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"Cloister Walk " Father Jerome Tupa 48 " x 59" / Oil on canvas 1998

Compare the slide of Tupa's painting "Cloister Walk" above with the photograph "San Antonio de Padua" by Ruscin to the right. Here we see that Tupa's focus in his painting seems to be on the architecture of the Mission. His painting shows the thick adobe walls and the arches that together form the quadrangle of the structure. Tupa has left out any traces of vegetation, which are clearly present at the Mission as seen in the Ruscin photograph.

By contrast, Ruscin's photograph of Mission San Antonio de Padua shows a view of the front of the Mission partially hidden by vegetation. Perhaps Ruscin felt the spiky tropical plants provided an excellent contrast to the rounded architectural features of the building (such as the bell tower and the entry arches), thus emphasizing, through contrast, both features for the viewer.

The exagerated colors that Tupa has used in his painting of the Mission are hot and lively. A deep red is used to describe what were probably shadows in the adobe wall arches. A bright yellow is used to accent what might have been streams of sunlight bursting through the archways. By contrast, look at the Ruscin photograph and notice the subtlety of the colors. Ruscin's photographrs are sepia-toned. This is a photographic process that results in colors in a brown tonal range to emerge during the film development process.

"San Antonio de Padua" Terry Ruscin Selenium bromide on gelatin-silver fiber paper 1998

Photographer Terry Ruscin is able to show one view, or perspective, in his work of art. His chosen point of view is from the front of the Mission from just left of the center. By contrast Tupa's medium (oil paint) allows him to capture the Mission from any perspective simultaneously. Tupa shows his impression of the Mission from above, in front of, and from the side, all at the same time.

Both Tupa and Ruscin seem intrigued by the brick facade on the front of the misison, as it is a dominant feature in both of their works of art. Notice how Tupa adds detail to this part of his painting, thus enchaing the contrast of the brickwork to the adjacent smooth white walls of the quadrangle. Ruscin places the brick entry face in the center of his photograph where it becomes the focal point for the viewer.