Early Literacy Book

I spent several months this last year working on illustrations for an Early Literacy book for Seton Press. Just last week the final printed books came in the mail and, frankly, I'm very happy with how they look! Here are a few pictures:




A good little activity book for young ones.

October Shadows by Jason Tako

I did a field study of this barn last October on a beautiful sunny morning. It was actually a commission for the owner of the barn. The owner asked that I paint it from another angle, but I knew that this angle would make for a beautiful painting also, so I painted it again. www.jasontako.com.

Slumbering Julia

'Tis the season for drawing sleeping children (until the Feast of the Presentation, right?). Here are a few sketches of my daughter, Julia, cross posted from my own blog:





When I was Christmas shopping this year I bought myself a couple sheets of toned paper. Because if you ask me, few things are as exciting as adding white highlights to toned paper...

The Word Incarnate

Epiphany Stationery

The Epiphany design for my Stationery project

and a design that was too complicated so didn't reduce well (The page size is 5.5" x 8.5" and there needs to be some room to write a letter.)

Angel Head Study

I went to a men's retreat several months back and was looking forward to reading a book I had purchased, The Angels & Their Mission.  I think Ted Schluenderfritz did the cover design - nice work Ted!  Strangely enough, the priest at the retreat centered his talks around Angels.  It went well with the book, and I remember something he said he heard while in the seminary.  One of his instructors made a point while starting a talk that (paraphrasing) Angels are not our friends by definition, but spiritual allies… you have to share the same nature to be a friend.  An interesting thought worth pondering.  If you haven't read the book mentioned above, it is a quite good.  It broadened my understanding of the relationship between God and mankind, and how it changed from the Old to the New Testament.

I finished this sketch in my notebook last night.  It's colored pencil with an acrylic/watercolor wash.

Mural at Holy Spirit Church in Evansville, IN

The week before Christmas I helped paint a mural in Evansville, Indiana at Holy Spirit church on the rear wall. The pace was quite intense, but very fun. The painting is acrylic with gold stenciling and wood trim. There are more pictures and information about the steps we took on my blog: http://gwynethholston.com/sacred-art-blog/

Coat of Arms of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Peter

I had the incredible honour of contributing to the design development and doing the final design of the coat of arms of the U.S. Anglican Ordinariate, which was officially announced yesterday as the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Peter under the Protection of Our Lady of Walsingham.

You can learn more about it here.

Christmas Painting

This was actually an acrylic painting that I finished last Christmas. I didn't think to share it until just now. Merry Christmas!

Annunciation to the Shepherds

Black ink on paper. 5" x 7".

Out Little Boy by Jason Tako

This was my Christmas gift for my wife. It is our son doing what he does best, having fun with the simple things in life. In this case he was digging in some gravel when we were parked on a back-road in Minnesota while I painted. 11"x14", oil on panel. www.jasontako.com

How thrilling to see so many artists linking their talents to their faith. So much inspiration! Thank you for beautifying the world through your gifts!

Merry Christmas

 As we are sharing Christmas images, this is from a body of work in progress for LTP.

I had hoped to get actual cards printed this year but didn't quite make it, I have the design posted here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with loved ones and my prayers for a joyful Christmas to all Smallpaxers.

God Bless

Merry Christmas

My wife loves to write actual-non-email-stamp-n-envelope letters to a lot of friends. She sends out several letters a week. So, I decided to create liturgical stationery for her. The above image, as you might guess, is for the Christmas season.

My Christmas card this year is here. I was hoping to paint it in egg tempera, but ran out of time, so just colored the rough sketch. It probably is more lively this way anyway. Maybe I'll finish it for next year's card. (maybe I'll procrastinate until it's too late next year as well. :)

Merry Christmas to everyone in the guild, thanks for all of your wonderful posts.

Prairie Wetland in Autumn by Jason Tako

This painting was inspired by the wetlands in Minnesota that I lived around as a child. I did the field study for this painting this last October, early in the morning when the sunlight bathed the golden grasses in a very warm light. I recomposed the scene both for a challenge, and to show the expanse of the prairie wetland areas in this region.
Prairie Wetland in Autumn by Jason Tako
11x14, oil on linen panel
www.jasontako.com