Laguna Beach artist’s work now at the Vatican

There’s the Sistine Chapel with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo.

There are the frescoes painted by Raphael.

And now there are images by photographer and artist Kerry Swank.

Swank, 54, of Laguna Beach, learned from the Vatican that two of her limited-edition watercolor prints, “Divine Presence” and “Serenity,” had been accepted by Pope Francis.

“When I think of angels, I think of Michelangelo, not Kerry Swank,” the Denmark native said with a laugh in her home Tuesday morning. “That, to me, takes my breath away.”

It was a calling to Swank 20 years ago that led her on a journey to share her faith and passion for art.

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From architecture to angels

As a child, Swank knew she was going to be an artist.

She’d sit in her room, study a form of handwriting learned by the Danish royal family and practice her signature. She’d study brush strokes and tonalities and visit churches for inspiration, including Roskilde Cathedral, a 12th-century Gothic with the graves of generations of kings and queens.

Her passion for photography turned into professional work when she started as an architectural photographer. A girlfriend of Swank’s asked her for a portrait of herself.

Swank said no.

But after remembering it was the friend’s 40th birthday, she agreed and said that the portrait would have to be classy. With the image finished and shown to friends, Swank suddenly had a slew of women calling her, asking to be photographed.

Initially, it wasn’t the path Swank was pursuing. She was working 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week in her line of work. When she decided to focus on the figure form, she calculated 16-hour days.

“It’s definitely my passion,” Swank said. “I don’t consider it work.”

She chose not to have a studio; rather, she would study her subject by looking at the person’s movements, her personality and home.

Swank quickly rose to the top of her field, photographing CEOs and receiving admiration from her subjects and referrals. Her portraits, she said, had lifted people up, and they saw themselves in a true light.

One day, she turned to prayer, thanking God for her gift, for her ability to understand light and human form. While praying, her surroundings fell silent.

“I heard God’s voice telling me to photograph angels,” Swank said. “I said, ‘No, I’m not qualified.’”

“You’d be given vision,” the voice responded.

The prayer was finished.

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‘People off the street’

Angels are present in Swank’s home.

Above her fireplace is a black-and-white print of a woman dressed in a silk gown, wearing a large pair of wings. Her hands are folded and she is looking up. Clouds pass by the figure in white.

This is Swank’s “Divine Presence,” her first angel print shot at the Royal Stables at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The same piece today is at the Vatican — with watercolor touchups added by Swank.

“It represents trinity, God’s presence in our lives and that he’s always among us,” she said.

On Swank’s bedroom wall is her second black-and-white print of the same woman, “Serenity.” It, too, is at the Vatican.

“These images, the angels, are what I’m to do,” Swank said. “It’s my life purpose. The joy is to lift the spirit, and they carry the message of Christ.”

The model in the prints is a friend of Swank’s brother. She was chosen because Swank saw a kind way about her.

“I choose people off the street who have a sense of God in them,” she said.

A little over a month ago, Swank received a letter with the Vatican’s seal signed by Monsignor Peter B. Wells, dated Sept. 27. It read:

“The Holy Father wishes me to express his gratitude for your kind letter and gift. He appreciates your thoughtful gesture. His Holiness will remember Ms. Kerry Swank in his prayers. He invokes upon her God’s blessings and peace.”

Newport Beach resident Donald Jolly, a friend of Swank’s who sent the paintings to the Vatican on her behalf, called the images beautiful and inspiring.

“I like to support art, especially when it’s meaningful,” Jolly said. “I think it’s important we lift up our hearts.”

Jolly said he has sent other artists’ work to previous popes, including a wooden life-size angel sculpture by a Santa Barbara artist he gave to Pope John Paul II. He told Swank he had sent the artwork, but it wasn’t until she read the letter’s confirmation that she grasped its meaning: The pope liked her work.

“It was very humbling,” she said.

Jolly and others know of Swank’s spirituality. Swank said people come to her house for prayer.

She purposely does not have a television or a computer. Her house, she said, is her sanctuary and church, where she prays for people all the time.

Her place of worship is up the street at Laguna Church by the Sea. Jay Grant, pastor of prayer and shepherding ministries at Laguna Church by the Sea, said he has known Swank for six to seven years and that they have a great friendship.

“Kerry is a very unique Christian,” Grant said by phone. “She’s one of those artists who is truly humble in heart and in any praise she receives. She wants to give God the honor.”

“I’m so pleased that people are seeing her art,” he added. “It’s long overdue.”

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Comfort in calm

There’s something in Denmark that Swank misses and has wished to find in California since she moved to Orange County in 1979 to develop her talent into a profession.

There are places in her hometown where there aren’t people and it’s quiet. She misses that peacefulness. But she finds comfort in prayer.

Prayer, Swank said, is what everyone needs to do when they have a question or a need. Swank said she prays for people and asks God to send them angels to free them of the troubles on Earth.

She said she would like to design prayer cards with images, visit pilgrimage sites and spend time in churches to learn more about art. She also is studying Italian so she can prepare to speak the language for a future first trip to Italy.

But Swank said her work is not finished. Even in a wealthy community, she said, there are people who are in need of a daily meal or counseling. She prays for them every day.

“I’ve had so many people coming for prayers even though they’ve lost their faith and, after meeting me, they’ve turned that life around and returned to the path back to God,” Swank said. “That’s ultimately the message, to bring and open their hearts to God. His love is unconditional and always there. He never falters.”

For more information about Kerry Swank, visit kerryswank.com.