UncleVinny's photostream  

My latest art effort, as described at length on my blog. Click through (www.flickr.com/photos/unclevinny/6650176949/sizes/o/in/ph...) to the original size to see it animated with the art that inspired it.

Source artists: Suzuki Harunobu, Torii Kiyonobu I, Chobunsai Eishi.

I forgot to upload a photo of this yummy thing I made a few weeks ago. Fresh blueberries, apple jam from the Russian Orthodox festival, plus a cream cheese/blackcurrant jelly topping. Plus, it had the extra deliciousness of being geometrical.

Based on a recipe from my go-to baking cookbook by the Cooks' Illustrated people.

So... I kinda like the metallic pens. They give a little of that shiny look that gold leaf would have. I'm happy with the colors, too, especially the skin color. Being color blind makes it hard to know how to mix the 16 colors in my paint set correctly.

I think my favorite part overall is Mary's hand that's gesturing towards Jesus. It's a little too manly in my version, but it's gorgeous in the original. I wanted to do it justice, but it was really hard to get it sketched even halfway correct. Her face is lovely in the original, too, but I knew that was beyond my ability to get right with just a few lines.

Anyway! Fun project. Now on to the next one...

I decided to do the background and the halos with metallic pen. I considered using metal or gold leaf, but I really didn't want to experiment with that for the first time on a piece I was enjoying so much. I woulda cried if I'd ruined it.

By the way... Joachim and Anna are the purported grandparents of Jesus, the parents of Mary. Their stories are found in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of James.

Most of the colors are in place here. I painted with water color on 140-pound, rough paper, and was pleased to see that the paper didn't warp. (It's a watercolor block, so the edges are sealed down.... I think this helps a lot.) I also tried use the paint sparingly, so the color wouldn't be too garish.

I'm a little sad that I couldn't get Mary's robe to look smoother. Large patches of water-color are hard for me; I'm fanatical about wanting everything to match.