Painting The Choir

The Choir was created for the 2018 Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod West Regional Choral Festival. Oil painting is one of my first loves, as far as art mediums go, so this was a great joy to create. The gathering was hosted that year by Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School (MVL), my own high school alma mater where I was the faculty art teacher for many years. I was commissioned by Jon Hermanson, MVL choral director, to create an image for use in program covers, invitations, and marketing materials. 

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The concept creation for this work was a journey. After a multitude of drawings and sketches across 2017 and 2018, I wandered a stumbling path to what I finally created.

Initially, I visualized the concert theme of “Grace, Mercy, Peace” using allegorical figures. For example, I imagined Mercy portrayed by an executioner dropping his sword. I had a concept showing Peace as a bird sleeping contentedly on a branch before a raging waterfall. However, that approach felt a little forced. 

When it came down to it, I ended up following a trail to what was right in front of me. I realized there were models available at the high school, and thankfully a few of them volunteered to don different choir robes in a preliminary photoshoot. These multi-angle snapshots were the foundation of the final artwork. The image that emerged is a celebration of the diversity and faithful community brought together by the festival from twelve area Lutheran high schools and prep schools from across Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Florida, Arizona, and Washington.

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The process I used for this painting was rooted in a European academic style. The word for this might be “grisaille” or underpainting, which means the painting progressed in increments. The whole painting moved forward gradually in stages.

The first stage was a drawing, finding the basic image and outline. Values were filled in on top of that drawing, using shades of ultramarine blue, a deep blue color pigment (historically made by grinding precious stones of lapis lazuli). Once the blue stage was dry, I reached the grisaille, or underpainting stage.

Having the dark and light values established enabled me to see the whole image more clearly. From there I was able to add the final layer of paint on top much more swiftly. I started with the choir robes, which I researched from each participating school. The flesh tones came next throughout the painting, and then I revisited each unique face adding individual traits to each figure.  

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In the final stages, I added the surrounding ornamentation and atmosphere. The gold leaf-like detail was a surprise addition, even to me. It’s something that gives the painting much more depth and richness, and more importantly rewards in-person viewers with a unique level of luminosity.

For more specifics about my process, additional views of the painting, and more behind-the-scenes details of this oil painting be sure to watch this episode of The Process.

To see the original post and other artistic musings, visit www.jjjaspersen.com/blog or follow us on social media @JJJaspersen.