Marian Apparition Collection
The elements that unite the pieces in this collection are clear: Mary, the Mother of God, breaking into history to be with us.
In each painting Mary is centered, simply and loosely depicted, each the exact same size, forward facing, and surrounded. She appeared to the world with light, so strong metallic usage is threaded through the three paintings. From oldest to most recent apparition in history:
Guadalupe:
The whole aesthetic of this one was determined by the fabric of Juan Diego's tilma (scratchy and natural), as well as the gorgeous adobe architecture of old indigenous Mexico. I layered tinted modeling paste over the canvas to mimic adobe. I sort of wanted it to look excavated, a remnant of historic Mexico while not being the exact same image as the Tilma.
Lourdes:
The idea behind this apparition was "grotto". Our lady appeared surrounded by cool rocky stones to Bernadette. This setting seemed a perfect environment for a loose and surreal interpretation. I unleashed some inner Jackson Pollock and poured areas of paint, and nudged the shape of Our Lady into existence. She's gorgeous, ethereal, and a striking figure against to the black. It's a small nod to Caravaggio and his genius dark/light usage. The areas of blue in the bottom third symbolize the healing waters of Lourdes and Divine Purity.
Fatima:
The upper left is the sun, below her is the tree she appeared in, and the bottom right hosts three kneeling figures, the children of Fatima. They look up to Mary. And depicted are their hearts burning within them, a reference to the disciples' hearts burning within them as they walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. This simple addition of the burning hearts wraps up everything I've come to love about Mary and her appearance to us in history: burning hearts, and a conviction to know her Son. All pieces are 18x24 stretched canvas