Xul - Maya Jaguar God of Thunder and Lightning

Silk Painting by Savanna Redman
Xul – Maya Jaguar God of Thunder and Lightning

Travel Poster 24" x 36". Artwork Area 22" x 30".
Printed on thick, enhanced matte paper with quality inks.
Printed, framed, and shipped within 2-6 business days.

Xul – Maya Jaguar God of Thunder and Lightning
A silk painting inspired by ancient Maya mythology, depicting Xul, the powerful Jaguar God, hanging from a Celestial Sky Band hieroglyph that represents the heavens in darkness. This piece captures the strength and mystery of the Maya worldview.

This silk painting is my interpretation of a partial Mayan god glyph that I fell in love with, and created to evoke the feeling of a temple wall painting. It is based on archaeological reference materials and informed by years of studying Maya iconography, with guidance from an archaeologist living in Belize, Dr. Herman Smith, PhD.

My first encounter with Xul came while working on my hand-drawn map of Belize, Mundo Maya — marking the locations of Maya ruins with hieroglyphs and gods. The more I learned, the deeper it pulled me into the Maya world, their art, and symbology. This Jaguar god pulled so hard that a map wasn't large enough for his power; he needed to stand alone. He needed his portrait painted.

Some say Xul is a dog, but the Maya didn't revere dogs; they did revere the jaguar, and one look at that face, and I had no doubts. This creature held the heavens literally in his grip — and had the power to shake the earth with his thunderous roar and bolts of lightning. Sky deities don't bark - they roar.

I first saw him on a tattered mimeographed paper in a box of notes, a rough sketch by an archaeologist, with a typewriter-written theory and the words at the top underlined in a marker. XUL (sool) Jaguar God of Thunder and Lightning Hanging From a Celestial Sky Band.

For many people reading online now, it is difficult to imagine a time when you didn't google stuff. I had boxes of papers and books from a guy with a PhD on the subject — I didn't doubt his wisdom. I find it sad that many papers and insights might not have been published, but if it wasn't earth-shattering news, he was not the type to make a fuss about it.

Using the Serti technique on silk, I’ve filled the gaps left by weathering, time, and damage from vandals, blending ancient symbolism with my own artistic style. I can take a rough sketch and run with it.

When working on silk, everything has a say: the humidity, the silk, the mix of paints and resist, and I think the Maya gods watching over my shoulder must have a hand in it. While working on this piece, the resist "shadowed": a faint line around the resist, creating a drop-shadow effect, as if it were a carving in stone. It's not something I can make happen on demand, and it added to the spirited wildness of working on silk. On the Jaguar’s fur, I used a rock salt technique to pool the dye and create spots; it is a process I've used often (see detail shot). How well it performs is again up to the humidity, silk, and the gods; it's always a surprise, and I felt grateful that it all pulled together to create the Jaguar’s rosettes. The result is a fusion of past and present, a tribute to the Maya Gods that continue to inspire me.

This travel poster is also available unframed. (working on it)