INVITATION TO THE UPPER ROOM

I’ve been working on another painting based on my trip to Israel. This is the Syrian Orthodox Church and Monastery of Saint Mark. It’s one of two locations in Jerusalem thought to have been the site of the UPPER ROOM where Christ held the Last Supper. I’m combining two of the photos I took. The picture on the left of the entry walkway to the Church, is the basis for the painting. The second image is the scene around the corner, as you look to the right when standing before the front door.

Please remember as you read through my blog, you may click on any picture to see an enlargement.

My post combines several days’ work at the easel. The general composition is sketched up on a 10 inch x 10 inch cradled panel with a brush dipped in a thin oil mix of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin Original. The sides of the panel have been painted with Black Acrylic, a little bit can be seen around the perimeter of the front surface.

The opening reveled between the front doors is washed in with the MUD + Liquin Original mixture as well as a combination of Ultramarine Blue + Liquin Original. This helps to give the impression of the large room beyond the doors.

The window was also washed in with the same mixes. Now we’re ready to being adding opaque Oil Color.

The limestone walls are blocked in with several shades in varying proportions of MUD + Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White. I carefully paint around the flags that were previously washed in with Alizarin Crimson + Liquin Original.

Raed, our tour director, pointed out the history of this church that is believed to have been built on the site of the home of John Mark’s mother as well as the location of the Last Supper and first Communion. John Mark wrote the Book of Mark in the Bible. Several members of Raed’s family live in Jerusalem and this is their place of worship. He has attended lots of services in this beautiful church. The details on the door and panel above it are intriguing.

Since the door is in the background, the details on it and the panel above are made very impressionistically as they would not be distinct at this distance.

I was entranced by the red flags fluttering above us as we walked along the narrow passageways. They are painted with Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta, Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Light and Cadmium Red Light + White.

Sunlight spilling into the entryway illuminates the potted Geraniums and causes shadows, cast from the scarlet flags high above, to dance across the well worn surface of the stone walk.

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week so I chose to plant a Palm in the foreground container. It represents Jesus’ joyous entry into Jerusalem that led up to the Last Supper on Thursday, the evening before Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Salvia grows below the Magenta Bougainvillea. Its tall, flowering spires are purple, the color of royalty. Jesus is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”, 1 Timothy 6:15.

The dark foreground and arch create a frame, accentuating the sunlit entrance to the Church. This leads your eye to the open door issuing an “INVITATION TO THE UPPER ROOM”. Come in to feel the Love of Jesus and the comfort of knowing the Salvation He promised to all who believe in Him at the Last Supper.

Hope you’ll visit my studio again to see what is on my easel from day to day. To make it even easier to follow along, I’d like to invite you to subscribe to my blog, you’ll receive an email every time I publish a new post. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts, just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The one on the right for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session.

I appreciate you subscribing to my blog! Have a blessed day,

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© Senkarik 2023

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THANK YOU FRIENDS!

Over the years my Team Senkarik Family of collectors, readers and fellow artists, has become friends. Many of you I’ve never met in person, but I still feel we have a special bond. I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how thankful I am for you! I’m very blessed with all of your loving encouragement and support through thick and thin! I may not see you physically but it gives me great comfort knowing you’re there!

I’m also very thankful for the men and women who have sacrificed so much so we can live in Freedom here in America. We have much to be grateful for, God has certainly blessed each of us. Please remember to give THANKS every single day for His gifts because “Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart, not a day of the year.” 

I wish you a Safe, Happy Thanksgiving filled with Lots of Laughter and Love,

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© Senkarik 2023

www.senkarik.com

Church of the Beatitudes

Today I’m working on a painting of The Church of the Beatitudes. We visited this lovely sanctuary on my trip to Israel in 2022. It’s located on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. This spot is traditionally commemorated as the place where Jesus preached The Sermon on the Mount, teaching His blueprint for living a Christ-like life.

Photographs I took while there are taped to my easel. After lightly sketching the building on a cradled panel, I begin drawing the plan with a brush dipped in a thin oil wash of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin Original. You may click on this or any of the other images to see them larger.

It was a cloudy day when we visited this beautiful church. Since my painting is going to be a bright sunny day, the next step is to establish the shadows on the distinctive architecture. I previously painted the sides of the Cradled Panel with Black Acrylic, hence the black around the edges. No worries, that will be covered over in the final piece.

Transparent oil washes have been used for the Palm Tree and Oleanders. The flowers are made of Alizarin Crimson + Liquin Original. Now we’re ready to begin painting with opaque oils.

The entire sky is first painted with White + Cobalt Blue. The clouds are then painted wet-into-wet, over the blue field, enabling me to make their edges soft and fluffy.

Painting the long fronds of the palm over the wet clouds makes it easier to soften the edges, giving the impression of them gently waving in the breeze. The tree provides a dark backdrop that will accentuate the sunlight illuminating the Church.

In the brilliant sun the dome has a beautiful bronzy-green patina. The rounded surface is covered with various combinations, in different proportions, of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange + a little MUD + White. Then the seams are drawn into the wet paint with the MUD + Liquin Original mixture.

Light splashes under the unique arches to spill on the back wall of the verandah encircling the octagonal sanctuary. The Eight Sides represent each of the Beatitudes, the eight blessings recited by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. They are also illustrated in the church’s stained glass windows, one in each of the eight sides.

