A Commission for our church choir is next on my list of works in progress. It is quite large about 30x40 and will hang in the hallway between the choir loft and the third floor offices at Ss. Peter and Paul Church.

This first photo is a very rough draft early on in the painting. I started with a really loose back ground painting in blue, yellow and orange. The image is St. Cecilia the patron saint of choirs. She was a very early saint in the church. Way back in Roman times. I plan a sweeping line of text from one of the psalms across the lower quarter of the painting that will say something about singing to the Lord. That is to be determined yet. I also want to use some gold leaf on the halo on the saint and a few other places on the painting.

 This second photo is after several days of work. I decided to make Cecilia's gown blue and purple to calm the color down a bit. I have worked on the angels on the right side although the work doesn't show well in this photo. The paper words at the bottom are there for me to determine where I will letter the psalm. They are moved around a bit so I could paint under them. The swirls at the top are an inspiration from Starry Night by Van Gogh. Not sure if I will leve them in or make them darker so there is just a hint of the movement. I should have quite a few days this week to work on the painting. An up date will come later.