The Lilies of the fields
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his Glory, was not clothed like one of these. Matthew 6: 28-29.
For the past few days I’ve been continuing to draw details onto the two canvases: decorative patterns around the edges, and flowers beneath and the in background of each one of the two figures of Mary and the Angel Gabriel.
I’ve enjoyed researching the meaning behind the use of floral imagery in art. Some of it might be familiar to those of you who are Catholic: lilies are a symbol of virginity and purity, while the rose is a symbol of Mary’s participation in the Holy Trinity. (It’s also very beautiful). There’s even a variety of rose named after Mary, called the “mystical rose” . Finally there’s the beautiful Iris, or “Sword lily”. It’s an emblem of Our Lady’s seven sorrows. I’m using them all! They’re beautiful and will offer a softness as well as a deeper meaning to the works.
Historically in images of the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel is often (but not always) shown offering Mary a lily. Instead, I have decided to portray the angel before a backdrop of lilies - almost like wallpaper. So far I’m in the preliminary painting phase of this part of the Angel painting: I’ve drawn the lilies and have used watered-down paint in muted colours to indicate where the flowers are. You can see how it’s looking in the photo with this blog. Impulsively - it just sort of happened on it’s own - I painted the lilies right into the angel’s halo. This is perfect because I wanted his halo to be more like a “film” than a solid, while Mary’s halo will be larger and opaque (and gold!)
I’ve spent more time thinking about these paintings than I’ve actually spent working on them on the canvases. This is very unusual for me as I tend to paint impulsively, with thick strokes and hardly any preparation. I know that my approach this time, though different, is the RIGHT one.
I’m happy to report that my most productive and content times of actually working on these two images has happened after some time spent in prayer or Adoration downstairs in the church. It’s all coming along so well. It is good.
Adele
*What I’m listening to now on Spotify because of the last sentence I wrote: the song, “It is well with my soul”: https://open.spotify.com/track/3MRqm3VNWLIjRiLRQezul7?si=4dec49a629454112
Also, it’s worth listening to Fr Mike Schmidt’s Sunday Homily on 10/31/21 in your podcasts to hear about the origins of this very beautiful song. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sunday-homilies-with-fr-mike-schmitz/id273537688?i=1000540441200