Sacramento State students gathered in the Quad today to watch a painting of Jesus be created in a live art demonstration.

Marc Eckel, the painter and performance artist, is from Splat Experience a group that travels around the world creating these works for a live audience. He traveled from Northern Indiana to be at Sac State today.

Eckel said his main focus is to spreading the good news of Jesus and reaching out to non-believers. The portrait he painted today of Jesus is one the group has done approximately 400 times.

“In 10 years we’ve done 900 shows and we’re just getting started,” Eckel said.

Eckel was invited by CRU, a Christian organization on campus whose goal is to connect people to Jesus Christ.

Jonathan Eggert, a junior civil engineer major is the president of CRU who hopes the display can help them spread the word of Jesus. This is the second year in a row they have asked Eckel to perform.

“Art shakes things beyond the reach of evangelicalism,” Eggert said.

The performance, itself is him creating the painting in 8 to 10 minutes to music which Eckel says is a two-fold mission.

“We do it first for worship and second for evangelicalism,” Eckel said.

Steffanie Eisenga, a sophomore liberal studies major said she thinks the display is beautiful.

“I think it is absolutely more than a thousand words,” Eisenga said.

Lucus Sproul, a junior electrical engineering major said the performance was personal for him since he has been a devout Christian since he was 14.

“I often think of worship only through music, but through this art I realize I can worship Jesus in more ways,” Sproul said. “Seeing this made me more excited to worship in ways beyond music. Whatever you are doing, you can do all things through the glory of God.”

Sean Keister can be reached at [email protected]