Palm Crosses

Palm Crosses Set-Up through View Finder

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday which for Christians, commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem five days before his crucifixion.  Jesus rode a donkey (symbol of peace) into Jerusalem.   Celebrants lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of palm trees, a custom for someone thought worthy of the highest honor in that era.

We crafted these small crosses from the fresh green palm we got last Sunday.  I was reminded when I saw the crosses on the kitchen counter that painters have used religious artifacts and symbology through the ages in their paintings.  I decided to include them in a subdued set up to capture the sad mood of Good Friday.  The final resting place for each palm cross will be our heavy mileage, household vehicles.  

The brown bottle was discovered in a wall during a renovation of our old house.   The bottle was labelled "Lashs Bitters."   A lavender kerchief is spread out under the set-up.

Rough In - Stage 1

The 8x8 inch canvas surface was relatively smooth.   I painted everything but the crosses at first because I wanted to paint them with the minimum number of clean strokes.

The palm had been moist and green on Sunday, the day the crosses were made, but even in a few short days had dried out and changed color.   The edges were still green, but the main palm surfaces looked like a pale Naples yellow.   

Color Mixture for Palm

I set up three piles of color for the palm.  The left mixture was cadmium green with a touch of cad yellow deep.  The middle pile was naples yellow with a touch of cad yellow deep and the right pile was the left mixture with a little cobalt blue.  I used a #4 flat to sweep up the middle mixture.  I then dabbed each corner of the brush into the other two green piles.   This was so that I could make one stroke that would have the main yellow in the middle and the green edging without having to go back touch it again.   This photo shows the yellow paint on the brush and the green on the edges of it.

Palm Crosses - Stage 2

Highlights Crosses and Bottle - Stage 3

Here I notice that the bottle looks flared out on the left, so I correct it.  As a last detail, I used my palette knife to scoop up all three piles of the palm greens and yellows.   I "drew" some wispy palm threads that had sprung out from the woven centers.

Palm Crosses and Brown Bottle