Fresh out of the Studio…..

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beads, Christ, christian art, christian artist, Christian icon, icon, icon of Christ, icons, Jesus, mosaic, mosaic icon, mosaic icon of Christ, oil, oil painting, pantocrator, sabrina samuel

This is newest work out of my studio. This piece measures 4×6 inches and is a combination of mosaic and oils on stretched canvas. You can see that the head is painted and the clothes, background and border are all done in small beads.

Needless to say these pieces take a while to do, but are very rewarding.

While working on this piece I mediated on the Gospel passages that tell of Christ at the wedding at Canaan. All marriages face many challenges, but Christ’s love is bigger that any opposition or problem. May Christ’s blessings be on all marriages.

Below are two pictures that show a little of the making process. The white on the border was to light and I had to cover the white with an acrylic gold. The over all effect turned out better than I thought.  Working as an artist has its rewards.

Thanks for stopping by….. May the blessings of Christ be on us all.

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Making of an Angel

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angel, angel icon, christian art, christian artist, icon, icons, oil, painting, sabrina samuel

This icon was written for my son and was done on a large canvas measuring 24×36 inches. Orthodox Christians believe that a guardian Angel is appointed to one at baptism. A few weeks ago I asked the Lord to show me our kids guardian angels and this is what came out to be our son’s guardian Angel. I like how the eyes of this angel turned out. The eyes reflect a watchfulness which is a good thing for a guardian angel to have.

First step was to create a drawing. As always, I do my drawings on transparent paper. Transparent paper makes a good drawing material because it can be turned around to view the drawing backwards. When viewed backwards drawing problems are easily spotted.

Once a good drawing was made I then used an overhead projector to enlarge the drawing onto the canvas. Some artist don’t like using an overhead projector, but I view it as a tool.

Once the drawing is transferred onto the canvas, I used acrylics to outline the drawing. Using the outline color, I then worked in the areas that would be darker. This process is known as an underpainting and is a traditional method.

After the underpainting dried the next step is to cover then entire canvas with a yellow-gold acrylic wash. This unifies the canvas and will give the painting a golden undertone.

The final steps to the painting were all done in oil. First I painted the angel’s face and then went onto painting the garments, wings, halo and background. Once all the colors were blocked in I left the painting for a few days to give me time to study it. This process is important because over the course of a few days I able to pick out the weak areas that either need to be strengthened or lightened. Currently this piece is hanging in our livingroom. I tease our son saying his angel watches TV with him. After a few weeks of studying the work I may feel the need to work on a few areas especially the darker areas, but for now it is finished.

Art Deco Angel

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angel, art deco angel, beads, christian art, icon, mosaic angel, mosaic icon, religious art

Years ago when my family visited the Hoover Dam, the thing that caught my attention there were the  Art Deco Angels.The mixture of strong angles and smooth forms are appealing. Art Deco is an artistic style that began in Paris around the 1920’s and is a favorite of mine.

Here I have mixed, Art Deco with a hint of Cubism to create this mixed medium Angel. The process for this piece began as a simple drawing in a small notebook. From there the image was transferred onto tracing paper and then with the help of transfer paper onto a 5×7 canvas.

The drawing on the canvas was strengthened with acrylic burnt umber and then the image of the angel was given an acrylic wash of yellow orche. The background was left white so the white canvas could illuminate light through the clear beads.

True to Art Deco coloring are strong greens in the angel’s garments and orange-reds for the angel’s hair. The halo is tied to the angel’s wing with orche colored bugle beads and the background and halo are clear bugle beads.

The face, hair, and neck of the angel were painting in oil and then sealed with a clear glaze. The clear glaze gives the painted area luminosity and also provides protection to the painted area.

While working on this piece my prayers were focused on folks coming to know and appreciate omnipresence of God. So to often we are unaware of the guiding hand of God that is always with us. I hope your heart is filled with the peace of God and your eyes enabled to see the ever presence of God’s angels in your life.

Sabi

Virgin Mary

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beads, Christian, christian art, christian artist, Maryicon, mosaic, Mother of Christ, Mother of God, oil, religious, Virgin Mary

This image took several weeks to complete. I began with transferring the drawing then applying yellow ochre to the entire canvas, using oil on the face and acrylic on the parts that were to be covered by beads. Next, was capturing the facial features in light oil washes. Lastly, the beads were individually glued in place. This last step   was labor intensive and had to be done in sections so to allow the glue to dry enough to keep the beads from moving around.

The size of the image measures 5×7 inches, but the impact of the image is full and rich.

