A.R. Danziger, Art & Design

It looks like St. George's Day gets the Google treatment: Here's an article from The Independent: Google Doodle flies the flag with tribute to St George's Day 2013 Though the lettering is not, as the article claims, derived from the Bayeux Tapestry . Those are called historiated initials , and they are a feature of illuminated manuscripts.  You can see the tapestry for yourself: An image that has been floating around the internet lately that really was created in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry would be this brilliant piece of Star Wars fan art: link to original image: http://jibasse.deviantart.com/#/art/Nerdy-Bayeux-Tapestry-366253120?hf=1 So, as I was saying, Happy St. George's Day; and don't forget, a little bit of medieval cultural literacy goes a long way towards a proper understanding of internet humor.

If you're a busy mom like me, and only have time for research while your children are sleeping, there are great resources out there for exploring the great art museums and libraries of the world. Here are two I've been playing with this week: Digital Public Library of America Google Art Project Next week I'll post some of the images I've compiled from these sources. For now, check out the Sobieski Book of Hours (1420-1425) http://g.co/artproject/dxec

Well, that was a pretty ominous last post!  Here we are almost a year later and I haven't written a single blog entry. I went into labor a few hours after Easter dinner and had a brand new baby boy by morning of the next day! Then I was hospitalized with a serious infection for 2 weeks. After many antibiotics, and many prayers (including the anointing of the sick from our priest), I got to come home and my dear husband helped me work my way back up to caring for our two little ones. So, I'm not dead, just insanely busy and grateful for every moment of it! I'm especially grateful to the ladies who write the blog  Like Mother, Like Daughter for sharing their insights about life which helped me think through the priorities and logistics of caring for my growing family this year. I thought I'd kick off my return to blogging by jumping into their blog link-up. Their weekly theme is called {pretty, happy, funny, real}, which is a great way to categorize what I've been ...

Christ on the Cross by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Since it's Lent, I'll draw your attention to a wonderful article on Raphael's Crucifixion and the Mass by David Clayton, featured on New Liturgical Movement: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2012/03/mass-portrayed-in-raphaels-crucifixion.html The only thing I have to add is what one of my priests mentioned recently in a lecture about the Tridentine Mass. There are 3 spiritual levels to this painting, which recalls the 3 steps the priest ascends to the altar My apologies for lack of posts lately. I'm about to have a baby any day now so I've been conserving my energy and activities.  I have managed to complete one sample illustration to be submitted to publishers with a friend's manuscript for a children's book on the Parables.  Hopefully I'll be able to post it in the future.

Drawing and painting skills used to be passed down from master to apprentice throughout the centuries. Students were thoroughly trained by drawing first from plaster casts and sculptures, next by copying the works of great masters, and finally moving to the live model. Today's art students are hard pressed to find a school that will teach good foundational skills before expecting them to churn out original concepts. But, for a person with a mind to learn the skills of the great masters, there are great resources out there: 1) Take a class at an atelier!  If you're lucky enough to live in or near a major city, chances are you live near a workshop taught by one of the rare few descendants of the atelier/academy system. Nothing beats experience with a live model and a live instructor that can point out how to improve your work during the process. There is a list of recommended ateliers, schools, and classes at the Art Renewal Center website: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/ateli...

I hope everyone is having a blessed Advent season. Here's another photo of the advent wreath I put together for my family: More blog entries to follow soon, I promise!

Hello again! I recently had the chance to make good scans of some pen and ink projects I completed over the past few months. Here's a "master copy" of El Greco's St. Francis Recieving the Stigmata. I used pen and ink plus ink wash: Here is the completed St. Patrick drawing. I used cotton vellum paper to trace up the celtic knot border, pencil drawing of St. Pat, and text and make them one finished image:   And finally, here is St. Thomas Aquinas, the same as before, but a better quality scan: They are all formatted to the same size so that I can add them easily to my portfolio website the next time I make updates.