Night of the Hermit - Image from a film I am about to embark on.

The story is set to an orchestral compositon of mine.

It will be all music with images that tell a story.

I won't divulge the story yet. This image is from the film - all that is missing

is a stone statue of the Madonna with child that will be in the central niche.

Her is a link to the music:http://chirb.it/7g9D1n

At jacob's well

I don't know how many hours I have put on this Painting but quite a few. The Subject of the meeting of the Samaritan woman with Christ at the well and the discourse between her and the Son of God has 

always been one of my favorite moments in the New Testament. 

However, not happy with the position of Christ's head and the lack of focus on the work, I have done a few things more to it. Here are the results:

The Capuchin Nuns

The Capuchin Franciscan Reform of the Friars in the 1500's spread to the Sisters as well. 

Longing for a more true following of the Rule of St. Clare, the Capuchines was born. This is a painting in the works

The present stage of things on this work

Quite a different state tonight as I stop. All along I have been thinking of the incredible story of St. Filumena (Philomena) Here I see her in the company of martyrs looking down thru the veil of time to those below who call upon her.

Contemplation

Jehenne la Pucelle

Always moved by the life, virtue and steadfastness of St. Joan of Arc, here is another work I am doing at the present. The palette is monochrome. It is interesting to see how subtle one can get in changes of value and still be able to read the figure. Jehenne ' la Pucelle '( Joan, the Maiden ) is what she was known as during her lifetime.  A Maiden was understood as an unmarried Virgin.

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

For this years feast day I have this oil painting on panel I did of St. Francis. It measures 8 in. x 8 in.

Returning Home cont'd

Continuing to fool around with this one from an earlier post. 

The Soprano

A little sketch of a young soprano practicing her part.

Isabelle Romee

A recent work.

Returning Home With Firewood

A work in progress.

Brothers Of The TAU

This painting I am working on is of a Religious Orders of Brothers that use the Greek letter 'Tau'

on their habits.

Note: St. Francis of Assisi marked his very first habit, a peasant's cloak, with

a 'T' in the front with a piece of chalk. He was always fond of the Greek 'Tau'

because of its visual association with the Cross of Christ. In the only handwriting of his

preserved, a blessing he wrote to his dear friend Bro. Leo,  one can see that he signed it with a 'T'.

Saint Clare of Assisi - Aug 11

My nephew Nathan and his wife 'Giusy' (Giuseppina)will have their marriage blessed by the Church on Aug.11, the feast of St. Clare of Assisi. It will take place in Italy where they are living now.  I've wanted to do a painting of St. Clare for some time and so here is the result. Artwork ©2012 John R. Howley.

Recent painting

A recent painting entitled 'Woman at Prayer '.  I have always liked the stark look of the Spanish Baroque paintings of Francisco Zurbaran. Many of his works reflect the new Counter Reformation ideals of the Catholic arts to portray the sacred with the importance on the figure in the forefront.  His wonderful paintings of St. Francis of Assisi certainly show this mindset. All fluff and unnecessary background imagery is to be discarded if it does not support the figurative subject.  The paintings were to inspire devotion to the mysteries of the Sacred with little mind to the earthly environment which passes so quickly.

The Guardian

A different style of Guardian Angel image in the works.

Since It is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows here is a sketch of Our Lady

though obviously not the Sorrowful Mother.

Digital Painting with Photoshop CS5

Yes, this is a digital painting. I thought I would try out Photoshop CS5's Painting brushes to see how they work compared to Corel Painter. I added the canvas texture to it just to add a more personal touch.

Many people consider digital art as not true art and I tend to agree since manipulating color on a computer is non critical - you can delete, go back, erase, color correct, etc.  But, it can be fun and when you work for a living in the digital world it is almost mandatory to know.

Untitled

Monks Praying

A digital Painting I did using Corel Painter X and a Wacom tablet.

Digital vs. Traditional

Is there any value to digital painting? If the above image( that I painted on the computer )were printed on  canvas, and the digital file then destroyed so that no other copies could be made would that make a difference? But artists have prints made of their work and sell them. Isn't that the same? Is it the fact that none of the tools of the painter came into play in creating this image, other than digital tools? ( I painted this in Corel Painter 9.5 ). Is art then, only viable when traditional tools are used to create it? How about a word processor for the writer? Is poetry less than it should be if the poet wrote the words in a word processing program rather than with pen and paper?  I can understand both sides of the argument.

young woman revised

 In progress. I Revised the face and put in a lighter environment so that the figure is the center of attention.