For someone in your heart.....on your mind.

Perpetual,Constant,Unceasing...Pray for us.
4x6 Image transfer,acrylic on wood
Metal Frame

SOLD
"I lit a candle for your intentions"
4x6 Image transfer,acrylic on wood
Metal Frame

PEACE THROUGH IT ALL PEACE
4x6 Image transfer,acrylic on wood
Metal Frame

"You're in my heart, you're in my soul"
4x6 Image transfer,acrylic on wood
Metal Frame

Contact me at:  athomewsoul@gmail.com

to purchase any of the artwork contact: athomewsoul@gmail.com

what do you do with a prayer request? CORRECTED

Nursing Mother
4x6 Metal Frame
Acrylic

Joy of  Heaven
4x6 Metal Frame
Acrylic

HOPE
4x6 Metal Frame
Acrylic

Working Mothers #1
4x6 Metal Frame
Acrylic

Working Mothers #2
4x6 Metal Frame
Acrylic

Thanks Giving au Canada

In Canada we have added on a day of Thanks to this weekend.

This small gesture of 'giving thanks' can get lost in all of our business/busy-ness.

At my new home on the shores of Georgian Bay I have placed this framed Photocard on my table with a candle and snuffer. Before every meal I am reminded to pause and say "Thank you".

The beads and Thank you are my addition to this frame, my Photocards are found at a Post in June 2013 under the title, 'Photocards'

They are $5.00 a card, I can be reached at:athomewsoul@gmail.com

St. Francis of Assisi

Today's great Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Saint that unites, the Saint that is good to befriend, good to have an image of to remind us that to be taken over by God brings blessings not harm to the created world, to my brother and sister.

St Francis pray for us. Thank you for Pope Francis. 

The end of August

I have painted one Madonna and Child not in a seated position. 

The prototype is from a small book of Coptic icons, I added the cured lines as there is a saying,

                                       "God writes straight with crooked lines".

The end of August in Canada it is a time of endings and beginnings, seasonal, school is restarting, families if they are moving have probably done so by now. And me too, I have moved. Where I have ended up I would never have seen, I was not looking at this part of Ontario but back in early June an interesting apartment rental ad brought me here to look. Although that ad did not work out, I came to Collingwood, on the shores of Georgian Bay, a beautiful place to be. 

 "The future comes out of what is done in the present" I have just lived the truth of this, several trips and viewings of rentals prepared me for the moment when the ad appeared for my current rental  and I knew from afar that this is where I wanted to be.

This painting was an experiment
as I wanted to use this beautiful
yellow paper as my ground.
I attached it to wood and
painted on it. Some of
the fibres started to
break up with the wet paint,
 but it dried beautifully

On the Move
Japanese paper mounted on 1/4" wood
acrylic
adaptation of Coptic Madonna
6 x 12

Impasto Modeling Wax

Second last day and we are introduced to Impasto Modeling wax. This is the medium for sculpture. Working with plaster cloth then covering that form with this medium, then coloring, adding feathers, beads,papers, fabric, oh my gosh......... It is softer than encaustic medium and carves easily. I tried an image transfer onto surface but it did not work for me. But I did have success in building a Shrine and that was a blessing.

New medium introduced
Impasto modeling wax

I built up a thick  form on gessoed board and carved into it
I tried to transfer onto surface but was not successful
but its great for embedding , collage

Then I dipped lace into medium and wrapped the edge of a shadow box

et voila another Shrine
I can go back into this with the heat gun and change it at anytime

Encaustic and Image tranfers

I do alot of image transfers using acrylic gel medium. The difference with the encaustic beeswax is you are able to adjust the image because the ink is attached to wax, so the heat gun can distort the image, move colored wax across the picture. Also you can carve into it and get a woodcut look. I have not even begun to explore the possibilities..............

You can carve into wax and get a woodcut look

Here I dipped wire screen in colors
 and then placed it on waxed canvas surface
. Next day I pulled screen off to get this fabulous texture.
Then a small image transfer, discovering that some paper left on leaves great texture

Laying the first wax medium down on encaustic gesso,
I did not apply the wax evenly. So I got a very broken, aged?
transfer of lilies. Then I transfered three Madonnas, repeating image,
two B&W, one colored. I tinted second Madonna and carved into her mantle

the Day of Encaustic Collage

As this week long course was called Encaustic and Mixed Media our next demo was the collage method. The images have to be photocopies not glossy magazine or book pictures. The bees wax has to bond with oil based image. But lace, doilies, non polyester fabrics and handmade papers work very well.  I used a lot of tissues and papers from the Japanese Paper Place. You dip the paper, lace, image into the clear beeswax/damar crystal medium, then you lay it on a surface that has been primed with the same medium. Here are some of my 'day of collage' pictures.

Papers,lace,fabrics, layers upon layers of the wax medium

Here I had a lace dollie around Our
Lady's mantle, then I took it off
and all this imprint of bees wax showed up
 

Lace, papers,string, it's endless creativity

Working with Beeswax

Thank you Susan Fisher for a great week of Encaustic at the Haliburton School of the Arts. http://fisherencaustic.com/

On this post I start with a picture of 'the station' we each had, to work in this medium. That hot palette costs $350.00, so I need to sell some paintings if I go to set up and then you need to purchase the pigments set in beeswax, no acrylics in this process. You can use oil sticks as the oil mixes with the beeswax.

