Here is my "Homer" painting as it looked on August 18th. This painting is for the upcoming show at Porter Mill show with the theme of the Iliad and Odyssey. This painting will become part of a series of recent "literary" paintings that I have done for a number of shows with literary themes: "Moby Dick", "Alice in Wonderland", "Scarlet Letter" and a "Midsummer Night's Dream" so far.
My painting for the show on Homer is a representation of the shield of Achilles. It is inscribed with the opening line of the Iliad, as translated by Robert Fagles.:
"Rage -- Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls."
In this photo, you may have to take my word for it that those words are there. On August 17, I had already arranged the words on the shield against a pale yellow background (underpainting), you might say. I was pretty happy with the lettering and layout, so it might seem strange that my next step was to cover the lettering with a layer of gold paint that was almost opaque, but just transparent enough to allowed me to see out the lettering beneath. I did this to quickly establish the gold background color, so I could then go over the lettering again. It seems counterintuitive but I find it easier and faster to do it this way. To be continued. . . .
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