Need Ideas and feedback for artwork I'm making

[Seven77]

 I am making a holy card in honor of my sister who is making her final profession as a Sister of Life. Her name is Sister Grace Dominic and the theme of the card will be mercy and grace,  which ties into her name and the Jubilee year of mercy.

I wanted to have beams of fire shooting out from the Holy Spirit. I also wanted to have the crucifix in the midst of water (like an ocean) and some vegetation or vines showing the bearing of fruit (kind of reminiscent of that passage in Revelation and/or in Ezekiel that talks about water from the side of the Temple flowing to the roots of trees, giving growth. But I don't know how to incorporate that into the picture.

Also, I showed the picture to my sister as is. She wasn't really sure about the idea of having 2 "Jesuses"  I also wanted to put a depiction of Our Lady but I'm not sure about that anymore. I might take her out as well the crucifix because they don't seem to flow the way I have them in the picture. I made another icon image for a sister a few years ago and I originally envisioned something like that… you can see it here.

The one that I'm making for my sister is here, attached… it's a work in progress so everything's not perfect :

 

[KnightofChrist]

Perhaps you should try turning the flames around the other direction. So they point outward from the Holy spirit than inward.

It looks like you've put a lot of time and work into the Christ figures you have now. So I hate to suggest omitting any of them. However since your sister is entering into the Sisters of Life, perhaps instead using the Christ child and Our Lady of Guadalupe holding Him as the center figure? Then perhaps two other pro-life centered Saints on either side. Or to make it easier baby angels, kind of like in the picture below, then you'd only really need to draw one or two for one side and then duplicate the angels and mirror them for the other side. 

For the background you could incorporate a temple with water flowing from it (or something else like a pattern). Making in more like line art or wood cut. Then take that  illustration fade it out or make it transparent. Like the attached image of Pius XII.

You could incorporate vines/plant life in a boarder or frame. Like this for example: 

Hope that helps and God bless.

eta: I don't think it would take to much editing to adapt the Our Lady of Guadalupe you have now to hold the Christ child. You could also edit her to show Christ in the womb as some other icons do.

Like this one for example.

[Seven77]

  If I had to choose between them, I would choose the Divine Mercy figure to commemorate the Jubilee Year. Also, I think it was her suggestion. I like your idea though, about Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Christ Child--- except, it's too similar to another image I made for the Sisters (see link above) on the occasion of a final profession. I wanted to do something different for my sister.  I was thinking about making panels as seen on some icons, a panel with Our Lady and another one with the Crucified Lord.

13 hours ago, KnightofChrist said:

 I like the idea of a Temple in the background and the vine border. Thanks for the suggestions.  Something that I'm having trouble figuring out is the color scheme... right now I have a lot of orange and yellow--- would introducing other colors like green interfere with the overall appearance? 

Other responses are also welcome.

[Gabriela]

You could make panels that include Christ at various stages of his life: Our Lady holding Him as a baby, then Him healing someone or exorcising someone (that's mercy), then the Crucifixion. You could have more than three panels, too, to put the Divine Mercy image in there somewhere.

I like the idea of the temple in the background with water flowing out. You could have the panels floating on the water, or surrounded by it or something.

I also like the idea of the flames being turned around.

If you do incorporate saints, you could use the founders of the Sisters of Life (not saints yet, I know, but still...).

[KnightofChrist]

1 hour ago, Seven77 said:

  If I had to choose between them, I would choose the Divine Mercy figure to commemorate the Jubilee Year. Also, I think it was her suggestion. I like your idea though, about Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Christ Child--- except, it's too similar to another image I made for the Sisters (see link above) on the occasion of a final profession. I wanted to do something different for my sister.  I was thinking about making panels as seen on some icons, a panel with Our Lady and another one with the Crucified Lord.

I'm not sure of the proper name, but yes I think a bifold icon would work nice.

1 hour ago, Seven77 said:

 I like the idea of a Temple in the background and the vine border. Thanks for the suggestions.  Something that I'm having trouble figuring out is the color scheme... right now I have a lot of orange and yellow--- would introducing other colors like green interfere with the overall appearance? 

Other responses are also welcome.

I'm not sure you are aware of Adobe Kuler/Adobe Color, but you can find color schemes using similar colors you are using now that would include a complimentary green. For example something like this: https://color.adobe.com/Yellow-Red-Blue-green-brown-color-theme-7270346/?showPublished=true

Of course they have many many others so you can search and search. https://color.adobe.com/explore/newest/

[Nihil Obstat]

Is the term you are searching for a diptych?

Edited June 23, 2016 by Nihil Obstat

[KnightofChrist]

2 minutes ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Is the term you are searching for a diptych?

Yes, and Triptych for three panels. Thank you. Of course it means the same thing though.

[Seven77]

 I feel like I might be trying to do too much in this image. There's just too much going on in it to be a cohesive whole.

 I forgot about consulting those color scheme sites... but I'm concerned about kind of uneven distribution of some of the colors, like the colors for Our Lady seem to be out of place because she is the only one in the image with those colors... Just doesn't seem right, unless I change the background color or something.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Seven77

[Gabriela]

1 hour ago, Seven77 said:

 I feel like I might be trying to do too much in this image. There's just too much going on in it to be a cohesive whole.

 I forgot about consulting those color scheme sites... but I'm concerned about kind of uneven distribution of some of the colors, like the colors for Our Lady seem to be out of place because she is the only one in the image with those colors... Just doesn't seem right, unless I change the background color or something.

When I read the OP, I also thought you were trying to include too much. Maybe try to get at the "essence" of your sister's vocation, and just make that one thing "pop"...?

[KnightofChrist]

16 hours ago, Seven77 said:

 I feel like I might be trying to do too much in this image. There's just too much going on in it to be a cohesive whole.

