Stephen McGinty: A spirit revived by Dudley Watkins's Easter miracle

Published on Friday 21 March 2008 20:14

DUDLEY D Watkins died at his drawing board. The life-force that had animated his hand, and allowed him to create Oor Wullie and the Broons, two cartoon families who still accompany us to this day, shut down suddenly. And so, on 20 August, 1969, the artist fell still and went, one hopes, to his eternal reward ushered with the words: "Today you will be with Me in paradise."

Those words, spoken by Christ on the cross to the crucified thief, came to my mind when looking at Dudley Watkins's representation of the Crucifixion which has been unearthed after 50 years.

It is a work that contains a curious power and that I found surprisingly moving. Golgotha, it seems, has been moved to a local hill behind Glebe Street, the Dundee home of the Broons. Walking up to the crucified form are young men, women and children in the smart dress of the early fifties, blazers and ribbons and black buckled shoes.

On the left of the painting, on the horizon, is the text: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree"

On the right, it reads: "That we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

The painting, created when Watkins was 44 and already celebrated for his work in the Sunday Post, was for a family friend, Jean Kinnell. The painting has only come to light by chance in the preparation for an exhibition of paintings by Jean's late husband, Jack.

Although born in Manchester, Dudley Watkins flourished in Scotland, attending the Glasgow School of Art before accepting what he thought was a temporary job with DC Thomson handling illustrations for the titles, such as the Wizard and Hotspur. His talents were spotted, however, and on 8 March, 1936, his most famous characters, Oor Wullie and the Broons, were unveiled.

The penmanship and shading of Watkins's work brought a warmth and humanity to the characters – it was clear they had a soul and Watkins was keen to look out for his own and those of others.

He was a devout Christian and met his wife at the Church of Christ in Dundee, where he would deliver talks of faith and the Bible to children, using quick illustrations on the blackboard. Among his Christian work was artwork for calendars as well as comic strips in a paper published by the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade. By his desk was a heavy wooden stand bearing the Bible, which he planned to illustrate as a giant comic strip. It was an ambition that he never realised, but the Crucifixion found this week gave a flavour of what it would have been like.

I've found myself thinking about the Last Supper, illustrated by Watkins and featuring the Broons or Oor Wullie helping to lower the lame through the thatched roof so they can reach Jesus and be cured. I'm even imagining Wullie on his famous bucket waiting sadly, but patiently, at the foot of the cross for the dawn of the third day.

I can't explain why, but the juxtaposition of warm, familiar characters who have made us smile for the past 60 years, alongside the grim, often upsetting scenes from the New Testament, have served to rekindle my rather flagging spirit. So I've Mr Watkins and his 50-year-old work to thank for my own Easter miracle.