Pantocrator Hanging

I’m working on a hanging for a parish in Charlottesville – here are some in progress pictures, and I’ll post more as it gets more detail.  It’s 6 by 10 feet, oil on Canvas.

I’ve reordered the photos to put the most recent work first.  I’ve been working on the face, hair, and hands.

May 1 – Over the past week I have been focusing completely on the face.  As far as I am concerned, if the face is not right, then it doesn’t matter how good or bad the rest of it is.  So, what I do is spend a lot of time just staring…and then I decide how I want to change the expression so it conveys what I want.  In this case, I decided the eyes were too wide, and the mouth was not gentle enough, and the eyebrows were not sufficiently questioning.  I am looking for an expression that is inviting, not scary, but still full of mystery, as well as challenging.

I’ve been adding lines and lettering, working some more on the face.  It’s getting close to done.