"Andromeda" painting step by step

Last month Athena and I went to New York for a week on business and pleasure.  We had the chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (among other places) and spend a few hours just wandering. 

While we were getting lost we saw this...

Andromeda and the Sea Monster

Marble

Domenico Guidi (1625-1701)

Italian (Rome), 1694

 I spent some time observing the piece and was inspired to recreate the idea of "Andromeda" as I saw it presented through the sculpture.  This is it...

"BiTorrent #10 Andromeda" 

oil on linen, 24in x 36in 

2011

Here is a step by step progression of how I created it.

I work in light glaze after glaze of color, slowly transforming the work until I am satisfied with its appearance.  A thin to thick approach to oil painting is both classical and lasting in that the color quality that I can produce as I work is amazing.  At least to me it is.

Each glaze of oil color is a complete reworking of the entire painting.  Its all or nothing as each layer of oil color must be uniformed and transition from color to color as I see it in my mind.  It takes time and patience.  With this piece, I went over it eleven times, but I only recorded the stages that would show each new layer.

As always, I start my work with the academic study of my subject matter, and in this case the character Andromeda.  I will dedicate a post to that literature when I have taken a professional picture of the new work after it has been varnished.  You will find it interesting enough.

here we go...

 As you can see, the entire piece changes slightly with each complete glaze of oil color...

Here we have it...

The finished oil painting, my retelling of the story of "Andromeda."