15 Paintings in 15 Days - Round 2

It's been a year since my last 15 Paintings in 15 Days Challenge. About time to try it again.

Here goes nothing.

 

Check back tonight for the finished (I hope!) painting...

House Portrait: "Tír na nÓg" 18x24, oil

"Tír na nÓg"

18x24, oil on canvas

This was a commissioned house portrait. Tír na nÓg mean "land of eternal youth and beauty". With 10 beautiful, woody acres on the banks of the Swift Creek Reservoir, I would say so!  My client actually designed the house himself. Another very enjoyable piece to paint.

Six Beautiful People

Allow me to introduce you to six beautiful people.

These were commissioned by my uncle as a Christmas present to his family.

Ed

8x10", graphite on bristol

 Carol

8x10", graphite on bristol

Will

8x10", graphite on bristol

Vandi

8x10", graphite on bristol

Sarah

8x10", graphite on bristol

Helen

8x10", graphite on bristol

These were an absolute joy to render. Hope it shows.

Thinking back I just wanted to share the "mosts" of the creation of these portraits:

Most tedious part: All those curls!

Easiest part: Those lovely toothy grins were easier than anticipated

Favorite feature: The eyebrows! It's amazing how unique eyebrows are to each face. We take them for granted way too often.

Favorite Paintings of 2013

1. Light to My Path (available)

See this painting in progress

2. Mine Shaft Ruins, 16x20" sold

This painting was actually completed the end of 2012, but it was the influential on many other paintings of 2013

Progress pictures of this painting

3. Summer's Glow (available)

From small to large - Progress pictures

4. Crimson and Copper sold

More on this painting

5. December Dusk, 16x16" - First painting of 2013 (available)

See this painting in progress and Completed

6. Snow Day (available)

Blog post on this painting

Top 13 of 2013

 Happy New Year!

A few of the blogs I read listed the top blog posts from the previous year. Figured I'd tag along...

Top 13 of 2013

13. White Rock Creek

Edit: So it seem either by user-error or other means my data gatherer added this post from 2012 to my top 13 in 2013. And obviously I didn't proof-read thoroughly enough to catch it. Hope you don't mind if I leave it in the post -- since I don't have time to redo it at the moment. :) Number 8 seems to have slipped too. My bad. 

12. Inspiration from Howard Pyle

 

11. The Best Thing That Happened to Me...

 

 10. In the meantime...

 

9. Morning at the Office

 

8. a little obsessed? maybe.

 

7. Crimson and Copper 8x6

 

6. Painting on the beach, Nags Head, NC

 

5. The Midlothian Apothecary 

4. The Long Way, 11x14 

 

3. Published: Robious Corridor Magazine

 

2. The Carving Tree, 9x12 

 

1. Published: 2 paintings of Midlothian

It's been a wonderful year. Thanks for reading and Happy 2014!

Advent: Psalm 40, Psalm of the Incarnation

Week two in the Advent series -- Psalm 40, the Psalm of Christ's Incarnation. 

This digital collage is an interpretation of verses 1b-2 corresponding to my church's sermon series through four psalms during the Advent season.

    "He inclined to me and heard my cry.
  He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure."

Psalm 40:1b-2

Josh Kruger's sermon on this Psalm can be heard here.

Stephanie Shanks wrote a beautiful description of her project to facilitate the making of artwork in anticipation of Christmas during the Advent season. 

"What if art was just a way of turning prayers inside out, to be seen and shared? The Advent Art Project is a collection of “visible prayers” gathered from the church and displayed on the walls of our building to encourage each other and prepare our hearts for Christmas."
-Stephanie Shanks

Prayers turned inside out. Love that. So perfectly stated.

Read the full blog post here.

Advent: Psalm 2, The Psalm of the King

Between working on commission pieces clients will be giving as Christmas gifts (hence the lack of artwork on the blog) I started a series of digital collages inspired by the Advent sermon series at my church.

Back in 2008 I illustrated Psalm 139 by means of digital collage and have been wanting to create more ever since. See a selection of the collages here: Psalm 139


The first sermon of the series was a beautiful exposition of Psalm 2: Christ, as King over the nations of the earth. Listen to the sermon here.

Below are my interpretations of the Psalm, with the key text of the Psalm included in the collage.

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed... 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,  
and terrify them in his fury...

 Psalm 2:1-2 and 5

I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

Psalm 2:8