lion is derived from Mark's description of John the Baptist as "...The voice of the one who cries in the wilderness: Prepare Ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths", which artists compared to a roaring lion. The wings come from Ezekiel 1:10 and the application of the prophet's vision of four winged creatures to the evangelists. These appear again in Revelation 4:7.

A second connection of Mark and lions comes from a tale recounted by Severus Ebn-El-Mokafa: "Once a lion and lioness appeared to John Mark and his father Arostalis while they were traveling in Jordan. The father was very scared and begged his son to escape, while he awaited his fate. John Mark assured his father that Jesus Christ would save them and began to pray. The two beasts fell dead and as a result of this miracle, the father believed in Christ."

In some depictions the lion rests his front paws on the ground, often in cities with rivers or in ones close to water, indicating the Venetian balanced power on land and sea….

What will become of this Mural? he Church property is for sale!

The Church property is for sale! See our story here: St Mark Church Property Up For Sale [LINK]

Any ideas? Please comment on Nextdoor or write to us.

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