The skill to paint with the warm brush is another learning curve. 

The station we each had to work at.
the brushes need to stay warm,
 the heat gun fuses the wax pigments
lots of possibilities as the color floats

first run, getting the feel of the pigment loaded brush

2nd piece, I treated this like I do acrylic, layers of color, glazing, then carving into the wax

The Pardon at a shrine in Assisi

Madonna of The Annunciation
9 x 12
SOLD

 On the plains below the city of Assisi is the huge church of Santa Maria degli Angeli/St. Mary of the Angels. This church was built to enclose and protect the chapel of La Porziuncola, the place St. Francis received his new friars and where he died. This little chapel is a place of pilgrimage because Francis said that Jesus himself grants forgivness to anyone who prayers here with a repentant heart. In August there is a great celebration in Assisi on the 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary or in the Orthodox title, The Dormition.
Within the tiny chapel of La Porziuncola beautiful frecos have been painted. I have a print of The Annunciation, it is unsigned but historians guess it was by a priest named Hilarius of Viterbo,1313. I have isolated this portion of the fresco to bring the viewer into the presence of this still and listening Mary.
These are pictures of some of the gel transfers I mounted on wood and then used the strong silkscreen Japanese paper, chiyogami to frame it.
contact me if you would like to purchase this piece.
athomewsoul@gmail.com

Madonna from the Annunciation
The woman who bought this sent me this photo
 I like the wall shelf they put it on

Experimenting with the same image

 August. I'm am going next week for a week long class in Encaustic,
 the instructor is Susan Fisher: http://fisherencaustic.com/ 
 In Iconography, Encaustic is one of the earliest mediums and the pictures I have posted here are two of my works adapted from a Madonna and Christ child, 6th century encaustic icon at St Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai.  The colour photo is acrylic with layers of clear acrylic gel between paint applications. I was trying to get an encaustic look, after next week I should have a better idea of the actual encaustic process.

Madonna & Child 6th cent
4 x 6
Acrylic on wood

Madonna & Child 6th cent
B&W gel transfer collage
acrylic, modeling paste

Saint George, Joseph and Paul

In my previous post I had Saint's Francis, Patrick, Jude and Anthony. My final group of male's are here. In the 1980's there was a traveling Icon exhibit called Holy Image,Holy Space Icons and Frescoes from Greece. What was surprising to me was the number of Icons of St. George. The commentary attributed this to  the soldier status of this saint, how that vocation caught the devotion of the centuries when men were going off to war with horses and spears. Interestingly, also in the 1980's one of Americas great Troubadour's, songwriter Paul Simon choose to put an Icon of St. George on his best selling recording "Graceland". As I have a good number of visitor's to my posts from Russia I acknowledge that you have a particular devotion to St. George, Patron saint of your country. St. Joseph is the Patron saint of my country, Canada. St. Paul came to be from a commission by a friend who during the 'Year of St. Paul' wanted to honor the contribution of this saint to our history.

St. George slaying the dragon
5 x 6
Acrylic on wood

St. Joseph and Christ child
5 x 6
Acrylic on wood

St. Paul
5 x 6
Acrylic on wood

Patron Saints

It could be my Irish ancestors, my Irish DNA but I love the Catholic tradition of having a patron saint for any occasion. Along side your guardian angel, why not ask any of the saints for the grace of great things. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, one of the many delightful discoveries in my travels is the culture and traditions of New Mexico. This 'San Antonio', Saint Anthony, is interpreted from the santero painter Antonio Molleno, works from 1800-1830. Perhaps it is the triumph of 'charm' over 'perfection' that draws me into this style of painting. It reminds me of my time spent with young children, reading the parable of The Good Shepherd together,( see the Gospel of John, chapter 10 ff), and then seeing the expression of the child's joy in their art work. Here too there is no stress to draw a face perfectly, what is common is huge joy shown by mouths that are proportionally exaggerated, hearts like tattoos and always huge hands. 

San Antonio/ St. Anthony holding Christ Child
5 x 6
acrylic on wood

St. Francis, St. Patrick, St. Jude and St. Anthony
5 x 6 wood blocks
A Shrine I made to display my Patron Saints collection 

Photo cards of the Three Archangels

Both of these "Three Archangels", paintings were commissioned  for the front entrance of homes. They are acrylic on wood and what I have now have for sale are photocards.

               To the angels God has given command that they guard you in all your ways      Ps 91

Archangel Gabriel The Annunciation

Annunciation #1
8 x 10
Acrylic on canvas

From my experience in 2006 with the first Icon I studied my teacher had an extensive library. One of her books: Ethiopia:Illuminated Manuscripts, from the UNESCO World Art series 1961, inspired this 'Annunciation'. You can see the Byzantine influence as Our Lady is holding the spindle of wool, the symbol read as 'she who spun God in her womb'.

