in Yorkton Saskatchewan is a must see if you're ever there. the address is 155 Catherine Street. Few Yorkton citizens are aware that in their very own city exists one of the finest paintings of its kind in North America. The painting is in the dome of the St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic church. The painting covers the entire dome and has a curvature of over 62 feet and is 55 feet from the ground. Stephen Meush is the artist who painted this between september 1939 and May 1941. The curvature required that the central figures and the 157 angels and cherubs surrounding them, be painted in a distorted manner so that from the floor level they would appear to be on a flat plane. The main colors are the orange, indigo and dull red as seen by Meush in Saskatchewan sunsets. Gallons of the best artists paints were applied together with Meush's own inks which he was continually seeking to improve. The paints penetrate to a depth of one eighth of an inch to avoid injury should flakings of plaster fall away. the painting is further protected by many coats of varnish.
The paining is an original and represents the coronation of the Virgin Mary in heaven. The image stands out brightly and depicts God as "the Ancient of Days" (Daniel 7:9) blessing Mary. Jesus is depicted holding a crown over Mary's head and te Holy Spirti is portrayed in the shape of a flying dove. Surrounding the thrown of God are 157 Angels of different sizes. Below the feet of Mary, there is a sky-blue streamer with a yellow inscription beaing the words, "Hail, Virgin, Full of Grace, Queen of Heaven, Holy, Holy, HolyAlleluia! Below the streamer there is an open book which reads: "Mary Advocate, Protectress and Perpetual Help of Christians."
Around the dome are 8 life size angels. These were done with a spray gun and a patter for each of the six colors.
the rest of the gallery can be seen here:
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