$160.00
I had wanted to create this piece for about eight years and after my initial sketches and layout, I knew I was not ready to execute it. I really wanted to have it finished for an exhibit in Washington, D.C., so I buckled down and learned some Arabic and the calligraphy hand based on the typeface Legend that has that awesome Eastern feel. I used Arabic letterforms to create the flourished border because the wise men came from the East, perhaps from Arabia, Persia, and India. I also studied photos of gorgeous Eastern architecture, primarily mosques, because I wanted to organize the text amid architectural features. I really wanted to include the scriptural text in the piece because the song was written to help people understand the symbolism of the gifts but many details of the legend are hearsay. I got really excited about the rich colors and initially painted the outside border a turquoise that overpowered it. I cut a new piece of paper, lettered the scriptural border again, cut out a window for the center of the original piece, and taped them together.
Giclée print, 22×30”
Limited edition of 500; each print is signed and numbered out of 500 by the artist
*THIS ARTWORK DOES NOT COME FRAMED.
Original is 22×30”
Acrylic ink and watercolor on 140 lb. Arches hot press paper
The main text is the 1857 hymn We Three Kings of Orient Are by John Henry Hopkins. The border text is the story of the Wise Men from Matthew 2.
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