Noah's Ark, Part 7

One more detail shot...

And the painting is done! This tallit (prayer shawl is 22 x 70 inches). In Part 8, you'll see the happy recipient...

Noah's Ark, Part 6

Finishing up the details...(click image for larger view)

Noah's Ark, Part 5

Corner Patches...

John draws the animals

My father John always has pen and paper ready to go, and is inspired by almost anything. Sometimes he gets better ideas than the one I'm working on... Here's a couple of his suggestions for "Noah's Ark."

Noah's Ark, Part 4

The fun is in trying to get each animal doing something just a little bit different than the next...(click image for larger view)

Noah's Ark, Part 3

I've stretched the silk piece, which when hemmed will be 22 x 70 inches. The area where the animals and letters will be has been prepared with anti-flow. I've written most of the Hebrew Cursive Calligraphy, and outlined all the animals with colored dyes, and used colored gutta for the clouds' outline.
Now the painting fun begins. The rainbow colors needed to blend together, just like a watercolor wet into wet, so there's no anti-flow in those areas.
Rendering the animals is time consuming, but it's so fun to see them come to life. Click on any picture for a larger view. Stay tuned for Part 4...!

Noah's Ark, Part 2

A little bit of painting and calligraphy practice before I stretch the large piece of silk... In order to paint the detail work, you need to apply some anti-flow to the silk before you paint.

The Story of Noah's Ark, Part 1

In the Bible, Noah's ark begins with a conversation between God and Noah. This is how it begins for me, after a conversation with a bright, lovely 13 year old and her classy grandma. Sort of a mess of books and photos and paper and tracing paper...
The drawing takes shape slowly. Some pieces need to be drawn and redrawn, so they are just the right size to fit in with all the others....Finally, the drawing comes together. You need to click on the image in order to get an idea of what's going on. Part two coming soon....