At Last!

 Back on February 17th  I completed the drawing for what I thought was going to be my next icon - a triptych of the Mother of God of the Burning Bush (or the Unburnt Bush) with flanking figures of the Prophet Moses and the Prophet Isaiah for the prayer corner of the little oratory in my studio.   

My plan was to pray and meditate on the theophany at Sinai during Lent when Roman Catholics read and ponder the Book of Exodus.  

It was a great plan, except that my Lent this year started on the 24th of February when I discovered that I couldn't move without being in terrific pain and ended up going down to Seattle for back surgery (I'm doing much, much better, thank you!) and a long recuperation.  

As October begins and the year is almost over, I'm grateful to say that this icon is finally underway.  This afternoon I finished applying the red ochre trace lines and shadows on each of the figures and backgrounds.  

If you are interested, please  join me as I post from time to time on this new project. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

 

In the Western Church we began singing the O antiphons last evening as the antiphon before and after the Magnificat.  Tonight we sang: O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and on Mount Sinai gave him your law.  Come and with outstretched arm redeem us.

.I had hoped to have finished this little Jesse Tree (which in the bottom left corner shows Moses and the Burning Bush) by the Fourth Sunday of Advent, but I completed it on the Fouth Sunday, which was just in time to look at it while praying tonight's antiphon.

 As always, praying with these images during Advent has given me it me much to ponder.  As we approach Christmas  I'm grateful to have brought this little Jesse Tree to completion.  A good project for this short season, since it is egg tempera on paper, which is much more quickly painted(at least for me) than an icon on a gessoed wooden panel.   

 

(Detail of the center image of the Mother of God and Jesus)