by Len Lear

There are a myriad of talented artists, painters, sculptors and illustrators in the Chestnut Hill area, but lifelong Chestnut Hill resident Ned McConaghy, 35, may be the only one who has married brilliant artistic ability with a profoundly religious message, as so many of the legendary masters did in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and beyond.

McConaghy “recently moved to a terrific little apartment overlooking the Wissahickon woods. It’s a fine place, which is good since an art career doesn’t really provide the means to move far and wide.”

McConaghy’s rector at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel, knew of his talent and classical training at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and knew the church was one of his inspirations. So a few years ago Kerbel commissioned McConaghy to write and illustrate the story of St. Martin, a Roman soldier who sliced his own cloak in half to save a freezing beggar by the side of the road. According to scripture, the beggar revealed himself to Martin as Christ. St. Martin had fulfilled one of his teachings: "Whenever you clothe the naked, you clothe me."

A lifelong member of the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, Ned proceeded to create the graphic novel (Ned insists on calling it a “comic”) to promote the capital campaign for the church’s pledge season, and it was “definitely received quite well. I feel It provided an alternative means by which people could visualize the story of St. Martin and contemplate its details and message.

“For me, the project offered an opportunity to study both the story and its fundamental narrative as well as the historical context in which it was set. Unfortunately, the comic was not really distributed far and wide beyond St. Martin’s. It did make its way to a few other Episcopal churches in the area and was received favorably in those parishes as well.”

The year after Ned illustrated the comic, he did another illustration for the St. Martin’s capital campaign. It featured the Rev. Nellie Greene, who had passed away earlier that year. “It was a fun project since Nellie was a gregarious, spirited person who inspired many people by pursuing her spiritual ambitions while overcoming almost impossible physical challenges.”

Since then Ned has received a few commissions, which have ranged from graphic illustration and design to fine art painting. “Each has been a fun, unique project that has allowed me to consider new ways of crafting narrative imagery. I continue to enjoy the idea of visual storytelling and using images to contribute to or express an idea.

“However, I suppose I don’t receive that many commissions because I’m not particularly business-savvy when it comes to promoting myself as an artist. Getting commissions involves more than simply advertising yourself. You have to know yourself and be confident in what you do best and who will benefit the most from your skill. I haven’t quite mastered that particular art yet.”

Although McConaghy is a classically trained artist, he has always had a strong interest in narrative and sequential art. His love of narrative art and comic illustration peaked after he graduated college and started working on his online comic book, “Shell Kennedie: Rites of Renewal.”

McConaghy came up with his character, Shell Kennedie, in a graphic art and literature course he took at PAFA. Since then, she has become “a manifestation of my worst possible character traits.” He described her as a gloomy, cranky young woman who sees ghosts and spends most of her time sitting around the house playing video games. She’s somewhat reclusive and immature, and unlike McConaghy, she’s hot-headed and impatient at times. She also has some of McConaghy’s positive traits, like mindfulness towards others and “a certain sincerity that other people in the world around her tend to lack.

“I came up with Shell for a final project in a graphic art and literature course I was taking to get my BFA. The character was originally going to be me, but I decided to invent a character just to discourage people from thinking it was me. As the story evolved, Shell became more of an exaggerated, almost comic manifestation of several of my personality traits. She’s a complicated and somewhat contradictory person, and I look forward to continuing to develop her character … To some degree, the St. Martin’s comic was easier since I didn’t have to write the story, but simply adapt it.”

Ned has recently been working on a series of paintings of Morris Arboretum, where he has been a seasonal worker for the past several years. These paintings feature staff members and scenery “that is not often considered as significant as some of the garden’s most iconic views.”

For more information, contact Ned at https://www.facebook.com/Nedman64. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com