 I forgot about consulting those color scheme sites... but I'm concerned about kind of uneven distribution of some of the colors, like the colors for Our Lady seem to be out of place because she is the only one in the image with those colors... Just doesn't seem right, unless I change the background color or something.

Perhaps, perhaps not.

The painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in my first post uses a very similar color scheme that you are using and that you want to use (yellows, reds, browns, blues, greens) and there are many figures in the painting. Yet the painting is cohesive. I believe the artist accomplishes this by drawing our focus to the foreground figures/objects using by using brighter colors and using darker colors for the background figures/objects.

You could use a similar technique with your work still using a diptych or triptych approach. Honestly I think a triptych would be better. Because I still like your use of three figures with the Holy Spirit. It would be more balanced. The center piece would have the Holy Spirit and the Divine Mercy figures. And on the right Our Lady of Guadalupe and on the left some other figure.

You could have the Holy Spirit and Divine Mercy figures standing in the clouds (clouds are easy breezy) in bright colors and the light ambience directly around them also bright and as it gets further away it grows darker. Basically a radial gradient from bright to darker behind the figures. And you could also apply a gradient to the clouds whiter close to the figures and darker the further away from them.

Then just use the same technique for the other side or sides.

Or you could always go with the simplistic (simplistic isn't bad). Just have the Holy Spirit and Divine Mercy figures. Rays behind the Holy Spirit like you have now and a gradient and/or a simple star burst behind the Divine Mercy figure. And you could always have three separate icons.

[Seven77]

1 hour ago, KnightofChrist said:

Perhaps, perhaps not.

The painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in my first post uses a very similar color scheme that you are using and that you want to use (yellows, reds, browns, blues, greens) and there are many figures in the painting. Yet the painting is cohesive. I believe the artist accomplishes this by drawing our focus to the foreground figures/objects using by using brighter colors and using darker colors for the background figures/objects.

You could use a similar technique with your work still using a diptych or triptych approach. Honestly I think a triptych would be better. Because I still like your use of three figures with the Holy Spirit. It would be more balanced. The center piece would have the Holy Spirit and the Divine Mercy figures. And on the right Our Lady of Guadalupe and on the left some other figure.

You could have the Holy Spirit and Divine Mercy figures standing in the clouds (clouds are easy breezy) in bright colors and the light ambience directly around them also bright and as it gets further away it grows darker. Basically a radial gradient from bright to darker behind the figures. And you could also apply a gradient to the clouds whiter close to the figures and darker the further away from them.

Then just use the same technique for the other side or sides.

Or you could always go with the simplistic (simplistic isn't bad). Just have the Holy Spirit and Divine Mercy figures. Rays behind the Holy Spirit like you have now and a gradient and/or a simple star burst behind the Divine Mercy figure. And you could always have three separate icons.

 The painting that you posted is a very good example of a similar color scheme working effectively, yes. I think that you're onto something about using the bright to dark colors... and I do like the idea of the triptych, in fact, it was always in my mind for this illustration. The only thing though, I'm not sure who the 3rd figure should be. A crucified Jesus just doesn't seem to work because he is already represented. Would it be weird to have St. Peter's Basilica  (the Temple) as the 3rd figure, or would it throw off the balance? Another thing I'm considering, maybe have 2 doors hinged to the dark blue arch background of the Divine Mercy figure, opened up with left and right figures as embossed line art on the 2 doors.

[KnightofChrist]

1 hour ago, Seven77 said:

 The painting that you posted is a very good example of a similar color scheme working effectively, yes. I think that you're onto something about using the bright to dark colors... and I do like the idea of the triptych, in fact, it was always in my mind for this illustration. The only thing though, I'm not sure who the 3rd figure should be. A crucified Jesus just doesn't seem to work because he is already represented. Would it be weird to have St. Peter's Basilica  (the Temple) as the 3rd figure, or would it throw off the balance? Another thing I'm considering, maybe have 2 doors hinged to the dark blue arch background of the Divine Mercy figure, opened up with left and right figures as embossed line art on the 2 doors.

Well, I'm sure your sister has other Saints she likes, you could use one of those. For the Temple I was thinking an easy way to do it would be to have the temple represented by a simple box under the feet of Christ, and then have the water flow from it. I've seen this before but just thought of it. That would probably be better than having it in the background. Like this icon 'Cor Jesu' for example.

But then again I don't know how much you want the Divine Mercy Christ to be... well a copy of the original and how much of it will be your own original work of art based on one of the original icons/paintings. I think Jesus would be ok with it. The double doors may be a good idea, I've seen paintings of the Divine Mercy Christ standing in a doorway, and they use the same principle of light and dark to focus on the main figure. If you do use the doorway I think it would make since to have him just outside a Church or a building or house. Then you have your background. Like this for example

However if you do that I'm not sure my suggestion of the water flowing from under his feet would make sense then. But maybe it would. Also if you did this the boarders of the triptych could be represented by archways and columns of the outside of the Church/building/house and growing on those archways and columns could be the vines and plants. 

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by KnightofChrist

[Gabriela]

Why don't you have the Temple with water flowing from it, doors throw open, with the Divine Mercy image of Christ standing in the doorway, Mary on one door, and the founder of the Sisters of Life on the other door?

[Seven77]

2 hours ago, Gabriela said:

Why don't you have the Temple with water flowing from it, doors throw open, with the Divine Mercy image of Christ standing in the doorway, Mary on one door, and the founder of the Sisters of Life on the other door?

I'm not sure about putting Cardinal O'Connor, the founder of the Sisters of Life on it  because I might have difficulty drawing him. I was actually thinking about going with her confirmation St., St. Therese… I'm not sure if  the colors will balance with Our Lady: 

[Gabriela]

Here's a crazy thought: Put your sister in prayer on the other door!