The views and opinions expressed by the artist(s) are their own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.

Brandon Rosales Pascua describes the inspiration behind his artwork, Surrender, in his own words.

What does your piece mean to you?

This impressionist piece represents my relationship with Jesus Christ. As I immerse myself in His glory, I embark on a creative and spiritual journey to share what it means to shift in the presence of Christ — leaving our pride behind and stripping down our own wisdom, while allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in this world because it is the greatest reward from God. As humans, we can only do so much in order for us to prosper, but allowing ourselves to put our faith in Him will grant us peace and, most of all, joy. The piece showcases that concept of surrendering our will to the will of Jesus. With each stroke and composition carefully chosen, I strive to convey that Christ loves you, and how He can change your life because of His love.

How did you interpret the title of the show, shift, in your piece?

As I was going through my interpretations of shift, I eventually grasped onto the idea of shift from us as humans, to shifting into the spirit of the Lord. What shift meant to me was the act and courage to let go, and to be free. I interpreted this as being free in spirit because God loves us enough to give us free will in our lives. This piece was created, guided by Him and the Holy Spirit, and invites viewers to not only admire His joy and love, but come to understand that Jesus will lift our burdens and will heal us in His power, all we have to do is to shift our mindsets, and to purely surrender to Him.

Can you elaborate on your process for this piece? What's the story behind it?

I knew I wanted to make a piece centered around surrendering to God once I figured out my interpretation of shift. Usually when I work on any other piece, I tend to plan everything out as far as concept, content, composition, etc. With the nature of Surrender, the process was definitely more spontaneous than I was used to. I started off with my rough sketch using charcoal as I usually do, then I color coordinated to where there were different values. After those initial steps, everything was off the bat as far as readjusting, changing colors, experimenting with acrylic paint and utilizing colored pencils to fix the finer details. Yet, I didn’t feel lost in the process; in fact, I felt more driven. The reason why was that I simply didn’t rely on my own skill and understanding to make my piece, but I let God be in control of my abilities to produce the work. It was a revelation for me and testament to everyone to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Do you have any personal shifts in the past year that you would like to share?

I definitely have experienced shifts within my lifetime! For me, my most major shift would be the time when I moved from California to Oklahoma during 2019. As a kid who had just graduated a California high school going straight into another state, this was an overwhelmingly huge step for my family and me. But reflecting back, I believe it was God ordaining our steps from the very beginning; because we moved here, we are blessed with a beautiful home, found ourselves a loving church that brough us even closer to the Lord, we gained awesome friends and relationships, I’ve met my beautiful girlfriend and we have an amazing relationship together, and we are overall happier! In addition, God granted me people to meet which led me to my job working at Oklahoma Contemporary, which I love so much, and He’s allowed me to pursue art in my education at University of Central Oklahoma. In hindsight, I believe my family and I wouldn’t have been able to experience the fullness of God’s faithfulness and blessings if we still lived in California, considering it is an expensive city to live in, which made living and settling extremely difficult with no purpose. Throughout my time living in Oklahoma, it made me realize how God is always intentional and has a plan for everyone, whether we know it or not. He has shown us that we have everything we need and lack nothing, especially with God’s goodness in our lives.

Image:

Brandon Rosales Pascua, Surrender, 2024. Charcoal, chalk pastel, acrylic paint and colored pencils.

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