Artist goes from the super to the sacred with archdiocese commission

As a kid growing up in West Chester, Neilson Carlin wanted to be a comic book artist.

His fondness for fantasy still peeks through in his Kennett Square studio - a bobblehead doll of the Lord of the Rings character Gollum; the Fantastic Four T-shirt he wore while teaching on a recent day; and the comic book figurines on a shelf of supplies.

But after he met his devoutly Catholic future wife, Carlin converted to Catholicism. Now 44, he devotes his talent to large-scale drawings of a different kind of "heroes in costume."

Saints.

In early 2014, Carlin got the ultimate assignment. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia asked him to paint the official portrait for the Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families, a gathering expected to draw Pope Francis and more than a million people from across the globe to Philadelphia in September.

"It's a blessing," he said.

The archdiocese presented the piece last September. Carlin's 4-by-5-foot oil painting shows a toddler Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and Mary's parents, SS. Anne and Joachim.

The original hangs in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Center City. The archdiocese has been using the image throughout the world to promote the gathering.

"There was a certain anxiety realizing the number of eyes that were going to be on this painting," Carlin said.

The archdiocese wanted a local artist to paint the icon. Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre, who is managing the gathering for the archdiocese, had seen Carlin's work and was impressed by its classical style and realism.

"We were looking for someone whose work was beautiful, but also would inspire feelings of love and devotion for the Holy Family," McIntyre said.

The archdiocese would not disclose how much it paid for the painting.

Its faith in Carlin - and the publicity that came with it - has helped boost his artistic profile and the teaching business he runs out of his studio. His classical painting and drawing classes grew from 25 students per semester to 40.

Carlin was raised as a Protestant but said he fell out of religion as a young adult. He converted to Catholicism in 2000 while engaged to his wife, Colleen Owens, who was raised Catholic.

Her faith helped her through difficult times, she said, including the death of her father when she was 10 and her mother's struggle with dementia. Owens and Carlin relied on their faith as they struggled with infertility issues.

For the last eight years, he said, his calling has been creating sacred art for churches and shrines. He is working on a portrait of St. Lucy to add to his portfolio. Soon, he said, he will begin work on a painting of Jesus for the Church of St. Mary in Schwenksville, Montgomery County.

When Carlin told his wife the bishop had chosen him for the assignment, her jaw dropped.

"We both understood immediately the enormity of what was being asked of him," she said.

As Carlin worked on the piece from January 2014 to August, Owens brought their three children - Finn, 9; Moira, 7; and Eamonn, 5 - to his studio to visit, just as they do whenever Carlin works.

The Kennett Square studio - renowned as the first mushroom house in a town that bills itself as the Mushroom Capital of the World - is peppered with drawings of Pokemon characters, rainbows, and other artwork his children leave for him.

Carlin and his family plan to attend the World Meeting of Families Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which Pope Francis will lead. Carlin said he did not know whether he would get to meet the pontiff.

"But I'm going to have my phone ready for that selfie," he said.

Eamonn and Moira modeled for their father's drawing of the Holy Family. Another young boy who modeled for Jesus was a fellow parishioner at the family's church, St. Thomas the Apostle in Glen Mills, Delaware County.

A 26-year-old math teacher at the parish school was one of the models for Mary.

Carlin saw Amy Mills one afternoon while picking up his children from school. There was just something about her face, he said.

Mills, who grew up in the church, said she almost fell over when Carlin asked her to pose for photographs for a painting for the pope's visit. She said she sees part of herself when she looks at the Mary in the painting.

"I can tell it's my ear," she said.

People have their own perceptions of how the Holy Family should look, so Carlin knows his painting will not please everyone, he said.

But he said he hoped the portrait conveyed the unity and sanctity of family and touched people who see it.

"You know when you move someone to tears," Carlin said. "That would be the ideal reaction."

610-313-8207@MichaelleBond