Crow Man: Illusions

I've had this Crow Man painting in mind for a very long time. The Crow Man series paintings are totally from my own thoughts and imagination, so they take a lot of time to foment, ferment and bring to fruition. I read about St.Francis and looked at paintings based on the stories about him. I could reveal my own ideas regarding this painting, but I would rather leave much of it up to the viewers' imagination. You now know that St. Francis of Assisi and illusions are part of Crow Man's story. In this blog, I'll take you through some of the steps to the finished painting.

 

After penciling in the plan for the painting, I applied the first color. Using a reddish sky comes from previous colors used in the series.

 

The blue will help add details to the crow. I also masked out eyes and beaks to keep white until later.

 

I've painted the background mountain and tree at this point.

 

Crow Man's halo is painted with a dry metallic watercolor paint, added to a yellow transparent watercolor. I'm unhappy with the results.

 

At this point I see that the middle ground drop needs darkening. I'm excited to remove the mask and add the final details.

 

Crow Man: Illusions 18 x 22

This is how I left the painting when I walked out of my studio. And I have some questions.

- I'd like the halo metallic, but lighter. Could I use gold leaf?

- I left the tree very simple because I didn't want it to become too dominant. Should there be more detail there?

- Does the painting give you pause to stop and think?

Any comments whether about the technique, composition, or content are always welcome.