As mentioned countless times before, all my paintings, it all started with a drawing. This particular drawing was done way back in May of 2010. This is a good/bad situation. Good that I am finally making time to complete the painting, bad that it is a 2.5 year old drawing and that there are parts I would do differently now. But I set ground rules down for myself in this most personal of projects, and one is that once the drawing is completed the design stands as it is. This does not mean I will not tweak stuff in the paint! Let's have a look at the drawing again...
Chimera
© 2012 Christopher Burdett
Again, I was working in acrylics on a 9 x 12 board for this painting. I took photos about every hour or there about so that you can see the piece come together. I really wanted a third traditional piece to take with me to Illuxcon. I had the Bugbear that I finished back in January and the Deep One I had recently finished, but I was giving the Deep One away and really felt I needed something in addition at my table in the Showcase. I made the time in my schedule to get this piece done and was able to do it with time to spare. I was worried about getting it done and then having time to varnish it and to let it cure. I had visions of varnishing it my hotel room in Altoona... which would not have been an enjoyable experience. In the grand scheme of things it was also a test for myself. Could I get a traditional painting done, under pressure and under a deadline... you know... for if I find myself needing to have to make a traditional painting for some sort of deadline. Here is the Chimera coming together...
Chimera steps 1 - 6
Chimera steps 7 - 12
I made it through that horrible patch that feels like the painting is flying out of control and was able to steer the image over the finish line. Even though I was racing through this one to make my deadlines I did feel like I had control over it and learned a lot from the process. It is the little things that add to the whole that I enjoy realizing and seeing work. I am still learning a lot about what it takes to get things to look a certain way, about readability, and how little or how much is enough. It is still a brave new world for all my painting, but for now, the traditional end of things offers me a huge amount of opportunity for education and growth. Here is the final Chimera one last time to see how it turned out...
Chimera
© 2012 Christopher Burdett
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
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