Bright flowers of the Oleanders are blocked in with Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Light + White and several shades of Permanent Rose + White.

Leaves are painted next with mixes of Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium and Pthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White.

Church of the Beatitudes 10 inches x 10 inches

The gardens surrounding the Church of the Beatitudes were filled with Bougainvillea, Oleanders and other lush, blooming plants which added to the serene tranquility of this quiet, soothing place. Then the comforting peacefulness of Our Lord’s arms seemed to wrap around my heart as I walked into the sanctuary and heard melodious notes. It was Gideon, one of our group, quietly humming a hymn that was on a page of sheet music, displayed on a podium. I thank God for this moment in time I’ll treasure forever. I pray that my painting brings some of that peacefulness to you.

Hope you’ll come visit my studio again to see what is on my easel from day to day. To make it even easier to follow along, I’d like to invite you to subscribe to my blog, you’ll receive an email every time I publish a new post. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts, just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The one on the right for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session.

I appreciate you subscribing to my blog! With Big Hugs,

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© Senkarik 2023

www.senkarik.com

In Honor of our Veterans

This Flag FLIES Across the Flowered Plain!

These Stars and Stripes are AWESOME! As I gardener I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of planning it took to map the flag out and then plant all the red, white and blue flowers. The long side of “Old Glory” is 740 feet long, the shorter side measures 390 feet. Not only is it huge, the proportions are correct according to Executive Order #10834.

The floral American Flag covers 6.65 acres. The 5 pointed stars, comprised of White Larkspur, are 24 feet in diameter. Each stripe is 30 feet wide. It’s estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants. With 4 to 5 flowers on each stem that totals more than 2 million flowers.

The beautiful Star Spangled Banner “flies” near Vandenberg AFB, close to the small town of Lompoc, California, in Santa Barbara County. The field is about 9 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The entire distance from the Flag to the coast is spectacularly planted with colorful flowers by different seed companies. I don’t know which seed company did this. I wish I knew, I’d only purchase my flower seeds from them. With all that is currently going on in our country, it is great to see this beautiful display of the American Spirit.

So, on this VETERAN’S DAY I want to thank all of the wonderful men and women, as well as their families, who have sacrificed to protect us and this great country. Our Veterans are very special; please take a moment to say a prayer for all of those who have and are currently serving in our armed forces so we may live in freedom. I also want to include the men and women in law enforcement and the EMS who keep us safe. ALWAYS THANK A VETERAN, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER or FIRST RESPONDER; it just doesn’t have to be today. When you see someone in a uniform tell them how much you appreciate their sacrifices to protect our Freedoms and Safety here in America. Give them a smile and say, “Thank YOU for what you’re doing to keep us safe in the USA!” 

With a HUGE HUG OF GRATITUDE to every Veteran who reads this,

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© Senkarik 2023

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COLORFUL HARMONY

A new piece for my Santa Fe gallery is up on my easel. I begin by sketching the basic plan on the canvas with a brush dipped in a thin oil mix of MUD (2 parts Ultramarine Blue + 1 part Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin Original. As you read through my blog please remember, you may click on any image to view it larger.

The sketch is complete, let’s get to painting…..

Several of you have asked if I use Oils or Acrylics. I prefer Oil Paints as Acrylics dry entirely too fast for me. Several mixtures of MUD + Cadmium Orange + Cadmium Yellow Medium + White are used to block in the adobe walls of this Southwest Courtyard.

The blossoms of the Wisteria draping over the gate have been painted with Dioxazine Purple + White and Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue + White. The leaves are then blocked in with different shades of Viridian Green + Cadmium Yellow Medium.

The darker portions of the gate are a mix of Cadmium Red Deep + Magenta, the sunlit parts are pure Cadmium Red Light. The tiny Hummingbird sipping nectar from the Petunias casts a shadow across the bright Red.

The brilliant green on the heads and backs of the Hummingbirds is Viridian + a little White.

The Petunias are several shades of Permanent Rose + White. On the left Matilija Poppies burst into bloom, beautifully contrasted by the Red Gate behind. The blossoms are combinations of White + Dioxazine Purple, White + Ultramarine Blue and White + Pthalo Blue. Foliage is made of Cadmium Orange + Pthalo Blue + White.

Highlights have been made on the crepe papery blooms with Pure White. The addition of the distinctive Cadmium Yellow centers shows why these are often called, “Fried Egg Flowers”.

The entire surface of the floor was covered first to establish the light and dark pattern on the tile. Next, lines separating the individual pavers are drawn into the wet paint with a fine liner brush dipped in the MUD + Liquin Original mixture.

The cheery wooden chair is painted with mixes of Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Orange + MUD, Cadmium Yellow Medium + MUD, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Lemon.

The whisper of Hummingbird wings, combined with all the fragrant flowers, brings COLORFUL HARMONY to this quaint entry garden in Santa Fe. Hope you’ll visit my studio again to see what’s coming up next on my easel.

To make it even easier to follow along, I invite you to subscribe to my blog. You’ll receive an email every time I publish a new post. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. Please keep in mind, to move through the blog when you get the posts, just CLICK on the small titles at the top of the page. The one on the right for the next post or the title on the left side for the previous session.

I appreciate you subscribing to my blog! With Big Hugs,

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© Senkarik 2023

www.senkarik.com