On Sunday we celebrated “The Good Shepherd”
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. They follow me and I give them eternal life… (Jn 10:27)
When Padre Jaime Vázquez commissioned this painting, “El Buen Pastor / The Good Shepherd”, as part of my research I visited Ochoa Agrícola (agricultural store) in Caguas, Puerto Rico. They have scores of sheep, mostly lambs and yearlings.
I worked among them getting close-up sketches and the feel of them.
It is such an important part of bringing what we paint to life, to know as much as possible the essence of what it is we are making visible, which in reality is merely a thin film of paint on a two-dimensional canvas.
Closeup detail of painting “El Buen Pastor” (4 x 8-feet) by AVonnHartung, commissioned by Padre Jaime Vázquez Rojas in 2003 for “Parroquia El Buen Pastor” in Guaynabo (Apolo), Puerto Rico
VIEW THE VIDEO—“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. They follow me and I give them eternal life… (Jn 10:27) In this video A.Vonn Hartung speaks to a group of parishioners about his painting “El Buen Pastor”— In 2015 the parishioners of his church, San Ignacio de Loyola in Puerto Rico, under the leadership of Dra Señora Laura Gorbea organized a CARAVAN OF CARS to begin to make the rounds to see the Churches with Sacred Art that he had completed. We started with three churches in the metropolitan area. The painting in this video was commissioned by Padre Jaime Vázquez Rojas (may he rest in peace) of the Church of El Buen Pastor on Ave. Apolo in the town of Guaynabo.
NOTE: Due to the low resolution of this video, optimal viewing would be on a smartphone rather than a desktop computer.
RIP Padre Jaime
Thank you Carlos for informing us. Padre Jaime was a good priest and he loved his people, and we know that he will be sorely missed and for the church in Puerto Rico a great loss.
May he rest in peace!