This is a pastel drawing I made for my book Asphalt Renaissance to show traditional devotional imagery. It uses the classical renaissance technique of chiaroscuro, which is the subtle passage of light into darkness. I did pastel was done on a roughened surface similar to the pavement used by the Italian Madonnari, which literally means “painters of the Madonna”, but also applies to pavement artists in general. There is a special quality to the pastel on the rough surface that is unlike any other medium. This is very hard to achieve in permanent works and is made possible, in part, by making the pastels by hand.

This image, along with others is on display at the Andrea Smith Gallery in Sedona, Arizona. The gallery specializes in sacred works from a wide variety of traditions. The address is here:

Andrea Smith Galleries

Tlaquepaque

336 Hwy 179 Sedona AZ 86336

888-644-5444

Their website is here: Andrea Smith Gallery Home.

My page is here: Kurt Wenner

Here is a really nice Ave Maria sung by Radu Marian: Radu Marian Ave Maria