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.

"Avalon Madonna of the Yellow Flowers"

1 3/4" x 2 5/8", egg tempera on Kelmscott vellum*

(see my note below on this English vellum painting surface)

(see my update on this painting in a later post on 11/18/08)

Every summer I spend some time at the seashore in Avalon, N.J.  Summer vacation in Avalon was a family tradition for my family and for my father's family, and it is a quiet place where I can truly restore my soul.  Last year while there, my mother and I discovered this wonderful Madonna statue which stands in front of Maris Stella Catholic Church.  

I feel pleased with the mood this painting evokes, and feel satisfied with it as a dailywork, but haven't decided yet if I'll keep going with this one for a competition, or sell it as a daily.  Will post more on it when I know for sure.  I plan at least two more miniatures of this Madonna because I enjoy her so much.

* More about Kelmscott vellum:  Because I teach about what I do when asked to give a lecture or workshop, one of my goals with this blog is to share information with others interested in learning more about miniature painting and egg tempera as a medium.  For painting smaller miniatures my surface of choice is a special variety of vellum obtainable in small sheets only from England.  (If you know of any U.S.A. resource, please email me.)  Kelmscott vellum is genuine calf skin vellum that is coated with some type of thin gesso coating that has a little dusty feel on top.  If you get the surface too wet when you paint, this gesso picks up a little bit, but overall, there is no finer or smoother surface that I know of for luminous miniature paintings, whether in egg tempera, or watercolor, or a combination of both.  Here is a link to my resource for Kelmscott vellum: Polymers Plus also features exquisite miniature frames for framing the miniatures in your collection.