Cristo Crucificado/Happy Birthday Velázquez

After several weeks of contemplation, studying, and working, the Crucifixion piece is completed with a few minor touch-ups and edits to finish later. 
The complete palette used for this piece was as follows:  Raw umber, burnt sienna, French ultramarine, titanium white, lapis lazuli, Venetian red, and alizarin crimson.

Cristo Crucificado
oil on canvas
40x30 inches
2013

Now, the tricky part will be to frame this piece.  It is on a larger, 1.5 inch stretcher, so a custom frame will be needed, and will probably be pricey.  But we'll worry about that later.  I am just happy the painting is finished, and hoping something good will come of it.  I'm not used to larger canvases like this, and the last thing I want is for this thing to be sitting around and simply being a show piece.  My hope is, and has always been, to sell everything I paint.

So one bit of fun news, to change the subject, is that today is the observed birthday of my favorite Master, Diego de Velázquez.  I just finished a fantastic book about him and his work called Velazquez - The Technique of Genius.  It is authored by Jonathan Brown, the foremost expert of Velázquez as a historical figure, and Carmen Garrido, an expert of Velázquez's technique as a painter.  So the book discusses both the historical context, and the materials and techniques that Velázquez used for 30 of his works.  Like I said, it is a magnificent resource and it was great to learn so much more about him as an artist, and the approach he took in painting those awesome works.

So anyway, more to come soon.  Later on I will be posting my next exhibition announcement, so stay tuned.