Bow
Oils on Board. 18" x 24" Work in Progress.
Bow is one of my first full size oil paintings. What I envisioned for this piece was to depict an angel asked to bow, in supplication to the viewer and God. Why would an angel need to place itself under scrutiny? Why would such a creature require shackles? I will leave those debates for the Art Historians. I already know the reason. Bow has recieved mixed reviews from friends and family. While my father and youngest step -daughter love this painting, I have friends that find themselves disturbed by this piece. On the technical side, Bow is a dual exercise in opposed problems with painting for me. I wanted to craft every tiny feather, as no minor detail concerning the figure would be left unnoticed. And yet, have loose tumultuous storm coulds threatening in the back. The clouds were particularly challenging for me, as I truly enjoyed the anal retentiveness sparked by painting every last detail in the wings, and thus needed to learn to let go and paint more loosely to form the clouds. At this time, I am reworking the wings to make them more cohesive. The right side has the feathers mapped out, for the most part. The left wing still has much to be done.