The Virgin Mary with the Christ Child

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blue, child, Christ, icon, iconography, Jesus, mother's love, oil, painting, red, st. Luke, virgin and child, virgin and child icon, Virgin Mary, Vladimir Theotokos, yellow orche

The pose of the Virgin and the Christ Child in this icon is a traditional pose said to have been written first by St. Luke. Over the centuries many iconographers have set their hands and hearts to writing this icon. Perhaps the most famous copy of this icon is the Vladimir Theotokos.

The one pictured below is one of my many attempts to capture the icon’s tenderness of mother-child love.  Mary’s gaze is to the viewer’s left as if she knows of the coming sorrow and she is deep in reflection. Although pictured as a child in this icon, Christ looks directly at the viewer as if saying “Be not afraid I have overcome the world.”

While writing this icon I was made deeply aware that not all children are able to have the love of  their mothers. Thus this icon is dedicated to those individuals. Christ’s love is endless – steadfast and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

The technique for this icon was simple. After the image was transferred to the panel an under-painting of yellow ochre was applied. The ochre gives the overall effect of a golden hue. Contrasting the golden yellow are the reds and blues. A simple ochre border was worked over the top of the wide blue border.  A unifying crimson red was worked throughout the icon reminding us of the unity Christ blood brings to those who believe and God. The size of this icon is small measuring only 5X7 inches.

Image of Christ for the Season of Lent

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blue, Christ, Christ with thorns, christian art, crowned with thorns, giovanni, icons, image of jesus, Jesus, lent, orange

This Lent has been different for my family. We have been under a lot of changes and we are still shifting gears so to speak. I suspect not just a few of you can relate to this. God has a way of getting us on the move and letting us know it is Him and not us who is really in charge.

This Lent instead of fasting food, TV, or my favorite Beetles album…I decided to do something instead. I searched for many days for the right image and found Giovanni’s fresco of  ‘Christ with a Crown of Thorns’ to be moving and inspiring.  So I set my hand to painting  a replica of this famous fresco.

Notable changes are the differences in color usage although I did try to emulate Giovanni’s usage of contrasting orange and blue. In my version the eyes of Christ are open and I only did the face and not the full length of the body as in Giovanni’s fresco.  In addition, I used a patterned border which was a first for me.

Through a little research I found Matteo Di Giovanni was born at Borgo San Sepolcro, Italy in 1435 and died in 1495 at the age of 60. He mainly worked in the Italian city of Siena. During Giovanni’s lifetime the masters of the Sienese school rivaled the famous Florentine painters.

Giovanni exploits the Sienese painting tradition in his fresco ‘Christ with a Crown of Thorns.’ Giovanni used traditional Sienese usage of line quality, sincerity of feeling, refined grace and dignity of the figure, attention to minutiae of cross background, and frankness of execution.

But beyond these stylistic qualities what grabs my eye is Giovanni’s color usage. The strong contrast of orange and blue makes the painting radiate and pulsate with life. The harmony of his color scheme is rich and brilliant. In my opinion, this sets Giovanni apart from other fifteenth century Sienese painters.

I can only hope that one day my efforts will produce beautiful works like Giovanni, but for now I am where I am. I hope Christ speaks to you through my humble attempt to paint “Christ with a Crown of Thorns.”

Hope and pray your Lent is filled with the goodness of Christ and your eyes of understanding are opened in a fresh way this Lent.

Angel with the Golden Hair

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angel, angel with the golden hair, angels, evil, good, heaven, heavenly host, icon, icons, novgorod, Russian icons, sabrina samuel

ANGELS and ARCHANGELS

“The teaching of the church about the world of spirits is constant and simple: there is such a world, it is important, it comprises good and evil beings, and it influences our world.” (Coulson, John. The Saints A Concise Biographical  Dictionary, Hawthorn Books, INC. 1958, page 31.)

Many people believe in angels even if they say they don’t believe in God. Angels for the most part are considered the good guys who help us out, watch over us, and keep our children safe when we’re not there. Many of us have seen angelic beings and a few have heard them speak. Think of Mary and the words spoken to her at the Annunciation.

The Greek word for angel means “messenger.” Angles are present in both Old and New Testament and are depicted not just as messengers but often as champions against evil.  In  Tobias the angel Raphael defends, guides, and gives company to Tobias.

The original ‘Angel with the Gold Hair’ is from the  the Novgorod school and dates from the mid to late 12th century. The Novgorod school quite simply gets its name from the Russian city that it was located.

Icons are some of best Novgorodian art and I think this is because the Novgorodian iconographers didn’t just import the Byzantine style, but they fused it with their own traditional folk art. Making the Novgoronian icons distinct and lively.

