Duck Soup

I enjoy fantasy and science fiction. I strive to create art that is appropriate for all age groups. I also really like painting modest women in these genres. - dc_hughes@netzero.com

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Brunhilde

Acrylic on Illustration board. 2006

Brunhilde is from Norwegian mythology. She is an Icelandic Princess and amazing warrior. While she is often depicted in art as a waif, I thought she should look as formidable as she is written.
I had no model for this painting. I painted her strictly from my head—which I’ve never done before and I’m reasonably certain will never do again.
This was the first illustration I did for my show. I worked it to a high level of detail, so much so that I felt discouraged about doing all the subsequent paintings. Then I remembered something my intern provider Daniel Horne told me: “you can do a painting and let it stand alone.”
Note: On March 13th I was notified that Brunhilde was selected for the Society of Illustrators show in New York. I am honored to be included with the Society’s show. The original painting was sent to New York on March 15th. On March 26th I was notified that I won a $1,500 award from the Society!!!

Technique:
Acrylic paint is made of polymer plastic, and it dries very quickly. This property makes it nice to work with on tight deadlines (your painting will be dry literally within ten minutes of finishing the final brushstroke). However, it also carries with it the huge disadvantage of drying before it can be blended which, for me, makes it much more time-consuming to work with than oils. This property also contributes to the tendency of “drawing” with the paint as opposed to pushing the paint medium around the surface.
I used a lot of browns in this painting as homage to Arthur Rackham, a genius illustrator who illustrated Wagner’s The Ring (a story in which Brunhilde is a main character).

1 Comments:

Blogger Ken Chandler said...

Congratulations Dan! I hadn't heard the good news until just now. That's awesome news! This is a great piece. Didn't you make a maquette for Brunhilde a while back? You're storming the art world my friend. Look me up when you're famous-- like in 6 months.

8:31 AM  

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