Filipina Senorita
Whenever there was a special celebration in the Cathedral Church, the youth of the parish in Balanga, Philippines were asked to dress up in traditional attire. This young woman was wearing traditional Spanish clothing with bold stripes and bright shawl. She added much feminine decor to the pomp and circumstance.
Fresh as a Daisy
Daisies, the pretty field flowers, are ever interesting to paint. I keep practicing to get more beautiful shadows on the petals, and I am not always successful. This painting is almost entirely from imagination; only the bottle is something I had on hand. Praise God who embroiders the meadows with such cheerful loveliness.
Sew What
These colorful spools of thread are ready to spin off bright threads for any mending or creating. Sometimes I wonder if they are beginning to represent a dying art of hand made clothing. I think only the “hobbyists” can keep the art alive. Sew on and sew on….
Check Pointe
Strong and cool back-light floods into this warm room where a ballerina checks the fit of her shoe before the performance. I never tire of the gestures and lines of the human form, even when painted informally as in this imaginative scene. Her satiny shoes will no doubt be completely worn out after one night on stage, part of the “residue” of the art.
Chapel of Bliss Barangay
A Barangay is a small neighborhood in the Philippines; it is where families live closely together in communities helping and sustaining one another. In this scene a grandmother, or a “lola” is watching over a child, perhaps a granddaughter. Design of dark and against light and cool against warm was the plan to show off the central figures with their dark hair. Their local place of worship was called “The Chapel of Bliss,” and the name carried over to the barangay.
