Noah's Reckoning (Process)

I painted a well-known Bible hero named Noah for my fourth illustration. "It was by faith Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith" (Hebrews 11:7 NLT). I decided to paint Noah sitting by a great big tree, pondering the complications of building the ark while working with some rope. Beside him are tools of his trade and two doves and in the background are some goats looking towards the half-built ark up on the hill.

Research

I found a lot of paintings of Noah and the Ark but many were told with lots of African animals and a triumphant boat on a hill. I knew I wanted to paint Noah's story as he struggled with the calculations for the boat's construction and how to practically go about it. I also watched some clips of the movie "Evan Almighty" for inspiration.

Thumbnails

Kazu (www.kazusano.com) mentioned going to a costume shop for resources for the photo shoot. I was also inspired to look at the surroundings more; birds, weather, string, how Noah was interacting with the wood, and what the construction of the Ark would be.

Photo Shoot

For the photo shoot I used my friend Michael Penland who dressed up in robes I purchased again at Ross. We shot on location at a park in San Francisco which had lots of big trees for inspiration. His modelling helped as he got into character and tried to figure out how to chop down trees to build the ark.

Comps

Some questions were asked about the instruments Noah might have used to make calculations and build the ark. Would there be crude instruments, ropes, and how did Noah use them? Also, would there be something visual that signifies that rain is coming?

Final

Kazu mentioned that my final painting was my best thus far, but there were various critiques about the size of the face, the shape of the boat and the background that I addressed in subsequent revisions.

Noah's Reckoning

"It was by faith Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith." Hebrews 11:7 NLT

Sarah Laughs (Process)

The third illustration I completed is based on the text: "It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead - a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them" (Hebrews 11:11 NLT). Sarah is depicted in her tent in the wilderness, laughingly pondering the promise of God as she dips her hand in a bowl of water. At the entrance to the tent is her husband Abraham's other wife, Hagar with her baby, Ishmael.

Research

For this painting I looked at references of other paintings of Sarah and read passages of the Bible that referenced the same situation. I found tassels that would work well for her head dress as well as a bowl and vase for her surroundings.

Thumbnails

In the thumbnails I was encouraged to look at the surroundings and think about the symbolism of the baby that Sarah wanted. Would she hold a piece of fruit, an egg, some sand, the stars? How did she feel about it?

Photo Shoot

I used a pastor at my church, Catherine Avenel, for my model. The photo shoot went well on location in my apartment as Catherine helped me by getting into character quite easily and working with the props I had on hand like pouring sand from a vase and dipping her hands in a bowl of water.



Comps

For these studies Kazu (www.kazusano.com) encouraged me to look at details, lilke the age of Sarah, and Hagar in the tent opening.

Final

At the time of the final painting I was asked to make Sarah look older but not like a witch at a seance. Also, to study candle light to make it more believable. I also developed the sky value and color temperature to enhance the mood.

Sarah Laughs

"It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead - a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them." Hebrews 11:11 NLT

Moses towards Midian (Process)

The second illustration I completed was about Moses. The text that accompanies is: "It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27 NLT). The character of Moses is depicted in the desert outside of Egypt, looking not toward the country of his youth, but out towards the wilderness of Midian, his new home.

Research

I looked at many photos of Ancient Egypt, including the Pyramids at Giza, the Sphinx and was greatly inspired by the visuals of the film "The Prince of Egypt" (based on the same character of Moses).

Thumbnails

I looked at the details of the character and his surroundings: What was he thinking exactly? What is he carrying? Does he stand out or blend in? Is he put together well or a little disheveled?

Photo Shoot

I bought a pussy willow branch to use as his staff and again utilized cheap fabrics from Ross for the costume. My model was a friend named Enrique Rosales who has a atypical look for the character of Moses. We shot on location on the roof of my church.



Rejected Value Studies

I struggled with finding the perfect photo to work from for this painting. I shot many photos but went through two scenes before I came up with the final composition. I also missed a class as I went on a trip for Spring Break 2009 and had to make it up with Kazu (www.kazusano.com) on a different day. Kazu mentioned how Moses looked sad and not determined or heroic enough.

Comps

I addressed surrounding details like the color and shape of the pyramids, the historicity of the costuming details and kept working on drawing refinement.



