For a while now I have wanted to do a painting or a series of paintings on angels, angels with the proper gravitas, awe, and terror that a supernatural being would inspire. There are angels described as appearing human-like; this is not my primary intention here. It is the mystery and unease of facing an utterly unearthly being I want to bring to the viewer's mind.
This painting is a trial run for this angel idea. It is 12x16 inches, the largest gouache painting I've worked on so far. The scene is not anyone specific in particular, an angel appearing to someone, maybe a shepherd, maybe Joseph. The angel itself is a seraphim, the highest order of angels, described as appearing with six wings and many eyes.
I sketched a very simple underdrawing (mostly to get going so I didn't chicken out and quit), and started with a semi-transparent layer to get a feel for the colors. I adjusted my colors and put the second layer down, which covers most of the painting except for the yellow light. I'm going to rework that as well and make it less glaring and saturated.
I sketched a very simple underdrawing (mostly to get going so I didn't chicken out and quit), and started with a semi-transparent layer to get a feel for the colors. I adjusted my colors and put the second layer down, which covers most of the painting except for the yellow light. I'm going to rework that as well and make it less glaring and saturated.
