Hand of God

Hands are never fun to paint. But after tonight, I don't mind it as much. It's still a work in progress... I think it still needs to be lightened around the base of the palm as it's nearest to the light radiating from the white dove.

Up close

I've never been up close to God like this. It's like he's staring at my every brush stroke... I better make them count. I started roughing in the metallic textures of his garment and will eventually tone the color values down to appear more ghostly as he floats out of the cloud background. The objective is to achieve a really soft looking figure that is individual from the darker and shadowed figures (apostles) on the bottom of the mural.

The Next Phase

Last weekend marked the beginning of the phase in which I focus on the figures. So I started with the Holy Spirit - represented by none other than the white dove. I began with this rough painted sketch.

Half way there!

It's been some time since my last post. Here's what I've been up to... the sky is finished! I was going to leave it as a surprise and let you see it in person - but I'll let you take a peak. The photos don't do it justice. The color is off and the glare from the light bulbs are in the way... so it will still be a surprise once we unveil it. These are taken from 3 levels within the scaffold structure.

Sky III

Just about done with the mid tones. It's really starting to intensify. Once I begin applying the lighter tones of yellow and white it will start looking more like heavenly cloud bursts and less like fire (we don't want that).

Big Sky II

More progress to share with you...

Big sky

 

It really is a big sky. It's a challenge not being able to step back and see the whole thing from top to bottom. I'm happy though. It's where I expect it to be so far. I know it doesn't look like much but it soon  will once I start laying the lighter values.