"The Second Coming"

   When Nick asked me to design a back piece depicting Jesus Christ with angel wings, the first thing that came to mind was the story about The Rapture in the Bible's book of Revelations. In this story, Jesus Christ returns to Earth to "judge the living and the dead". 

   There was an existing tattoo of a black sun design on Nick's back and although my original intention was to cover it, I decided to incorporate it as the crown Christ is wearing since I wanted to represent him as a king. The Crown of Thorns seemed inapropriate for the returning king because, in my mind, that would indicate the bearing of a grudge or cause for vengence rather than the sense of justice and balance that I wanted him to portray. The story reads of the sky turning red and the sun turning black as the returning Christ comes upon the clouds, the black sun seemed to be a fitting icon for his return and a symbol of the power he wields, so I reworked the existing sun as the crown, obscuring his face since all eyes would be blinded to his features if they were to try to stare directly at him as he descends upon the world through the clouds to cast the final judgement on humanity.