Title: Under the Promise of the Star


Title: Under the Promise of the Star
Medium: Acrylic on plywood board
Size: 7.8' x 4'
Date: 2025
Artist: Matthew Medupin

"Under the Promise of the Star" was created as a contemplative backdrop for the St William of York Church’s 2025 Christmas Crib, measuring 7.8 feet by 4 feet to envelop the viewer in the stillness of the Nativity night. It was a great honour and privilege to be commissioned by the Parish Priest to undertake this assignment.

The painting reflects the mystery of Christ’s birth, an event of immense spiritual significance unfolding in profound simplicity. The dark, expansive sky represents the vastness of creation, while the guiding star symbolises divine purpose and hope, quietly illuminating the world below. The layered landscape moves from shadow to light, suggesting a journey from uncertainty to promise, from the weight of the world to redemption.

Painted in an impressionistic and symbolic style, the work invites reflection rather than spectacle. It encourages the viewer to pause, to enter the calm of that holy night, and to remember that the Christmas story is not only an event of the past, but a living message of peace, hope, and renewal for the present world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meeting Grace

Image
The first thing that attracted me to Grace was her simplicity and the gentle aura of innocence that characterised her first appearance. She had also come home for Christmas. I liked Grace from the very moment I set eyes on her. I saw her across the road opposite my family home and approached her as if we had met before. This was my usual approach for starting a conversation with any girl I saw, liked, and wanted to know better. She responded with calmness and humility. She had a small camera in her hands, and I asked if she would like to take my picture. With a tone that felt like an unspoken invitation to continue, she said it wouldn’t be necessary. I introduced myself and mentioned that I would like to meet her again if possible. We met a few more times before I left Ogidi for Lagos, but I promised to visit her in Ilorin, where she lived with her parents. Before leaving Ogidi for Lagos, I told my mother I had found the girl I wanted to marry and asked her to find out mor...
Read more

Ogidi’s Quiet Wonder

Image
This painting, Ogidi’s Quiet Wonder, was inspired by a deeply spiritual and serene moment I experienced with my wife in Ogidi, Nigeria, in August 2019. It was around 8 p.m., and we were sitting on the front balcony of our countryside home, immersed in a quiet heart-to-heart conversation, when the moon suddenly rose and cast its luminous glow across Ayọnrọ Mountain. The sight stunned us—it felt like time paused, and the hand of God revealed a piece of heaven. I quickly took a photo, not wanting the moment to slip away. Upon returning to the UK, I translated that fleeting beauty into this 75 x 60 cm acrylic painting on canvas. Today, it hangs in my bedroom and is the first thing I see each morning—a daily reminder of God’s wonder and the grace to witness such beauty. "Beauty is the nature of God," and this piece is my expression of that truth.
Read more

The Birth of Temitayọ

Image
The evening of 6th February 1987 was just another day on my way back from Silsoe. It was a Friday, and Tọpẹ had left her foster parents in Bedford as soon as Grace started her maternity leave. I was rushing home, looking forward to seeing my little daughter. I was also very hungry and exhausted and could not wait to have my dinner. As I was about to put the key in the keyhole to open the door, I noticed that a note had been stuck to our front door. It was dark, so I could not read it properly. I removed it and moved to a place where there was light. It was Grace’s handwriting. She said she had gone to the hospital and that I should go to Akinola’s house—another family friend’s house on the next block—to bring Tọpẹ back home. Akinọla, the first son of one of our Nigerian neighbours, Dr Ọduntan, now deceased, was a few months older than Tọpẹ.  At first, I was nervous. I did not waste any time and went straight to check on Tọpẹ. I met Mrs Ọduntan, who explained that Grace...
Read more