• About

Sabicons

Sabicons

Tag Archives: christian art

Finding One’s Visual Voice…..

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Sabicons in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

abstract, art, artist, Christ, christian art, christian artist, drawing, flowers, georgia, georgia o'keeffe, giovanni, icon, icons, impressionism, impressionistic, Jesus, landscapes, monet, nature, oil, oil painting, original, original painting, painting, paintings, pantocrator, still life, still life of flowers, van gogh, visual voice

Making a yellow paper mache piggy bank was the only thing that got me through 4th grade…..so I have been a visual artist since I was 9 years old. I say this lightly but with a solid belief that art should be readily available to everyone.

Many like me have the need to work in color and line, but might not be able to make their complete living at it. So what……getting money for one’s visual expressions is not always what matters at the end of the day.  For me time in the studio gets me through life. I’m happy when I see a beautiful orange or yellow on the canvas. I like sharing with others these colors.

While studying painting and drawing at the University of Georgia the focus was more on developing one’s personal narrative as an artist. That’s great if one has a firm grasp on basic drawing and painting skills. I did not…..so I limped through art school.

Before graduation, I backpacked through Europe and got the chance to study many great European artist. Getting a chance to see drawings and under paintings of the great masters encouraged me to work on my drawing skills and basic painting techniques. So over the years I have made many studies of some of my favorite artist.

The Italian painter Matteo di Giovanni painted his ‘Christ with Thorns’ sometime between 1480-95. The format was very much like the Byzantine icon, but the orange and blue color combination was what attracted me to do a study of this work.

Study of Giovanni's 'Christ Crowned with Thorns'

Study of Giovanni’s ‘Christ Crowned with Thorns’

Another work that I painted a study of was the ‘The Sinai Pantocrator’ also known as the ‘Blessing Christ.’

Copy (3) of new 314 Rotated Rotated

Study of ‘The Blessing Christ’

Although these two works are different in tone and style these paintings taught me much about the process of making a proper under painting and facial modeling. One of my professors in college who was an abstract artist said that ‘One should first learn to draw realistically before venturing into the abstract.’ I really took his words to heart. I still have much to learn and practice, but studying these two images of Christ forced my eye and hand to see the geometric proportions of the face.

 

Next, I  wondered onto the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe taught me to paint as a woman. Below are several paintings that I did as a study of and inspired by her paintings. In 2010, I got the chance to see O’Keeffe originals in the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her colors are much more vivid than any photograph of her work can reproduce.

lRed Hills 14x26

Dark Stone 10x16winter-2009-003Abstract Flower 10x13

After visiting a Claude Monet exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia I was struck by Monet’s subtile tonal and color changes and was inspired to do a study of his ‘Morning on the Seine, Geverny, 1897’

Reflections 11x14Of course no study is complete, without the influence of Vincent Van Gogh. His usage of color still amazes me and is very difficult to pin down. Below are a few studies I have done of his amazing work,

miniature flower van goghA study of Van Gogh's 1889 "Cypresses with Two Female Figures."For 2013, I have decided to find my own visual voice and narrative. I’m sure influences of these great artist will still be present in my work, but I want to focus on what my eye sees and how it sees it. After all, we are all different and bring our own unique interpretations to the palette. Finding out who we are and what we are about is a part of our collective human narrative. Long live the line and the color that comes with it. May we all discover something new about ourselves and share it with others. Being creative is a part of being human.

 

Advertisement

Adaptation of Matisse’s Portrait of Madame Matisse ….

13 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Sabicons in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

angel, art, christian art, christian artist, folk art, folk art angel, folk art painting, impressionism, impressionistic, Madame Matisse, Matisse, oil, original painting, painting, portrait, whimsical

Matisse said, “Creativity takes courage” and indeed I would have to agree with Matisse. With the first stroke or mark the judgement is on. The viewer may like what you have done or hate it. But none the less for the artist, putting down what is inside one’s self in line and color is not just a fancy but a necessity.

Pictured below is Matisse’s 1907 portrait of Madame Matisse. 250px-Matisse_mme-matisse-madras (250x314)What draws me to Matisse’s portraits is the combination of simplicity and complexity. Keeping with the spirit of Matisse, I adapted this portrait to make a portrait of my own.matisee angel

If Angels have nationalities, this one would have to be French.  Painting the white-collar against the darker garment colors was quite fun and the dark light effect is pleasing. Simplifying the facial features was really a plus, because it enabled me to focus more on composition, form and color.

I hope you can work up some Matisse like courage and create your own little masterpiece….matisse angel 1.      Thanks! matisse angel2

Advent Angel……

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Sabicons in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

advent, advent angel, angel, art, Christ, christian art, christian artist, Christmas angel, Christmas art, folk art, icon, icons, impressionism, impressionistic, nature art, oil, oil painting, original, sabrina samuel, whimsical

Advent is soon upon us and to celebrate its coming I painted this little folk art style angel. As the angel told the shepherds in the field to ‘fear not’ so may we apply these words to our own lives. My prayer is that our hearts be filled with peace and good cheer. Let all fear, doubt, and worry be far from us all.

advent angel

Happy Advent to you………..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watercolor drawings…….

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Sabicons in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

art, christian art, christian artist, drawing, flowers, folk art, impressionism, impressionistic, nature art, original, owl art, owl drawing, owls, painting, pen and ink drawings, still life of flowers, watercolor, whimsical

 

While the oil dries on a few works in progress……I did a little sketching to keep busy.

Each of these drawings are a combination of pen-n-ink and watercolor on a creamy colored acid-free archrival paper. Each one measures 5×7 inches.

 

 

 

Fresh out of the Studio…..

15 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Sabicons in icons of saints

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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.

Making of an Angel

14 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by Sabicons in icons of saints

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

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

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Sabicons in icons of saints

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

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

Image

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

29 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Sabicons in icons of saints

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

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.

Image

Image

Image of Christ for the Season of Lent

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Sabicons in icons of saints

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

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.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • December 2011
  • January 2011
  • March 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • February 2009
  • November 2008
  • July 2008

Categories

  • art
  • icons of saints
  • landscapes
  • Outside
  • painting, drawing, artist, christian art
  • photographs
  • photography
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Sabicons
    • Join 109 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Sabicons
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...