From...the good, bad and ugly ..... to completed

Several weeks ago, I was asked if I would like to participate in an Advent celebration. Of course, I wanted to, but wasn`t exactly sure what that was all about. During the next few days, I was sent  readings and scripture that the painting is supposed  to be based on. Luke 1:26-38 was the scripture.   I thought about it for several days.... then came up with the "Love Letters" idea.  Jesus is God`s love letter to us...I wanted to use some old love letters that I had from my parents and grandparents, under the picture to have for my collage...So the quest was on to find exactly what I wanted to use and for it all  to represent what  the angel told Mary that day,"You will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”I found what I wanted to use.... even a copy of the marriage certificate for my grandparents... 100 year old church bulletin.... all because of His love for us... it is possible....so I put those on the canvas then with the palette knife, I started the layers...Still not knowing what it was going to look like at this point but knew I wanted to include Mary`s face, with baby Jesus and somehow, the angel would be in there....sketches and early paint layer... I told you it would be ugly. That is a true word in art, the ugly stage.... sometimes it has to go there in order to emerge.... So here that stage is.... colors, that don`t go together, just to get some layers down... and build on them..I used the palette knife to get thick layers of neutrals going, with a touch of blue and my favorite.. paynes grey.....It was starting to come to being... the angel , kind of plain but I used a new stencil to add a decorative layer around her halo... I was almost liking Mary`s dress, using a stencil to highlight the neck , but then on second look, I didn`t like the pink... and the baby, was kind of at a funny angle for Mary`s arms to be holding him, and in my mind, I wanted to show her hands holding the baby, and they were not there yet....I added the city in the horizon, and that was ok.. but looking at her, she didn`t have any shoulders, and her hand was way too high and too big, I think,. oh my..... after all the time I spent on that silly hand.... looks like it was going to have to go..So, I pulled out the gesso, and whited it all out... Sniff, sniff.... just left one hand showing Then, started sketching again, the baby, at a slightly different tilted angle....I added the blanket more around his head and gave him a little fuzz for his hair.... and her dress, the pink is gone.... and I like the bluish grey much better to blend in with the background..Yay, I got to use my stencil again, with the paynes grey color to add some detail to the dress around the neck.  I really enjoy this new stencil from stencilgirls stencils   here...... http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Chevron-Doily-Maria-McGuire-p/s195.htmI added some arms and hands to the angel... and finished up Mary, and I think this is a about ready to be turned it... I may see something tomorrow to change, but for tonight, she is finished.... I will seal tomorrow..... I may want to add some words somewhere....Happy to be linked with Alexandra at Sunday Sketches.... http://bluechairdiary.blogspot.com/I hope you all have a wonderful new week..                                                                         Love, Jane