Prayers

David Jester

Oil on wood

36 x 36 in (91 x 91 cm)

David Jester’s “Prayers” is a depiction of buoyancy, transformation, and the distortions of self through water’s fluid lens. A figure rises toward the surface, hands outstretched as if pressing against an invisible barrier, their body illuminated by the play of light refracting through the pool’s depths. The painting captures a moment of liminality, where the boundary between submersion and emergence, reality and abstraction, body and environment becomes blurred.

Jester’s masterful use of light and reflection heightens the tension between solidity and fluidity. The interplay of sunlit ripples across the figure’s skin, casting liquid gold and deep sapphire shadows, transforms flesh into an ever-shifting, ephemeral form. The distortion of the face, subtly warped by the water’s movement, reinforces the painting’s exploration of identity and perception—how we see ourselves versus how we are seen through the lenses of water, movement, and light.

The subject’s serene expression suggests surrender, joy, or contemplation, while the refracted patterns of light and the shimmering ripples evoke a sense of rhythmic movement, making the painting feel almost kinetic. The contrast between sharp realism and fluid abstraction recalls the work of Alyssa Monks and Eric Zener, yet Jester’s execution is distinctly his own—imbued with an energy that is both intimate and universal.

At its core, “Prayers” is a meditation on transition, the weightlessness of water, and the fleeting nature of a single moment. Through Jester’s deft handling of hyperrealism and surreal distortion, the painting invites viewers to experience the sensation of floating, of being both held by and released into the unknown currents of existence.