Wings of the Storm: Description
“Wings of the Storm” was inspired by a visit to Sir Antony Gormley’s “Angel of the North” in Gateshead.
It had been a gloriously bright, windy day with dramatic clouds racing across the Yorkshire moors. Then just as we arrived, gloomy clouds gathered and drew an eerie veil over the sun. The landscape was thrown into an unearthly darkness, whilst the towering sculpture, normally deep copper red in colour, became a black silhouette. The colossal figure seemed to be raising its wings to the skies in acknowledgement of the imminent storm.
Approach
I have tried to capture the theatricality of the scene by emphasising the darks and lights. The grass and shrubs in the foreground are almost black with only touches of greens and blues to suggest texture. Two shadowy people walk along the footpath representing humanity in the grand scheme of things.
I aimed to make the sculpture stand out starkly against the sky. So, I have painted it with a mixed ultramarine blue and black. Then, I applied vertical strokes of deep red along the wings and touches of blue along the left side for subtle relief. A fine outline of pale blue and white gives backlighting.
To create the effect of soft mist and to blur the edges of the heavier clouds, I used a scumbling technique. Applying a minimal amount of paint on an almost dry brush, I rubbed the tips of the bristles round and round. Thus, I was able to achieve a very smooth, almost sanded transition between layers of colour in the dark cloud to the right. For the grey wispy trails in the upper centre, I used a delicate feathering movement to thin out the vapour. I painted the heavy storm clouds more boldly with multiple layers mixed from ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, phthalo green, titanium white and lamp black. Finally, I added strong white highlights to the upper edges of the cumulus clouds and along the bottom of the dark clouds for maximum impact.
Like “Showers over Chesterton Windmill”, “Wings of the Storm” features a man-made structure silhouetted against a naturally-occurring dramatic scene.
Medium: Acrylic Paint on Stretched Canvas
Dimensions: H 460 mm x W 610 mm
AVAILABLE: £290 + P&P
