My Journey with the Angels- First Paintings

In this post I will show several of the paintings that began this series.   The United Cerebral Palsy Center in Los Angeles was having a fundraiser in August 2013 and I was asked to donate a 6"x6" painting.  This was just the inspiration I needed to begin my journey.

Giving Spirit      Oil    6" x 6" 

Destroyed

Then I painted this one,  but remember that I destroyed it because I was feeling a insecure about the idea of painting angels.  There have been a lot of questions like, what am I trying to say about them, what do I really feel about them, WHY am I painting them etc.   That painting turned into Guardian 3 somehow. 

Guardian 3  Oil  9x12

These paintings, as well as the next three paintings demonstrate a variety of style explored as I journey into this world of abstract painting.  It starts to get exciting for me, because I start to realize why I am so driven to do this.  While painting Guardian 4, I recalled how St. Peter was weak (denying Jesus 3 times)  until he received the Holy Spirit, and then went on to fearlessly spread the word of Jesus.  It helps me to remember that I am, as St. Peter was, only human and can not do it alone.  This is an example of powerful messages and thoughts I get while painting.  Sometimes it is just the joy of painting.

Guardian 4  or St. Peter      Oil   11 x 14

Guardian 5   Oil  11 x 14

Guardian 6  or   Vine and Branches    Oil   8 x 24

My Journey with the Angels-Guardian 11

It is amazing how the act of creating a painting uses different parts of the heart and brain.  Here is what I recall most about the development of Guardian 11:

This series has been a quest to take chances for my growth on many levels.  After  a while of applying colors and values etc., there was a time in the painting when I was challenged to use green, which my reason told me was going to clash with the colors I have used already.  So, I put in green.  Immediately I thought of my niece Natalie,  who loves green.  Said a quick prayer for her and continued.  The image below may not be at that exact moment, but it is my earliest photo of the process.

 Sure enough, an warrior like figure began to emerge and some of my thoughts were of the indigenous people of America and their quest for the Spirit and thought why not an Indian Angel?

 So I found my Spirit and continued adding to the form what I thought of as physical strength and courage.  As the painting came to a finish, my husband saw the "red blob" in the center and suggested a heart.

 

 Thanks to today's technology of cameras on cell phones, it is easy to record  paintings as they progress.  The only difficult part is getting into the habit of remembering to do so.   It is so interesting for me to revisit the different stages of my paintings, a practice I fully recommend to other artist. 

My Journey with the Angels- Part one: past sculptures

The subject of "Angel" has been a long time interest, but I really haven't made much of it.  I am finding that other artist feel the same:  an interest but not much work on the subject.   It is kind of an intimidating subject on many levels.  Why is that?   Below are some small sculptures I created a few years back.  They were a demonstration of FSB clay and its ability to hold a form with out an armature.  The clay is very rough with a lot of grog and sand.  These are small, about 9" tall.  When I began the demonstration, I really didn't know what I was going to make. They just "poured" out of me. 

FSB or Fullerton Sculpture Body can be purchased at Aardvark Clay in Santa Ana, California.

Same clay, different style.  This sculpture was created as a prayer as I awaited the birth of a grand-daughter.