Grisaille underpainting of the remaining disciples of Jesus gathered together in a locked room as Thomas touches the wound in Jesus’ side.
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Grisaille underpainting of the remaining disciples of Jesus gathered together in a locked room as Thomas touches the wound in Jesus’ side.
The School of the Transfer of Energy 
Again, I am astounded by this art work. Absolutely beautiful production. Is this an ink drawing or what media is it?
Thank you very much, it is kind of you to say so. The medium is oil on a traditional gesso panel. The gesso is a cooked mixture of gypsum, marble dust, titanium dioxide (a white pigment) and rabbit-skin glue. I made a graphite drawing on the smoothed surface, and now I am making this grayscale underpainting with lead white and ivory black. Once the underpainting is finished I will start painting semi-transparent “glazes” of oil colors over the underpainting.
Fascinating. The hidden intimacy of Thomas touching the scar is arresting and something I had never imagined.
What, if any, is the symbolism if any of the tree and the owl in the locked room?
Thanks for your art!
Don
Thank you, Don. I The intimacy of Christ and Thomas is important to me- something that I intuited from the accounts rather than read. The tree has always been there in my imagination. I am not sure why for certain- If you have any insights, please let me know. I can see references to the “tree of Jesse” from Isaiah 11 and “the root of David” in Revelation, and even “the tree of life” – there are so many references in the bible to draw on- I’ve put a scar on the tree- maybe it is a symbol for Christ’s body as well. The owl is an old symbol with lots of sometimes contradictory meanings. Right now it he seems like a prophetic witness, one who sees in the dark.
Thank you so much for the comment, Don.
Dude, this is going to be a masterpiece, and you know I don’t toss that term around lightly! I love the shots of your studio and also just the details. There is so much going on in this painting. I love it! On another note, you could have a widget on your website that shows and links to your instagram account (if it feels right).
Also, the clarity with which that fellow on the far right, back is painted so just so good. He breathes!
Yeah, he is my favorite right now. He feels very natural. Thanks for saying that he breathes.
Thank you, Mikey, that means a lot. It does feel like an important painting. It is the right scale to be somewhat opus-like. We’ll see.
Absolutely breathtaking!!!
Thank you, Bev, I appreciate it.
Well Jack….sigh. The eyes, the lips, the noses, the creased foreheads, the veins in the hands, the layered leaves, the under painting glowing through this under painting, the tiny shadowing hatches …. So reverent. So generous…
Thank you, Jana. Thank you, too, for your generous words. “Layers” may be an important spiritual concept for me to learn about in this painting.
How it seems that these lives all matter. I’m lost in timelessness looking at this and feeling their worth and your care and craftsmanship. So much life in an underpainting.
Thank you, Steven. You always seem to call out the things that resonate with my heart. That all “these lives matter”, and that you can feel their worth does that in a major way.
I wrote it before, and I write it again, everything that you share and do is beautiful and inspiring. Thank you !
I am honored. Thank you.