Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. Today I’d like to share a little about the third piece in my Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection. It was a couple of months ago that I finished this artwork. It’s my depiction of a magnificent building in Innisfail called the Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church.
It was photographed a number of times
In my previous Buildings of the Cassowary Coast painting of the Johnstone Shire Hall, I mentioned how important reference photography is to me. Reference photography is where I finalise my composition.
Unlike all other buildings in my collection, I had to visit this building a number of times. It took me approximately 4 weeks to finalise the composition for this piece. Architecturally speaking, there is a lot to love about this building. But the composition, the area that speaks to me as my focus can take longer to identify.
In some cases, there are just so many areas to choose from. This is what occurred with the Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church building. Below is a few of the different reference images I captured.
The focal point for my composition of the Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church
Although I never polled the local Innisfail community, I think it would be fair to say that most people imagine the spires on top of the church when they think about this building.
These spires are interesting in that they are spiky. And I knew that I wanted to include them in my painting. During my multiple visits to the site, I was finally able to narrow in on the area of focus.
This composition had a beautiful mass of lines and form that I couldn’t overlook. The negative space created by the sky formed such a strong shape. There was a great balance between it and the positive space I’d chosen. It captured everything I was wanting to represent with this piece.
Other elements from outside the building
Many of the other buildings in my Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection feature internal aspects. This is the first building I have not done this with, opting instead to focus on the texture of the external building.
The Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church has a rendered cement appearance to its outer walls. The picture I’ve shared below may help to explain what I am describing. I love the tactility of this texture. I couldn’t help touching the walls when I visited and I was challenged to mimic this in my work.
Using modelling paste and some other tools, I created a texture that resembled what I was seeing and touching. It adds a tactile quality to the painting that helps evoke a sense of the church building.
Painting of the Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church located in Innisfail
This painting was painted in oils on canvas. It measures 45cm x 92cm.
I used modelling paste to form the texture of the main buildings and oil pastels to add depth and shading throughout. Highlights and smaller emphasis areas were added using paint pens.
Where is my artwork now?
The original painting is hanging in my studio.
What’s next in the Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection.
Next in the Buildings of the Cassowary Coast collection is a small building located in El Arish. Housing a railway station and museum, this little building is full of quaint character and local history.
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Until my next blog post, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”
Ephesians 4:1.
In peace always
Chrissie xx
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