Praying Hands in Art -- A Dedication

Praying Hands (1508),
Albrecht Dürer

Before I ever asked her out on a date, my wife was working upstairs from my office in a data library behind Dutch doors. When I approached her desk, I immediately noticed a picture containing praying hands, so I asked her if she was a 'religious girl'. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a poster about being left-handed. Some icebreaker! In any case, my question, while puzzling, didn't scare her off.

Hands (and feet) are among the most expressive and challenging features of the body to capture. Let's explore more art dealing with praying.

An Elderly Man in Prayer
(1660), Rembrandt

The second painting shows An Elderly Man in Prayer, painted by Rembrandt. I love the overall texture of the somewhat monochromatic portrait, capturing the old age and beard of the subject. The softness and subtle treatment of light is less like a Rembrandt and more like a Degas.

The Angelus (~1857), Millet

The Angelus by Jean-François Millet shows a peasant couple praying over the grave of their dead child. This painting was studied and copied by Vincent Van Gogh. It may be seen in Paris at the Musée d'Orsay.

The Prayer (1882), Van Gogh

I've used The Prayer by Vincent Van Gogh in my pastels class for the portion where we use a limited color palette. I was inspired by a reproduction that my niece has in her dining room.

Grace (1918), Eric Enstrom

Similarly, Swedish-born American photographer, Eric Enstrom famously captured a photograph of Charles Wilden praying in 1918. It became the Minnesota state photograph in 2002. I love this because my wife was born in the 'North Star State'. You can see the story in the article, The story behind Minnesota’s official state photograph.

Drawing Hands (1948), M.C. Escher

I love the graphical illusions created by M.C. Escher. Although not praying, these hands are interesting and recognizable, and a standout example of his wonderful works. It's a drawing of a drawing.

Three Girls Praying (2015), Mccabe

I found this portrait of Three Girls Praying (2015) by Pamela Mccabe. It is reminiscent of the illustrations of Norman Rockwell. It makes me think of all the people who are praying for my wife as she (and our family) navigates through a tough illness.

While I don't know who painted this beach scene, the subjects remind me of my wife, her sister, and one of her two brothers. I'm dedicating this post to my wife as our family and friends pray for her recovery from a long and serious illness. I hope these images inspire you to pray for someone who needs it. Maybe it will inspire you to use art as a way of dealing with whatever life throws at you.

Recent Artwork -- Acrylics & Watercolors

J.P. at Bat (2023), Patterson

While vacationing in Palm Springs this year I completed two more paintings, one acrylic and one watercolor. The first is a portrait of Mariner shortstop, J.P. Crawford, last season's leadoff hitter for the Seattle-based baseball club. It was so well-received on Facebook that one of our long-time friends wants to buy it for her avid baseball fan husband.

During one of the ALCS playoff games, I captured an image from the TV, then painted it using acrylics. The forearm tattoo was challenging, and I am very pleased with how well the background fans turned out.

Benny and Moana (2023), Patterson

My friend from the Palm Springs City Dog Park commissioned me to do a portrait of his two dogs, Benny and Moana. I had planned to get a large canvas and use acrylics, but instead I decided to use 11"X15" watercolor paper and watercolors. My style has always been to build up layers of paint rather than using washes. I ended up gifting the portrait (unframed) to my fellow dog park patron. Per my research it was going to cost him ~$50 to purchase a matted frame, and I left it up to him to find one that he liked.

Chihuahua (unknown)

In the Airbnb where we stayed there was a large portrait of a dog hanging in one of the bedrooms. The artist chose to use bright, non-traditional colors for this abstracted version of a chihuahua. Someday I will try my hand at alternative color schemes.

Jeju & Bryce (2022), Patterson

I did try woodburning last year in my portrait of Jeju & Bryce. Shading is accomplished by using different sized tips and varying both the pressure and length of time on the wood surface. Hopefully, I didn't ruin the tip by dragging it along the surface. Most of the class chose to do mountain landscapes with black silhouetted evergreen trees. I suppose those scenes made for more useful charcutier boards!

Sketch + Dogs

Lake Sawyer Dogs
(2022), Patterson

You may remember my other portrait of our pets captured in this beautiful Lake Sawyer landscape from last February. I began the portrait in a Zoom class put on last year by PawsWithCause as a training for its volunteers. I was inspired by late TV painter, Bob Ross and his happy little bushes and trees.

Lilly (April 2022), Patterson

In April of last year, I painted a portrait of Lilly, a greyhound mix from a local animal shelter in Kirkland, Washington. My niece loved it enough to purchase it as a donation to PawsWithCause. She planned to display it on her desk at her office. I love the glassiness of her eyes and all the colors of her fur. The muted primary colors of the collar and background also work well in the composition.

Puzzles for PawsWithCause

I used a laminated print of the portrait in a puzzle I made for kids attending one of our farmers markets.

Lakeside Castle (2022), Patterson

Inspired by a landscape by one of the students who attended my September 2022 acrylics class at Franke Tobey Jones' Senior University, here's my very first attempt at using Paint3D on my desktop PC. It was particularly challenging to use a mouse on a PC instead of a stylus on a tablet.

View from Cedar Butte (2022), Patterson

Then, in October of last year, I recreated this painting of the view from Cedar Butte trail using Paint3D. Eventually, I will purchase a tablet and stylus, and try my hand as portraits instead of the less precise use of a mouse.