Chasing the Dragon

Hunted   8" x 12"   Digital     2015

     In case you didn't get it the first time, Dragons are one of my favorite things: to paint, draw, design, read about, figure out, and see.
     If I'm being honest, I have no idea why. Maybe it's the challenge of making what doesn't exist seem real or maybe it's that in games, books, movies, you always see them at the end like this big hurtle the hero has the face, the ultimate fight. They're these mythical embodiment of awesome power- the immovable object and the unstoppable force (unless you have a black arrow).
    But that's all imagination, metaphor, storyline. We're here to talk about painting.

     Back during the summer I had some free time and did a sketch that I really enjoyed that kind of encompassed this hero figure avoiding a dragon. For about a month on and off I've been trying to tackle that piece in between commissions- and let me tell you that leaving and coming back to a painting after sometimes weeks on end is not as healthy as you might think for the creative process.
I turned it over in my head a lot, from this idea that dragon riding my be a sport in this world, to someone escaping from capture, to a group of dragon riders out like hunting foxes, to a war fought in the sky. All of it sounded exciting to me, but didn't capture the initial feeling of the sketch I'd done.

I really did like the rest, and I'm working on another one right now!

    In my mind's eye I had this hero- and that was the important part. It was this portrait and the story of this man at that place and time. Who was he? What was he moving away from/ toward? It wasn't so much about the dragons as what they represented to the character- his past and his future.
     It was still exciting, if a little cookie cutter for an image. I really liked the idea of the whites robes separating and leading into his form and the atmosphere in the air. I think subtlety speaks volumes often and that was my idea with the initial scheme.
      I kept working on it, hoping everything would come together, nothing feeling as right as I wanted it to. I still liked the little parts of the painting, but I didn't like the narrative. It wasn't saying anything and it didn't look good.
   

     

      It wasn't working for me. I ended up taking it back down to thumbnail size, because after working on a piece (even digitally) it can start to feel precious with every stroke, like you might mess it up. I did sketch after sketch on top of it in color, and then started playing with the values more, thinking about the background and the relationship between the opposing characters. I'd always known I wanted the guy to look like a wizard with his flowing robes and neat hair and I thought the white was a nice touch to his good nature. But maybe he wasn't so good. Maybe he was more drastic than subtle (he is riding a dragon after all). I took a leap and ended up giving him some actual character with his fine red cloak, ran it past some good friends who liked it, and came down to the final you see up top.

     In the end, it came down to the story of a man being hunted down. He's chased and they're on his heels, but he's moving forward despite what he's done or what he's running from. His hands are steady, one open to face what may come, and his eyes look toward the future, as we all must. 

   

    I hope you'll enjoy seeing my process in the GIF below as much as I enjoyed painting it!

You can always see more of my new work at: http://allenmorrisart.com

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