Happy New Year!

 Another Year Gone...Or Is It?

No, another year has not gone, it has just begun! The year of 2024! Woo Hoo! And another year means 366 days...yes it is a leap year, so it will be a day longer than last year - more time to draw! 

With that being said I present this years first drawing, the 2024 Ball Drop Drawing. (Shhhhh! I actually drew it yesterday! So it is technically from 2023, but no one has to know that. Besides there is an extra day this year) Make that your excuse this year, "Well, there is an extra day this year." Or something along those lines.

With no further ado see below for the picture.

Sister Wilhelmina

 A Charcoal Drawing

I’ve finished another drawing! This one is compressed charcoal drawing on 6x8 paper. 

Here is some information from Wikipedia about her, Four years after her death, the Benedictine Sisters exhumed Sister Wilhelmina's body on the feast of Louis de Montfort so her remains could be re-interred in their church. The sisters expected to find bones but after a few days of digging, they lifted up the simple wooden coffin and quickly noticed a massive crack down the middle of the lid. The prioress of the order, Mother Cecilia, discovered that their foundress' remains, including her religious habit, were almost perfectly intact."

Thank you for viewing this piece of art work!

 

 Our Lady of Mount Carmel

I am finally getting around to posting this painting I finished way back in July. If I recall correctly, I finished this one slightly before the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This is an oil on canvas. I originally did a base coat maybe a year or so ago with acrylic and just got around to finishing it off with oil paint.

Below is a poem a found that is said to have been written by Saint Simon Stock, the Carmelite monk who received the brown scapular from Mary. Part of this poem/hymn is chanted/ included in the Carmelite form of the mass.

Flos Carmeli, vitis florigera, splendor cæli, virgo puerpera singularis. Mater mitis sed viri nescia Carmelitis da privilegia Stella Maris. Radix Jesse germinans flosculum nos ad esse tecum in sæculum patiaris. Inter spinas quæ crescis lilium serva puras mentes fragilium tutelaris. Armatura fortis pugnantium furunt bella tende præsidium scapularis. Per incerta prudens consilium per adversa iuge solatium largiaris. Mater dulcis Carmeli domina, plebem tuam reple lætitia qua bearis. Paradisi clavis et ianua, fac nos duci quo, Mater, gloria coronaris. Amen. (Alleluia.)

Flower of Carmel, Tall vine blossom laden; Splendour of heaven, Childbearing yet maiden. None equals thee. Mother so tender, Who no man didst know, On Carmel's children Thy favours bestow. Star of the Sea. Strong stem of Jesse, Who bore one bright flower, Be ever near us And guard us each hour, who serve thee here. Purest of lilies, That flowers among thorns, Bring help to the true heart That in weakness turns and trusts in thee. Strongest of armour, We trust in thy might: Under thy mantle, Hard press'd in the fight, we call to thee. Our way uncertain, Surrounded by foes, Unfailing counsel You give to those who turn to thee. O gentle Mother Who in Carmel reigns, Share with your servants That gladness you gained and now enjoy. Hail, Gate of Heaven, With glory now crowned, Bring us to safety Where thy Son is found, true joy to see. Amen. (Alleluia.)

Feast of All Saints - Nov. 1st

 November 1st, 2023

Today is the feast of All Saints. And with that, I have another “Podcast Portrait” for you today - my third. I have dubbed this series the Podcast Portraits - For those who have not seen the other two I have added another tab for you to reference on this site called, Podcast Portraits. Linked here - Podcast Portraits Page.

Again, these Podcast Portraits are for the podcast, Divine Office 1960 Rubrics, which can be found on most any if not all podcast places - for instance, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This is probably the most detailed drawing I have ever done, and definitely the most people I’ve put in one drawing. I drew this one with pen similar to the Our Lady of Guadalupe drawing I did a while ago.

As always, this drawing started off with a blank sheet of paper, well first an idea. After much thought and consideration, I chose to reference Albrecht Dürer's Adoration of the Trinity. I even contemplated pasting the many saints I've drawn over the past together into one drawing, but I could not get that to work how I envisioned.

It took a lot of time to get all of the saints positioned right on the paper before I even began to detail them with the ink.

- Below is the 'All Saints Progress Collage'

And here is the final drawing.

Thank you for Reading!

- Special comment Contest - Who is your favorite saint?

- I will draw the winner's comment.

A Wedding Commission...or not?

 Patron Saints

I recently finished another painting, that of two saints' portraits for a wedding gift. No, unfortunately I was not commissioned to do this piece. I kind of started a tradition among our family. A few years ago I painted a picture for my Sister's wedding, and now too, I continued the tradition and will so in the future...potentially 6 more...what did I get myself into? But I enjoy painting and art.

I juggled a couple different ideas in my head before I finalized the composition. The first being a portrait of them, then of their confirmation saints, and finally I decided to go with their patron saints of their occupations.

A lawyer for the bride...Saint Thomas Moore

A paramedic for the groom...Saint Michael the Archangel

I composed this piece on an 18 by 24 inch pre-stretched canvas with acrylic paints...I should add in one months time. It was kind of like, "Oh I should continue the painting tradition." So I did.

- Below are some in progress photos of the painting.

And the final photo is below.

I know both, the bride and groom (my brother) looked at it before they left on their trip, but I am not sure what they thought of it...I hope they liked it.

Thanks again for all who read my blog.

Feel free to guess what my next drawing will be, I'll give you a hint.

-Hint - November.

    These quotes are not hints.

- One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated. Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich - for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?

    -Saint Thomas Moore

You Should Now Receive Email Notifications

I Switched to Follow.it

I am Posting to let you know I have switched my blog to Follow.it because feed burner no longer works for email subscriptions. You should now be able to follow by email and get notified when a new drawing comes out.

Saint Michael the Archangel

 Pen & Ink

It's been awhile since I've done any artwork, but I've finally finished another. Recently I've been asked to draw some cover art for a podcast, so this latest drawing is the first of 12 drawings of saints. Saint Michael the Archangel for the month of September. I hope you enjoy this piece. 

The podcast is called, Divine Office 1960 Rubrics. The divine office is prayed daily with portions in both English and Latin. Here is a link to Spotify, Divine Office 1960 Rubrics it is also available on Apple Podcasts. 

I can't figure out why the photo is so blurry...it is what it is. I did this picture with thin tip pens on a 9" x 12" paper. I also did a time lapse of this if you are interested. 

Link to video - Saint Michael Time-lapse

This is actually the first ever drawing of Saint Michael I've done - you could even say this was my first...wait for it...my first stab at it. (get it?) 

I used a famous statue as my reference carved by sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt. This statue sits on Castel Sant' Angelo, a former mausoleum which has now been transformed into a castle during the time of Pope Gregory the Great. The mausoleum was built for the emperor but he died before it was built. And then in the late 3rd century it was transformed into a fortress. 

"According to legend, the pope was leading a procession of people, praying for deliverance from an attack of the plague, when he saw a vision of the archangel St Michael hovering over Hadrian’s tomb. St Michael was in the act of re-sheathing his sword, which the pope took to be a sign that his prayers had been answered." (https://www.walksinrome.com/castel-sant-angelo-rome.html)

This is a photo of Castel Sant' Angelo

And this is the Saint Michael statue carved by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt. This statue wasn't on top of Castel Sant' Angelo until the year 1710.

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Thank you for viewing this art! 

(and maybe you learned something?)