To me, Mary dances the Magnificat. The Magnificat is Mary’s song of Thanksgiving after the angel Gabriel comes to tell her she will become the mother of the Messiah (the Annunciation). When I read Mary’s Magnificat song in Luke 1:46-55, the language is so exuberant that I can’t imagine her standing still.
My newest Marian painting “Interrogatio: Inquiry” depicts that moment of questioning “How can this be?” when the angel announced the Christ’s coming to Mary at the Annunciation. Mary’s vulnerability before God is represented here by the nude female figure. The grand space of the architecture represents God’s overpowering presence. The architecture also becomes a metaphor for Mary herself, often referred to in medieval texts as the Temple or dwelling place of the Lord because of her role in the Incarnation.
The set of three paintings is a visual accompaniment to the poetry of Angela Alaimo O’Donnell. The publication asked me to complete three paintings to accompany O’Donnell’s poem “Christ Sightings: A Triptych”.
Since I recently began painting figures on metal leaf , I thought the “Red, White and Blue” exhibit would be a good moment to continue the challenge. In the drawings I leave the backgrond completely blank, allowing the lines to carry all of the expressive power of the figure. In a similar way, in the gold silhouettes I am using the gold for the negative space.
About eight years ago pen and ink became my medium of choice for figure drawing. I love the way the ink flows from the nib. The warm browns of the walnut ink create a more lifelike color story in the ink figure drawing than black ink.
My newest series of Gold Silhouette paintings are meant to be contemporary icons, modern interpretations of traditional icons. Whether architecture or figure, even landscape, my work has always centered on a theme of convergence between heaven and earth. Similarly, these new mixed media pieces juxtapose the expressive minimalist quality of my figure drawings with the other-worldly materials of metal leaf and paint inspired by iconography.
Failure in figure drawing can be a result of mislaid expectations. Beyond the appearance of the subject lies mystery, memory and beauty.
One of the miracles of creative collaboration is the momentum it creates, continuing to create new work beyond what was originally envisioned. After the model session, once my drawing was photographed and titled and shared, Olivia wrote this poem in response to the drawing.
The group of yoga illustrations can be viewed at: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/33yogiillustrations/. A beautiful collection of artworks inspired by Katy Sainz’s Instagram feed, it really becomes an art exhibit, just like a group show in a gallery exhibit it is organized around a theme.
Art Exhibits Outside the Box From July 14 to August 9, 2017 my Mind-Body-Spirit Series will be on exhibit at The Art of Yoga Yoga Studio in Columbus, OH. This exhibit…
In every model, old or young, large or small, male or female, I see one God’s amazing creations. In the process of drawing I try to capture just one small portion of the magnificence, delicacy, and beauty of what He made.
Curated by Leslie Tane, there will be seven other artists participating in the exhibit entitled “Gaze” at ArtSpace Maynard in Maynard MA from April 6-29, 2016. Several of my…
Drawing Proportion Figure Drawing has always been an anchor for me. It was how I began my serious study of art when I was a Freshman at Gordon College….
Another drawing from my figure drawing session a couple of weeks ago. This pose was extremely difficult: the “corpse pose”, as it is known in yoga. Initially I was sitting…
Last night I attended the second session of a workshop on Drawing Figures from the Imagination: Anatomy Simplified, offered by Damon Lehrer of the Boston Figurative Art Center. The idea…
Back to the Figure Drawing board, anyway! It has been soooooo long since I went to figure drawing group and I have missed it! I have also continued to sell…
I love having a model with a shaved head because I am able to see the structure of the head so much more clearly. In this drawing we can see the beautiful way in which the ink bleeds across the wet paper.
Click Here to Purchase. Shaundra Reclining. In this drawing I like how I managed to simplify the hands and feet just by using a few careful lines. Hands and feet can be overwhelmingly complicated.
The Boston Figurative Art Center is sponsoring at juried exhibit at Sloane-Merrill Gallery in Boston on the theme of “Back to Back”.
I use a traditional pen nib with walnut ink for these drawings. I love the way the old-fashioned pen provides such variation in the lines – variation of thickness, weight, and value. The line has its own cadence as it moves around the figure.
Another drawing from the Tuesday night session. I love the unpredictability of ink. It can be a very controlled media, but but I often prefer to let it have its own life.
After several months pause from work I am getting back into things again. Miriam Rose Paine was born October 30, 2012 and she is beautiful.
This summer has been a wonderful summer for figurative art – both in my own work and in Boston! I have been regular attending a few figure drawing groups and really enjoying the opportunity to really engage with the figure outside the classroom. I have been so busy the last couple of years teaching my figure classes that I haven’t actually taken much opportunity.
© 2025 Michelle Arnold Paine.