“Angel with the Golden Hair” is a wonderful example of Novgoronian liveliness and despite the damaged panel this icon reflects it’s intended spiritual strength through the usage of a strong contrast of darks and lights, saturated bright colors, and an energetic usage of drawing. This icon’s liveliness reflects a heavenly energy.

By the late 13th the Novgorod school began a shift in style. Figures became more flat and the palette changed from the lively folk colors to the deeper colors of brown, green, and ochre. However during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, the Novgorod school produced some of Russia’s greatest Medieval works of art.

But still my favorite of all the Novgorodian icons is this one. This angel for me expresses in a real way the beauty and grandeur of the Heavenly Host.

As you can see my copy is not an exact replica, but hopefully I have in some small way captured the spirit of the original icon. The first notable change is color usage.  My icon has a distinct Ultramarine Blue as the background color. Trying to copy  the damaged part of the panel was beyond my artist capabilities so simplifying the background worked best for me.

I enjoyed using contrasting colors of deep blue and the yellow family. I felt like  the contrast of darks and lights work well in communicating heaven’s battle of good against evil.

The lesson I was mindful of while working on this icon was the ever presence of God. He is always with us. The angels of God are His messengers and He sends them to our aid. I hope you are encouraged by this icon and my prayer is you experience His eternal peace.

Christ and the Terebinth Tree

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Christ, icon, icons, Jesus, light, oil, original, painting, paintings, spiritual, spiritual renewing, terebinth, terebinth tree, tree

It has been some time since I’ve worked on an icon. I have come to realize that I’m not a production warehouse and I’ve come to grips with that. My calling is not that of one who writes in a continuous stream. Instead, I’m the type who sees and then is left to meditate for some time on what I’ve seen before picking up the first brush. The last icon of significance that I worked on was this one of our Lord and a terebinth tree.

God revealed this icon to me nearly four years ago when my Dad had a massive stroke. Needless to say, I was very distraught over Daddy’s sickness and often found myself in a place of  God’s presence that I hadn’t been in before. It was a place of stillness, deeply withdrawn from the voices and cares of this world. Although I have been a Christian for a long time I had not known of such a place until that time and place in my life.

God walked me to this place and there I found complete rest, enlightenment of the sacred, and peace. Although it was through a painful experience that enabled me to visit this place for the first time, I know now, I can visit this place in God regardless of  life’s situations.

The Vision of our Lord and the Terebinth Tree

This icon came to me through a vision. To help alleviate some of the stress of the experience of Daddy’s illness, my family began walking in a local state park. This park has beautiful walking trails. Our favorite trail was one that meandered through the woods and finished with a walk along a medium size creek. Every Saturday we would head off to the park as a family and enjoy a good hour of fresh air and companionship with each other.

One particular Saturday however, no one wanted to go, but me. I needed these walks…. so I found myself driving to the park alone, angry, upset, and afraid because the rest of my family was not coming along.  Secretly, I was afraid to hike in the woods without them.

The first half of my hike was spent grumbling against them for not coming with me. I blamed them for my feelings of fear. But as I walked I began to look up at the tree canopies and suddenly I was in the fear of the Lord. My vision began to change from  my spacial surroundings to a portal opening. Somehow I was seeing,  not the space around me, but the space beyond me. A space of  all-encompassing blueish light and of a tree that was unlike any I had ever seen before. The Lord told me the tree that I was seeing was a Terebinth tree.

As soon as I got home I began looking in the Old Testament for this tree. Having taught the Old Testament for nearly eight years in India, I knew the Patriarchs would from time to time have encounters with Yahweh in places with trees.

Abraham had such encounters. In Genesis 12:6-8 Yahweh spoke to Abram while he was in the sacred place near the terebinth of More. In Gen. 21:32-34 Abraham planted a terebinth tree after a conflict between Abraham and those of Philistine territory was resolved.  There are many more references throughout the book of Genesis.

Terebinth trees are a part of the Sumac family and are related to the magnolia and pistachio. The terebinth tree can grow to be very large and live for over a thousand years.

So what is so important about the terebinth tree? Scripture associates them with sacred places.  The oil from the tree is known to have been used in a healing balm. The Lord shows us a place of sacred meeting, healing and rest under the Tree of Life. The question is are we willing to rest under the blue flickering light as it passes through the canopy of the terebinth tree?

I gave this icon to my Dad, and since then we have witnessed him dedicate his life to the Lord and maintain, through all the ups and downs of such an illness, a constancy in the Lord. To God be the glory.