Vatican Inspirations II . . .

Gian Lorenzo Bernini…his name conjures visions of Rome, the Vatican and the incredible sculptures, architecture and artwork contained therein. He was, and still is, the most widely recognized star to shine throughout the seventeenth century… not to mention the most prolific and accomplished representation of seventeenth century Catholicism. He is responsible for giving Rome its baroque character.

Inside the Vatican you will find a sculpture titled “Habakkuk and the Angel”…this is the angel. The angel is smiling persuasively at Habakkuk…seizing him by the hair with his left hand, and pointing to where he wants to remove him with his right.

I deliberately focused on the angel’s face in order to capture his expression, the smile, while he stares directly into Habakkuk’s eyes. The secondary area of focus is the robe, which is wrapped around the angel’s left forearm. The layers of folded and wrapped cloth force your attention to hold just long enough to accentuate the sweeping reach of his left arm in the direction of his gaze.

The sharp contrast of light and shadow in the angel’s hair is repeated down the front of his body and under his left arm. This only adds to the power of the image.

This painting, entitled “Baroque” is acrylic on canvas, 40w by 30h inches. It has been exhibited at the Austin Diocesan Fine Arts Council winter exhibition in January 2006. The exhibition was held for the 2006 Southwest Liturgical Conference, held at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Cedar Park, Texas.

New Image . . .

Here is the most recent image I have available to show you. It was a successful expirement in which I was able to refine new directions regarding some of the pictoral elements. This image has some very nice abstract qualities which are based in part in the theories of minimalist structure. The painting also reveals, structurally, the re-appearance of my strongest influence. It shows up in the way in which I've defined the space, using only pure, clean line and form.

The creation of this painting was difficult to say the least, but it was successful. It has a strong presence about it. The colors which appear next to each other were chosen to play with your eyes. Certain colors, when placed adjacent to one another, will cause your eyes to see the light vibrating, fluctuating, on exactly the line where the colors meet. This is one of the ways I can help you to see the energy contained in the painting.

I hope you enjoy this image. Please let me know your thoughts.

- The Light Within . . .