The Annunciation Continued....

 

Beyond The Glow... The Shadows..... 

I Suppose, Dear Readers, it would be Reasonable to assume that in a week I could, and would, finish the Annunciation painting in The Chapel. You can see above the status of the portrait at the end of last week's blog, all the brilliant colors mapped out and the glowing golden background emphasizing the nature of this moment. But alas, as with real life, the story is not complete without the shadows, and as with real life, the shadows are not as easy to define, even though there is a "road map" to follow. I made changes to the Archangel Gabriel's presence in this picture... and even that has shadowy repercussions. In the original illumination, Mary is the Embodiment of Serenity and Grace. She is at Peace, while Gabriel with his wings and fluttering garments is all energy and motion... a force that cannot be ignored no matter that he comes to a standstill in Mary's presence. 

 

And yet, I have removed three quarters of Gabriel's form

 in my version of the painting. 

I have changed his relationship to Mary entirely

 to fit him into the narrower window of space.

 Both his arms are positioned slightly differently, 

his wings are almost not visible, 

and while I have tried to keep the agitated lines

 of his garments to express his urgent nature,

 even that is severely constrained by the space, 

but also by my humble abilities with rendering the shadowed folds.

 Even his banderole with its eternal message

 has lost its vigorous assertiveness 

and wavers across the space. 

So many alterations, but I would not change a one of them. 

It is what it is, and there is nothing I can do but wing it.

 

I began with their faces, 

and as often happens while I am actively painting, 

I forget to take any progress pictures. 

Suffice it to say they fairly quickly showed their true colors.

 I honestly do not know how this happens... 

it is such tiny dabs of paint, layer upon layer,

 adjustment after adjustment, building the shadows,

 defining the expressions...

 me seeking the thing I see on the page and finding something else, 

all it's own, but unmistakably real. 

And at a certain point I have to stop and leave it as it is.

 Gabriel has arrived with his alarming Announcement...

(I will not go down the path of my feminist rant here...) 

and Mary Sees Gabriel and accepts this Announcement with all her Grace.

 And I see this and think, Wow, that was fast.

  And yet, I still must render all those folds and shadows,

 for they, too deliver the message.

 

As with their hands.... 

the motions are so standardized and specific.... 

my ability to copy them, less so... 

but perhaps still good enough.... 

once the shadows have made them realistic.

 

And then trying to capture the motion of Gabriel's garments.... 

which cannot just follow the original path... 

there is no room for that, so all I can manage

 is a suggestion of folds and sweeping energy... 

(the ancients wore draped garments and understood viscerally

 their weight and folds... we have no language for this

 in our lives of skin tight stretchy stuff 

and no concealment whatsoever!) 

But I digress... and I am settling for rendering bulk

 where I cannot fathom the energetic movement of wafting cloth.... 

layer by layer... color by color, shifting the folds

 adding the shadows which hide so much.

 

And tiptoeing into Mary's attire.... 

so composed and calm by comparison.... 

except for the agitated drapes of her undergown 

folding in ruffled clouds at her feet. So eloquent the feet....!

 

And still wrestling with Gabriel's gown and stole.... 

a little darker here a little lighter there... 

and venturing to add the draped folds of Mary's cloak... 

such a calm counterpoint!

 

And adding some clarity to Gabriel's halo....

 and details to his wings.... 

the merest suggestion of winged power....

 And all the while still wrestling with Mary's calm acceptance....

 her absolute Peace with the unfolding of the unknown.....

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, one would think 

it would be a breeze to complete just these two well defined figures....

 but somehow the Shadows.... 

always wrestling with the shadows.... 

tells a different tale. 

Beyond the brilliant Golden Glow are the shadows, 

and they both complete and complicate the picture.

 And so, I am still painting in the shadows....