I had toyed with the idea of illustrating some of the fascinating stories in the Holy Bible for some time. Basically, I want to create illustrations that are easy to create and yet nice to look at.
… Nebuchadnezzar went to battle with his army against King Arphaxad, and conquered him in the campaign.
One of the stories that fascinate me is the Book of Judith. It tells an account of the God inspired bravery and self sacrifice of a beautiful woman called Judith.
I have just started with two illustrations, just to test out the medium that I want to use – oil pastels. I want to work very fast and loose. This is a new medium for me. But I am attracted to it because the colors are pure, and there is no mixing of colors like in watercolors which sometimes becomes muddy. The effect is very much like an oil painting and the technique is also like an oil painting – working from dark to light.
… he burned all their fields, scattered all their animals and killed the young ones, pillaged their villages, devastated their plains, and put all their young men to the sword.
I happen to have quite a good number of old papers which were getting yellowish. These cannot be used for watercolor anymore, so I thought why not do it in oil pastels?
I consider the results to be quite satisfactory. I prayed before I started this endeavor and the guiding hand of God made the results worthwhile. If all goes well, I intend to make it into an e-book.
Meanwhile, The Book of Judith can be found at the menu pages at the top of this blog. I have started with the beginning two chapters. More will be coming in the days to come…