Head of St.Joseph

Got started on the Head of St. Joseph today. I'm using the image on www.restoredtraditions.com and have it drawn on 16x20 canvass pad. The drawing looks good. I may expand it to include Mary and the Infant, I think there will be room, I like a " full " canvass and if it turns out well I can use it for Christmas cards. I may start on St.Matthew too and work on one while the other dries. This will have to be done in the traditional style. Linus

I added Mary from " Mary and Child " by Adolph Bouguereau, also found on www.restoredtraditions.com. Didn't care for the child in that painting so I am looking for another. Mary looks great. I can see that it will all work together. Linus

Linus, that's a beautiful painting! I can certainly see why you're drawn to it. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Looking forward to seeing how you blend the paintings together into one.

Judy

Beautiful painting, I'll be watching, too!

Things have changed. After I got Mary and Joseph drawn I suddenly realized that Joseph was about 50 yrs older than Mary! So I've been working on Joseph all day trying to make him younger but still a fully mature male, someone who you would think should be able to support a family without any help. I think I finally succeedeed. I managed to knock off about 30 yrs. God doesn't do anything unseemly, I figure Mary was probably about 17 and now Joseph is about 30, this would be about right for a self reliant and responsible male of that day and age. For Mary and child I am using the bottom left image on www.medjugore.ws/en/pictures/little-baby-jesus/, which is a reverse image of Madonna and Child by Carlo Maratta. I've drawn baby Jesus now and he looks good. This time instead of drawing my images on paper and transferring them to the canvass I'm drawing directly on the canvass. The Canvass pads are very rugged and will take just about any abuse you can throw at them. I've done lots of earasing and no problems yet. I will paint right over the graphite. I found it covers nicely so no need to worry. Originally I used a different image of Mary by Maratta, but this one is the one that went with the Jesus I wanted. So I will have to change Mary too. All in a days work, right. Maratta is one of my favorites. I like Dolci too. I hope I can get the paint down the way I want. This is another long project, not going to hurry. Do you believe I looked at about a thousand baby images before I found this one by Maratta in a reverse image!!! And I found it by accident. It seems parents all like frontal shots or else with the baby's head on the right. But I wanted a baby with the head on the left and a half or 3/4 shot. I just love this one, since Mary will be looking down on him but Joseph still gets a good view without putting the baby in an unbelievable pose- which is one of my main gripes with many Renaissance Madonnas and child, they just aren't believable.

Guess I forgot to sign off again.

Linus, I tried the link for the baby Jesus, but it put me through to a 4 minute pitch for website building. Any body else have t his problem? I'd love to see the reference picture and can't wait to see your work in progress.
Judy

Sorry Judy, I made a mistake. Try www.medjugorje.ws/en/pictures/little-baby-jesus/ I left out the second " j " in medjugorje. Still, it is hard to see how they came up with the site they did.

I checked the corrected address, it works. Linus

Sounds like the drawing is a real challenge. It's certainly can be a challenge finding the rite reference. I've never tried combining photos but I can image that would add greatly to the difficulties of both drawing and finding the rite reference photo.

Thanks for the correct. So many of those paintings of Jesus aer wonderful. I think the one you chose was a good choice.

Judy

Finally got Mary drawn, she looks great. I avoided making her look like the model. Actually she looks more like about 28, which is fine with me. I prefer a more adult Mary. The trick about this drawing was that Joseph was 3/4 from the left and Mary was 3/4 from the right. I hope I can get the paint down O.K.

Good luck Linus!

Worked on Mary's hands today. Had to use the mirror to get her left hand. I put the child on a cushion with her left hand under the cushion with just the fingers showing around the edge of the cushion. Not satisfied with the way Maratta did Joseph's hand. I think I would rather have him twiking the child's big toe or something. Haven't dicided about the rest of the scene, I kinda would like it to be dayligt and outside so the colors would be vibrant. One of the gripes I have with some of the Renaissance painters is that they made everything too dark. I really like the canvass pads for drawing. You can earase and earase all you want and you don't have to worry about wearing a hole or scuffing. I see I forgot to sign off again.

You must get a wonderful feeling when you paint these pictures

I enjoy the drawing just as much, if not more. There are hands and feet all over this one, lots of fun. I may wind up taking the drawing to the photographer. That way, if the painting doesn't turn out, I will still have a piece of good pencil art and that will still make a nice card. This all started in grade school 60 yrs ago when while Sister was giving lessons, I was drawing really involved battle scenes, planes, tanks, cannons, soldiers, ships -the works. I was still doing it as a freshman in high school.

Don't know why I didn't think of this before but these paintings by Maratta ( i ) are the models I'm using. Don't be alarmed, Joseph has been drastically changed so he looks about 30 yrs younger. Spent several hours today shading Mary and adjusting Jesus' feet and Joseph's left hand.
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Here is the drawing I have been working on. I drew it on a light brownish gesso and sanded it twice. Couldn't get a better picture because I was fighting " graphite glaze. " I am going to paint directly onto the images. Sort of like a paint by numbers, without the numbers. I sprayed with matt glaze so I wouldn't get any or much graphite smearing.

Linus, your drawing is fantastic!! I can't draw very well, and I'm impressed how you managed to make Joseph look so young and handsome. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it looks to me that Mary's face is too wide, for the height of her face. Maybe you could scrunch it a little more to the left, so that her nose and mouth are more over her chin. Then again, you may have it right, and it will look better once you put the shadow in. At any rate, it's much better than anything I've ever drawn. Congratulations!!

Thank you Crystal. I think the face of Mary may be a little distorted because I don't think I had the camera at the perfect angle. Anyway the test will be with the paint. That's where the rubber meets the road. Who knows how that will turn out. Joseph was a challenge because I essentially had no model. I started with a very old man and kept changing things until he looked younger. And his left arm and hand were a real challenge. I had no model there either except my own arm and hand as viewed in a mirror. He doesn't look too bad. He will pass anyway. The painting will take about a month or six weeks. In the mean time I will start St Matthew or perhaps the Maddona of the Night ( I really like that one and I won't have to change anything.)

Linus, your drawing looks great. Hands happen to be one of my problem areas as well when drawing freehand. They look good to me.

That's a great project Linus. Not just copying an old master, but making changes or additions to express your own vision while staying true to the original style; I'll enjoy watching your process!

Linus,

The drawing is great. I do agree with Janet especially about the mouth. I feels like it is too much to the right, Her left. Also bringing her hair line a little more foreward on her right forehead would help narrow the face a little.

I look forward to following your progress.

Judy

Got Mary and Joseph's heads done. Did Mary yesterday and Joseph today. Both look good.

Glad your painting is going well Linus. I can't wait to see your work.

Dayle