It started as a conversation with a friend, in which we discussed why women have always had a secondary status to men in religion. For the three main monotheistic religions, it apparently has something to do with a punishment for Eve's original sin in taking the apple. 

It gave me an idea for a painting...

I used an artist's mannequin to find the right position for the figure, (above) and then played around with it in Photoshop (left).

This was one of several charcoal and chalk sketches. A rectangular shape didn't seem to work, so I decided to use four separate canvases so I could reference the shape of a crucifix.

This picture of the photo-shoot was taken by Christine Eadie, and you can see more of them by clicking here. 

Jack's pictures were stunning. You can see a selection of them here.

Meanwhile, Landis had been creating a beautiful set of frames for the canvases. Eva Carter had generously allowed us to use her studio to create them. Take a look at the work in progress.

I mentioned the project to a program director at ETV in Columbia, and she is interested in showing a documentary about the project for their Southern Lens series.

Alex Fox (of Fox Commercial Media) shares an interest in the topic, and came on board to help make a film of the process. To see his documentary, "The Apple Thief" click here.

Using the photographs, I made a sketch on Photoshop.

I think I used about seven different photos to recreate the figure.   

The actual painting is about 15 feet high by 12 feet wide.

You can see pictures of the painting process here.

Photo: Laura Olsen