This week I take yet another brief step away from the Hobbit illustrations to do some experimenting. This time it will be in oil.
This thumbnail is one I did for the Reluctant Dragon. This is a fairy tale that I have wanted illustrate for a long time, and this first adventure in oils seems like the perfect opportunity for it.
And so I am pulling out both the oil paints as well as every scrap of literature I can find on Rembrandt. Of the great Masters, he is the one I am always drawn to the most. There is a gem-like quality to his paintings that destroy me. His work is terrifically inspiring.
The painting was done at 12x18 on gessoed massonite. Although I am pleased with the results overall, I am still a bit nervous about wether to attempt the Battle of Five Armies like this. I have a feeling that with the level of detail it will demand, it might actually take me more than a month and a half to finish. Also, I will need to render the piece at around 42" wide. Another problem is how to scan in a painting (on massonite) at that size. Does anyone out there know of any scanners that can handle something that size? I'd hate to have to try to piece that together using our 12 x 18 scanner here at the studio...
