Prep ideas for a new painting project

13th April 2011

This project did not work out and i've since abandoned it to start a new one. I got half way through this project and just hated it I could not continue with a project when my heart is not in it I need to like the project I am doing but never mind I have started a new project called ''Goldfish Bowl'' which I have posted on a new page.


Great artist usually always start a good painting or work of art with prep work done in a sketch book. Prep work doesn't have to be great but it helps towards making a great piece of work. The prep work for a good painting usually takes months. This idea came from the old masters. Usually renaissance paintings were religious so I looked at work by Albrecht durer ''The four horsemen of the apocalypse'' (left) and an idea I had when I saw the gulf oil spill on TV came to mind. I thought doesn't that sound like something from the book of revelations ''The sea will turn red and everything in it will die, and there was a fire on the sea''. I'm not a very religious person but it started the idea going. At first I though what a depressing idea but then it came into being an idea for a six foot religious work of art im now thinking I could research old masters and use them to help influence the idea for this painting I thought I could research angels too and incorporate them into the composition in the painting.

At first I made a quick line sketch just to figure out how the        composition may look, then improved the idea as I went along, this is how artists work.

This one ( left ) I was trying the idea out again this time in more detail using coloured pencil. The the white horse represents the Antichrist, the green one sickness, black famine and red war. I like drawing animals so although this project sounds depressing its really quite interesting to draw the horses in great detail.

This was trying the idea out again using watercolour, still trying to improve the composition, I changed the horses positions of movement as i thought it might also be a good idea to add more movement into the painting. Whether this idea turns out to be an idea for a full working project or just an idea for one painting I've yet to discover.