The Crowning of Mary, work in progress for Maryhill School of Theology.

Seven hours, seven layers.

Layering, or color blocking, is my second step after construction lines. It lays the foundation for color and tone, but essentially remains flat pending the marking of the darkest darks and the lightest lights. Layering does not stop until the entire canvas is covered with paint. It is also the best time to clean up unwanted construction lines.

In this painting I included 12 crowns from 12 appellations of the Blessed Virgin, some of which are canonical crowns.

Aubrey sat for this painting, as she did for Descent of the Holy Spirit and The Assumption of Mary Into Heaven. Leah sat for the two angels.

The auditory stimulus I am using while working on this painting is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s. Do listen to it while viewing the work, but it has nothing to do with the subject matter of the painting.

Photo by Neil de Leon