802. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, a.k.a. "The Rached Church"

Today was the third and last day of my painting class with Milwaukee based artist, Shelby Keefe and lots of other really cool painters at The Peninsula School of Art.    Yesterday, Shelby's demonstration was of an architectural scene from her recent plein air painting trip to Cuba, and so I thought I should try to paint something in that genre.  Yikes.  I am far from a technical drawer and this was really difficult.  I learned so much from these three days that will carry me forward, most notably that I should take more time with my rendering and be much more purposeful with my brush strokes.  And that I need a bunch of new paintbrushes.    

This is a Catholic church in the south of Lebanon in my ancestors' village of Marjeyoun.  We still have family who live there--the most generous and hospitable people I've ever known.  The church is affectionately called "the Rached/Rashid Church" because the Rached/Rashid Family has helped maintain it throughout the war years and beyond.  It is quite beautiful and is a symbol of our family's connection to our heritage.  This painting will be donated to our 88th annual family reunion for their
raffle.

"802. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, a.k.a. The Rached Church"
acrylic - 20x16 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/802-saints-peter-and-paul-catholic-church-aka-the-rached-church/482659

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