Versailles, Ky. ? When artist Stephen Sawyer envisions Christ, the image is usually something other than a man in white robe and sandals. Sawyer paints a contemporary Jesus — in blue jeans, wearing a T-shirt, even sporting a tattoo.

“I’m trying to bring out the simple truths in my paintings,” says the 50-year-old Sawyer, who describes himself as a Christian with no denomination.

“My commitment and mission is to accurately reflect the life and teachings of Jesus in the 21st century,” he says in a statement on his Web site. That means depicting Christ in a contemporary setting, as a contemporary man.

In one painting titled “No Appointment Necessary,” a handsome, muscular Jesus lifts his T-shirt sleeve to reveal a tattoo with a red heart that reads “Father.”

Sawyer says the point of the piece is not to judge: “I’ve known many bikers who serve the Lord, but because of their long hair and body full of tattoos, they’re still judged by some people. God judges no one.”

But Sawyer says his series of more than 20 Jesus oil paintings — called “Art for God” — has been judged plenty, particularly by some Christians who see the work as sacrilegious.

“Sometimes it’s hard to sell. My work is in-your-face kind of stuff,” said Sawyer, adding that most recently a woman walked out of his gallery because she was offended by “Joy to the World,” which depicts Jesus laughing.

University of Louisville religious studies professor Larry Smith said attempting to portray Christ is nearly always an invitation to controversy.

“Any time you make visual presentations of Jesus there is going to be someone who is offended by it, usually because they believe it dishonors Jesus in some sense,” Smith said.

Sawyer graduated from the University of Kentucky in the 1970s with a degree in advertising, and traveled around the country while his wife, Cindy, pursued a modeling career. Sawyer was not satisfied with advertising and began studying theology and traveling Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

In the mid-1990s, Sawyer merged his religious studies with his artistic talent.

He says a critical moment came when he found the model he wanted for Jesus, a good-looking man with long, cascading, brown curls, named Tyrone David Gardner. Sawyer spotted him through the window of his Versailles studio, and knew he was perfect.

“He came running across the street and said he had been looking for me for 20 years,” Gardner said from his home in Sacramento, Calif. “He told me his plan, we took some pictures and went from there.”

The 6-foot-3 Gardner, who lived in Versailles — just west of Lexington — until two years ago, is featured in nearly all of the pieces.

“His paintings reach out to so many age groups, especially to the younger crowd. They love ‘Undefeated’ (in which Christ wears boxing gloves in a boxing ring) and the tattooed one,” Gardner said.

John Zylka, a director at Plymouth Christian Academy in Plymouth, Mich., uses Sawyer’s paintings to teach religion and character at the school.

“One of Steve’s goals is to really bring Jesus into the 21st century, and I think it’s much easier for the youth to relate,” said Zylka, whose five children each have their favorite painting mounted in their bedrooms.

Zylka teaches a monthly character-building seminar at the school — Sawyer was recently a guest of honor.

“He has been a huge help to our school and some ministries I have worked with, his perspective is just phenomenal,” Zylka said. “His work has been a blessing to us.”

Not all of Sawyer’s paintings depict a modern Jesus. He has others that show Christ in more solemn, traditional poses that are sold through his central Kentucky studio and Gatlinburg, Tenn., gallery to churches throughout the country. But it is the “Art for God” series that has brought him the most attention.

University of Texas art history professor Jonathan Bober said Sawyer’s work is another in a long tradition of unusual depictions of Jesus.

“There is no record whatsoever of a definitive image of Christ,” Bober said. “Part of the brilliance of Christianity is its flexibility in all of its cultures that it has taken root. Christ is represented in one time or another in many guises, the only common denominator is being a young man.”