"L'madone et l'Enfant de Remy de Saint" (Madonna & Child of Saint Remy)

4  3/16" x 5  13/16", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum, 

(at Dunedin Fine Arts Center in Dunedin, Florida

for the MASF 2009 Annual International Miniature Art Show)

Here is the final version of "Madonna and Child of Saint Remy."  I titled this in French because I found my inspiration for this painting during my trip to France, when our guide gave us some time to explore Saint Remy by ourselves.  I took a walk on my own and discovered a small cathedral called St. Martin's, with many beautiful devotional statues.  It was very dark inside, and I couldn't believe I was alone in such a beautiful place.  I felt so blessed to find this life-sized Madonna and Child dressed in gold, and knew then that I would want to paint my own version.

This got sent out for the MASF show in a lovely gold frame.  Framing is part of the jurying process in this particular miniature competition.  Certain specifications and guidelines must be followed, and I'll discuss more about framing for competition in a future post.

"Madonna and Child of St. Remy" Step 3, & Frame Shopping

4" x 6", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum

Now nearing completion, I have been working toward portraying a feeling of a living Mary and baby Jesus in this painting instead of just replicating the devotional statue.  Not an easy task, since my reference is somewhat 'doll-like', but it feels important to try.  I darkened the background further, and have started to create a slight feeling of an aura around Mary.

Last week I also went frame shopping, and here are some of the miniature frames I have chosen for my general use:

(detail of Venetian glass floral mosaic frames)

Madonna and Child, Saint-Remy, Step 2

4" x 6", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum (in progress)

When I work on an image of Mary, I call upon her in prayers, 

as part of my effort to capture her spirit in paint.  The same is true of Jesus as a baby.  The painting has been going very smoothly, and I have been meditating also on the gold of the dress, which I feel makes this Madonna particularly special.  I really enjoyed capturing the lights and colors within the gold. Another darker blue layer has been added to the background to increase the contrast and bring the figures out more. 

Next I will go back to the faces, hands and flesh tones to fine-tune them some more.

Madonna and Child, Saint-Remy, Step 1

4" x 6", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum (in progress)