Here we have Archangel Gabriel with the message:
Have no fear
Rejoice
God is with you

Annunciation #2
8 x 10
Acrylic on canvas

Framed

I have been shopping around for multi 4 x 6 frames to mount photo's of my three Archangels. July is a season for weddings and I've been gifting the three Archangels of Blessing and protection for the homes of these new couples.

Archangels Gabriel, Michael and Raphael
4 x 6 photos framed

Archangel Raphael
"The shining one who heals"
4 x 6 photo

A framed photo of Archangel Raphael next to the bed of
a loved one who is in need of healing.

Archangel Gabriel/ San Gabriel

In my research I did not find any retablos of San Gabriel. Looking at the characteristics of the santero painters, I created this interpretation of San Gabriel, inserting the two symbols from the Annunciation, the lily and the Ave.

The Annunciation: Luke 1:26-38            

                                                                 Have no fear

                                                                     Rejoice

                                                                God is with you

Archangel Gabriel San Gabriel
4 x 6
acrylic on Kozo, mat covered in Chiyogami
SOLD, photos available for framing

Archangel Raphael/ San Rafael

This is an interpretation of a retablo  from the Northern New Mexico tradition of the santero Pedro Antonio Fresquis, 1749-1831.

San Rafael is recognized by the symbols of the fish and the sack, the materials that carry the healing. The story of Archangel Raphael is found in the Old Testament in the book of Tobit.

Each of these Archangels have been assigned a day in the Catholic calendar and are Patrons of specific vocations or mediators of blessings. Archangel Raphael, whose name means

 "The shining one who heals", feast day is Sept 29 and is the Patron saint of Doctors and happy meetings. 

I am painting on Kozo, handmade Japanese paper and the mat is framed in Chiyogami, the silk screened Japanese paper. See post "A Tradition unique to Northern New Mexico" for first retablo in this series.

Archangel Raphael/ San Rafael
4 x 6
acrylic on Kozo, mat covered in Chiyogami
SOLD, photos available for framing

A Tradition unique to Northern New Mexico

When I lived in the American Southwest I was immersed in the religious art and traditions of my Hispanic neighbors. I traveled into Northern New Mexico and in Santa Fe I visited the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art   www.spanishcolonialblog.org/museum/ . On view are hundreds of retablos, images of saints/ santos painted on pine. I purchased the book: A Land So Remote, Vol 1, Religious Art of New Mexico 1780-1907. Larry Frank.  Each chapter introduces you to a Santero, or saint maker. This painting of San Miguel/ Saint Michael the Archangel is an interpretation of an Antonio Molleno, a santero who painted from 1800-1830s.  I am not painting on wood, I used Kozo, handmade Japanese paper, and the mat is covered in Chiyogami, the silk screened Japanese paper.

Archangel Michael/ San Miguel slaying the dragon
4 x 6
Acrylic on Kozo, framed in Chiyogami
SOLD, photos available for framing

Archangels and

For ten years I lived in Northern Arizona and traveled Hwy 66 West to the Pacific Coast and East into Santa Fe and the small towns of New Mexico. I love that heart centered universe, the shrine at Chimayo, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimayo,_New_Mexico and the high road to Tao's

                 But the secret treasure is the tradition of painting the Archangels and Patron Saints,
       
                                    http://www.spanishcolonialblog.org/traditional-arts/santos/

             This has inspired a whole collection for me and I will be sharing them in my next posts.

small scaled works of art

to create a place for personal prayer

Bright New Day
4 x 6
Acrylic on wood
framed

PEACE
4 x 6
acrylic on silk sari on wood
framed

A person wrote and asked me why I don't post my prices. I have posted my email and I would rather be in contact with you and what sacred art you are interested in. I am open to some negotiating, after all my desire is to get these pieces into your home.

Contact: athomewsoul@gmail.com

India, Japan and the Far East

In my post, "Art to welcome blessings", I shared a Madonna and Child that was painted on an Indian Sari.

Here I am using materials from the Far East, the Batik fabric for the background and the handmade silk screened paper from Japan called 'Chiyogami', www.thepaperplace.ca/productspapers.php , for the Madonna and Child, with the faces and hands painted with acrylic.

Building a screen like this makes for a portable free standing shrine.
Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece: athomewsoul@gmail.com

SOLD
The Embrace
center panel is 8 x 12
Batik cotton fabric with Japanese paper Madonna and acrylic

Perpetual

  In this painting I am not using the prototype for the Icon that is known to the Roman Catholic church as Our Lady of Perpetual Help, but I looked up synonyms for the word 'perpetual' and I have painted this Madonna and Child over a litany of the promises that this word perpetual is for us. 

Our Lady of Perpetual...ceaseless....constant...
4  x 6
Acrylic on wood/ Framed
I think this Madonna has that permanent look of the seated one,she's here to stay with us. 

                                                                    Our Lady of  Perpetual

                                                                                               ceaseless

                                                                                                       constant

                                                                                                                       continuous

                                                                endless

                                                                                        enduring 

                                                                                                             eternal

                                                                                   permanent 

                                                                                          unceasing

                                                                                                     unending

                                                                                                             unfailing

                                                                                             unlimited

                                                                                               help, Pray for us.