After moving from the United States in 1994 to France, a country that cherishes past and present, I started incorporating that juxtaposition in my subject matter. Into that mix, I am now adding the element of tributes to influencing factors in my life. The Blessing of the Animals is an homage to the presence of animals, family, and spiritual support in my life, plus to the techniques, compositions and art traditions of the Primitive Flemish Masters. Always, we rest on the shoulders of those masters who came before us.
Like all my work, this painting is created entirely by hand with no mechanical means. Though the setting is my church in Paris, the American Cathedral, the painting is not an exact recreation even while retaining most of the elements of the cathedral including the multiple lighting sources. Emulating those masters and for compositional consideration, I’ve altered perspective and scale to make the image more pleasing to the viewer’s eye. Though some people and animals from past services been incorporated, the majority are drawn from decades of my own source material. Utilizing the techniques of the past, including grinding my own paint, my first layer is a burnt umber rendition followed by three layers of color and final scumbling and glazing. Painted on mahogany board and though almost 60 centimeters wide, it is basically a miniature and was eight years in the making.