Here Is Eve

Here is the final Eve painting. My plan is for Adam and Eve to be looking away from each other. I recently placed an order for more prints. My goal is to have at least 25 of every bird and didn't realize that my bill was pretty close to $2,000! With these last two birds, the bill will be even higher. I will now have to get busy and sell some of these...

Adam

Well, I finished the painting of Adam first. The painting of Eve will be done in the next few days. I am sort of distracted with trying to get all of my "stuff" organized at the moment and that is why I haven't finished both paintings...yet. I am hoping that the real gold paint reads as gold instead of brown. I am contemplating changing all of the gold in Adobe Photoshop into a gold color (instead of brown, which is what happens when you scan real gold) when I work on designing my book. At the moment, I am trying to decide whether or not to turn the birds into a book or try to find a publisher to do it for me. Of course the difference is that one pays more and doesn't cost me up front. Look for Eve in the next few days.

Eve

So, here is the Eve painting with the background done. I finished the drawing and then masked everything off (except the background) and sprayed it in using an airbrush. I did the Adam painting at the same time so the backgrounds would match. I then started painting the garden of Eden. This is still an early stage...

Saint Michael

Well, I still haven't chosen photos for the Adam and Eve paintings but I am working on it. I promise! In the meantime, I started another painting. This one is Saint Michael. I am going to include the photo of it. It's at the same stage as the first two...the calligraphy is done but no bird chosen...(sigh). Well, it's a start. The Latin translation is roughly "Saint Michael, leader of the hosts, bring them forth into thy holy light." I can picture St. Michael as a very butch bird with a fiery sword. This one should be fun.

Eve

I have finished the calligraphy on both the Adam and Eve paintings. I am including a photo of the Eve painting to show the finished calligraphy. What's weird is that as of this moment, I haven't chosen the birds yet! My goal for today is to do just that. I have hundreds of photos from different sources to choose from so this might take hours.

Books That Make A Difference

Today's post is devoted to books. I love books. I read every day and can't imagine not having a book to read. They are one of my passions in life.

So, I have been asked about the books that I have been reading. You can find a whole list of books that I have read on Goodreads.com , which is a very cool site about connecting with other people that like the same books, but that's not the point of this post. I want to share a couple of books that I think everyone should read immediately.

The Presence Process by Michael Brown. This book is a step by step guide to help you live in the moment. I have created a link to his website so if you want to learn more, just click on the title of his book. His new book is called "Alchemy of the Heart" and is short essays written from a perspective of presence. I believe "The Presence Process", to be one of the most important books I have ever read. It has really helped me with processing some of my overwhelming emotions. Michael is a charming man that answers his email! I wrote to Michael a couple of times and both times received timely and wonderful answers to my questions.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I loved this book. I started getting into Eckhart when I discovered the Soul Series on Oprah. You can click on the link I created to visit Eckhart's personal website (which I love. It is very clean and clear and beautiful), or you can visit Oprah's website and check out the free shows/podcasts with Eckhart which I believe are listed under Soul Series. These are life changing! There were so many moments for me while reading this book where I realized that this man is enlightened and knows at a profound level--the way out of suffering. I also have to give credit to Oprah for presenting the 11 hours of shows featuring Eckhart and his book "A New Earth". You can follow along with the two of them as they go through the book, chapter by chapter!

I welcome feedback folks, so please leave a message if you feel inclined.

Adam and Eve

I have decided to show some photos of the process I go through while paintings my sacred birds. At the moment, I am painting Adam and Eve. This photo shows the drawing of the border in process. I find the borders can be very time consuming because if you make a mistake at this stage, everyone will know it. It is vital that the letters are as straight and even as possible and the outside dark edges or outlines must be perfectly straight or anyone will notice. In painting the birds themselves, if I make a small mistake I can cover it up or just say that I meant to do that. Not so with the lettering.

So, I started with drawing the box and the letters. Then I paint the background of the border. This example looks much more mottled than it does in real life. Then I paint the letters and the edges of the box. I haven't done the letters yet because I want to paint them red and red can be a treacherous color. If you drop any water on red watercolor it will bleed all over the place so I will save the letters for later. I will probably paint the letters after I airbrush in the sky in the painting.

This photo is for the Eve painting.

Two New Birds

After a long vacation (can you call it a vacation if it was being stuck at home?), I am back at work. Because of the two shows, back to back, I didn't really have a reason to sit in an empty gallery. And, because I wasn't in the mood to paint, nothing much was accomplished except lots of reading of spiritual books. I could make lists of the wonderful, life-changing books that I think everyone should read...but I won't at the moment. Here are the two new bird paintings that I recently finished.



Saint Donatus and the Destruction of the Temple.




Delilah and Her Dramatic Escape. I realized that there are so many Saints that I accidentally left out of my collection (with the help of some observant friends), so, I made a new list. My next two paintings are of Adam and Eve. How was it that I forgot them? Until later...

Latest Paintings and Upcoming Shows

I am getting ready for a show at the municipal building located on the main jardin for the month of April. During May, I will have a show at the Generator Gallery. The Generator show will feature all of my bird prints as well as my new paintings.

Speaking of new work, I am still trying to get comfortable with a new medium. I am painting with egg tempera and when the painting is practically finished, I then glaze on top of the egg tempera with oil paint. It is a very time consuming process but I hope it will be worth it in the end. I have noticed that it takes much longer than a traditional watercolor or oil painting. Doing research on the process has been a lot of fun and I have learned a lot. We'll see how successful these paintings will be!

New Business Card

Why do I forget this blog? Hmmm. Well, here is my new business card. I love it but it is too large to fit in my wallet!