Final

I struggled with the final painting of Moses. I had little reference for the surrounding desert and the lighting for the pyramids was weak in my mind. I repainted the pyramids at least three times to get the correct shade and Kazu urged me to work on creating distance and depth within this work. Also, my reference photo for this painting had covered up the characters feet so I had to add them in order to solidify Moses on the landscape.

In Rahab's Window (Process)

The first painting I completed is based on the character of Rahab. The accompanying text is: "It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies" (Hebrews 11:31 NLT). Rahab is pictured in the window of her dwelling in the wall of the ancient city of Jericho, letting the two spies out to freedom on pieces of red fabric.

Research

As I began this section I found that the main idea I wanted to portray about these characters is that their stories were accessible. I wanted everyone to be able to relate to their emotional human struggles. I also realized that each of these biblical characters have the element of being unfinished and this should encourage the viewer to interact. I didn't want to portray just the triumph of victory but the struggles beforehand. I looked up various other portraits of Rahab and found reference for Israelite architecture and costume to help tell the story.



Thumbnails

As I intended to paint these illustrations for a horizontal layout in a book Kazu (www.kazusano.com) recommended using vertical elements to break up the space. Also, adding architectural elements and some danger in the distance.

Photo Shoot

I used a friend named Shavon Grayson as my model for Rahab and we did our photo shoot on location at my church one evening. I found cheap fabric and jewelry at Ross as it was easier than travelling by bus or train to a costume shop. Shavon emoted well helping me to feel the character's real emotions.



Comps

I was prompted to look at the shape of the moon and ask myself if there was more Arabic influence in the architecture, how much you can see of the spies, etc. I was also encouraged to look at the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" for further reference.

Final

A few issues I addressed in the final were: looking at the movement of the curtain, the details in the foreground, the brickwork, and how various parts of the painting capture the light.

Red Sea (Process)

My fifth illustration was completed in the Fall semester of 2009 because of a funeral in my family at the end of the Spring semester. Also, I was intimidated by the size and subject matter. I painted the parting of the Red Sea based off of the verse: "It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned. (Hebrews 11:29 NLT)" Depicted are the traveling Israelites in the midst of a parted sea. In the distance the Egyptians following are only shown by fire and smoke.

Research

Because this project depicts an epic moment I felt intimidated by it and the odd sized layout of 16"x40" and didn't move forward with it during my first semester [of thesis work]. As I began to process the event I was to illustrate I gathered information about the Red Sea and the events surrounding that day. Kazu (www.kazusano.com) also encouraged m to try and think about the situation in a way that people haven't seen.

Thumbnails

My thumbnails detail two views of the event, one as Moses lifted his staff and the great waters parted. I knew that this moment had been depicted before and wanted something more interesting. The other thumbnail depicted the event as it was happening on the floor of the sea. This was closer to what I wanted and had more real emotion depicted in the characters. I was encouraged to portray reality not by style but by depiction and to look again at the details of the scene.

Photo Shoot

I first scheduled the photo shoot for early August [2009] but my models forgot and I had to reschedule. I used the Page family and Valonna Fowler on location at Ocean Beach, San Francisco later in August. It was chaotic working with two children but it helped me envision the chaos of the scene.



Comps

I developed the line drawings for this painting over a couple of weeks and added in more characters and storytelling elements as I went. I was encouraged to break up the ground plane to show the bottom of the ocean, and think about the time of day for the scene. As I went to the value and color comps I realized how complicated a scene I had produced and attempted to unify groups through value and the ground planes. The color choice became simple as I wanted to show both the greeny bluish tones of the sea interspersed with the fiery yellow reds of the light that led them through the ocean.



Final

I finally obtained the correct size of wood through a classmate that had access to a hardware store. I had long worried about obtaining the right sized wood in time to paint it as I couldn't locate it myself.

The painting process occurred over the majority of my final semester [Fall 2009]. I laid in the wash of the blues to the oranges first from left to right and then began to describe local colors and values to each of the subjects. I was encouraged to do whatever I could to portray the majesty, awe and depth of this scene. I worked on many different elements at once and added some texture in the foreground later in the process.

Red Sea

"It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. Buy when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned." Hebrews 11:29 NLT

Moses towards Midian

"It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible." Hebrews 11:27 NLT

In Rahab's Window

"It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." - Hebrews 11:31 NLT