Michael Cook is a Derbyshire based artist, and owner of The Manger Gallery, which specialises in contemporary British Romantic and Visionary work, and works of the imagination. Michael was CR’s Artist in Resident recently, Michael writes;
I had the idea of doing work around the raising of Lazarus a few weeks before coming to The Community of the Resurrection as Artist in Residence (August 27th – October 11th) having produced a couple of paintings on the theme some years ago. I also kept a journal during my time there, and some of the entries throw light on the often haphazard process of making images.
 | (The Raising of Lazarus, unfinished) The painting has come on this morning, some new elements coming in. Jesus is holding a stem of wheat, and Lazarus’s wrappings will be leaves I think. I feel very free here to produce whatever comes, with no thoughts of whether the subject will be acceptable or whether a piece will be saleable or not. |
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 | Just put the Lazarus Raised drawing into the window space in the cloister and taken some photographs. Then painted Naples Yellow Deep washes onto two large pieces of Khadi paper, the intention being to have the figure of Christ where the join is. In the Orthodox liturgies which Thomas has loaned me Jesus is called ‘O Wheat of Life’ which has suggested a background of wheat, or bales, as in the photograph I took on my walk the other day. |
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 | Momentous things are happening in the world of politics but for now I am glad to be away from all that, and prefer the worlds’ troubles filtered through the psalms. The rain has stopped I think, I like to hear the trains. The nights are drawing in. I like this room. |
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 | Keep thinking about the idea of using the bound book of Khadi paper for a series of ‘Night Prayer’ paintings, mixing natural imagery (owls, foxes, trees) with figurative images and things drawn from the church and the liturgy. Perhaps I am done with Lazarus for now after the failure of the large painting. |
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 | (Mary and Martha weep for Lazarus and for one another). Have put Mary and Martha into one of the window spaces in the cloister, alongside the Lazarus piece, and now working on Lazarus raised, which is proving difficult – am ambivalent about this miracle. After lunch will go to the framers and see if they can sell me some mount board. |
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 | (Christ Weeps Over Lazarus). Today Mark helped me display the charcoal of the raising of Lazarus in the display cabinet in the Cloister. A new charcoal of Mary and Martha started yesterday is going well. Am intending that the two pieces will make one group for a painting. |
Reaching Towards, which will contain further journal entires and images of the artwork will be published by Mirfield publications in 2020.
