Saint Brendan and the Whale on Easter

Saint Brendan and the Whale on Easter

60 x 45 cm / Acrylic on canvas

That night, a few monks slept in the boat and the rest slept on the island. Next morning, the crew decided to cook some of the raw meat for the supplies. They lit a fire of the driftwood on the island and to their horror and amazement the island moved. At top speed they scrambled back to the boat, abandoning the burning fire and the pot sitting on it. Brendan held out his hand to help each and every man aboard and he told them to hoist the sail as fast as they could.

They hoisted the sail, it bellied with the wind. But as the boat pulled out from the island, the island seemed the slip away from under the boat. Amazing! Each went in different directions, with the island sailing away much faster than the boat. They watched it for one, two, three miles with the fire still burning on it.

The crew of innocent men was puzzled until Brendan explained to them. They had not been grounded on an island - they had come to rest on the back of a great whale!

-- The Storyteller from Ireland: A Novel, by Frank Delaney
For the two weeks here preceding I have given much thought about finishing this painting I haven't been able to rush before the day I enlisted, and upon hitting home it seemed only right to get it done the following morning. This painting is special.