Unlike most traditional images of Jesus’ birth, Iain was keen for this painting to reflect what birth really looks like. Traditional images of this moment can feel naïve and can seem to deny the incarnation; God in a real human body. Jesus being born as a completely vulnerable person is one of the ways God chooses to identify with us.

The painting was based on a photograph by Chris Hoskins, taken at the birth of his second son, Eli. Chris is known for his Scottish landscape photography and his humanitarian work with charities like Tearfund.  When Iain first saw the photograph, he was struck by the power of the image and was strongly reminded of the birth of his own children. The image depicts an occurrence which is simultaneously every-day and unique.