A.R. Danziger, Art & Design

I'm excited to announce that my painting "Seattle Apocalypse" has been in two shows now.   The first was the Southwest Artist Showcase at the Southwest branch of the Seattle Public Library in October 2021. The second is happening right now until February 10th, 2022.  It's an online international exhibition entitled "EXTINCTION - 2021: Save the Planet", featuring art with environmental themes.   The link to the exhibition is here (I'm #27 in the ranked sort!):  Gallerium: Extinction - 2021 | Smart Online Exhibition My page where you can purchase the piece is here:  Gallerium: Extinction - 2021 | Seattle Apocalypse

  I actually sketched out this painting 5 years ago and just got around to painting it in March during the first COVID-19 lockdown.  My sense of humor comes out when it seems like the end is nigh: During the Middle Ages, illustrated commentaries on the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) were quite popular. This piece uses the common conventions for representing the angel blowing the second trumpet (Rev 8:8) but I added details that make it more personal to my experience of living in Seattle.  There are some days when Mt. Rainier is visible from the West Seattle bridge, but the base is obscured by clouds that make it appear to hover in the air.  The fish are sockeye salmon...the dead ones have red pigmentation at the end of their life cycle. The land is covered in native wildflowers; trillium and fringe cup. Also white star flowers and coastal wormwood to forshadow the next trumpet. Here's the same scene from the Cloisters Apocalypse (14th centruy A.D.) for comparison:

The winners of the Apocalypse Prize art contest have been announced. Congratulations, Joseph Moats! http://www.apocalypseprize.com/IntroToGallery.html Here is the complete gallery of entries: http://www.apocalypseprize.com/photoGallery2.html ...and the highlights of everyone's work. I'm honored to be considered a Fellow of the Apocalypse Prize. http://www.apocalypseprize.com/BestOfEverything.html Here are the 3 paintings that I entered: The Adoration of the 24 Elders (Acrylic and metal leaf on panel board, 24" x 24") The Adoration of the 24 Elders (Detail) The Harlot Riding the Beast (Acrylic on panel board, 12" x 12") The Marriage of the Lamb  (Acrylic and metal leaf on panel board, 12" x 12") I already loved medieval illuminated manuscripts, especially in the Gothic style, so I jumped at the opportunity to really research them in-depth to learn how to create works of art in continuity with the conventions of tra...

I'm doing a little research for a drawing I'd like to make of St. Francis receiving the Stigmata. I'm trying to see if there's a traditionally accepted iconography...figures, objects, postures, symbols, etc. that help tell the story, teach sound doctrine, and are consistent throughout Catholic art. I came across three examples by three artists that I very much enjoy. Going chronologically we have...  Giotto (c. 1295-1300, Italian) Van Eyck (c. 1430-1432, Netherlands) El Greco (c. 1585-1590) In each, there are definitely similarities. St. Francis wears the Franciscan habit of course, he is generally kneeling, displays Christ's wounds in his own praying hands, and is confronted by a vision of a 6-winged seraph bearing a crucifix. The differences are striking as well.  Giotto is painting during the Gothic era, and his image bears a Byzantine influence common to Italian painting at that time. St. Francis and Christ look almost like icons against a guilded backg...