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Views from the Choir Loft

Painting St. Catherine of Siena Part I

Gwyneth Holston · March 3, 2014

St. Catherine Initial Sketch St. Catherine Initial Sketch HERE WAS A particular scene depicted by Sigrid Undset in her biography of St. Catherine of Siena that struck me deeply. One day her father was about to interrupt her while she was at prayer in her room in order to remind her to do her work. He stopped when he saw her, however, because he witnessed the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove above her head.

After deciding to paint this image, I took the following steps:

Step 1: I sketched several compositions and selected the one with the most pleasing silhouette, color, and value scheme.

Step 2: I found a model who was willing and able to commit many hours of sitting for me on a regular basis.

Step 3: I selected the shade of blue that was most complimentary to the model’s skin tone and sewed her costume.

Step 4: I set up a location complete with background and props illuminated by north light.

Step 5: I stretched linen and prepared the surface for painting.

The painting is not yet finished, but I will be posting an image of the final work very soon. I wanted to share this process because most people don’t realize the difference in quality that can be attained between working from a photograph and working from life. It is far more difficult and much more of a hassle to do things this way rather than use Photoshop for a reference, but I believe that the results are worth it.


St. Catherine Girl Model for St. Catherine
St. Catherine costume St. Catherine of Siena Costume


Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Traditional Catholic Artwork, Traditional Catholic Paintings Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Gwyneth Holston

About Gwyneth Holston

Gwyneth Holston is a sacred artist who works to provide and promote good quality Catholic art. Her website is gwynethholston.com. Read more.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

4 March 2021 • Can you spare 15 seconds?

Due to Covid-19, California has basically been under “lock down” for 11 months, and these restrictions have had quite a detrimental effect on our choral programs. We are frequently limited to just 2-3 singers, on account of regulations by the government and our Archdiocese. However, although the number of singers is quite small, I was struck by the beauty of the singing last Sunday. Listen to this 15-second live excerpt and see if you agree?

—Jeff Ostrowski
3 March 2021 • “A policeman” — really?

According to Monsignor Frederick R. McManus, there were “policemen” serving the Sanhedrin in the time of Our Blessed Lord. Look at this awful translation in the 1966 “Saint Andrew Bible Missal” from 1966. Yuck!

—Jeff Ostrowski
Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

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