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donnaquinn β Petalburn
Published: 2009-03-16 05:15:25 +0000 UTC; Views: 2451; Favourites: 64; Downloads: 63
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Description
Oh no! A gryphon decided to gatecrash my gallery and his head is on fire!Note: it's not really on fire... this is supposed to be a mystical, fantasy, elemental type of gryphon.
Acrylic, centre panel 18 x 59.5 cm, flanking panels 7 x 59.5 cm. Painting a triptych is a good way to use up those odd-shaped scraps of board that tend to accumulate.
This pic is the subject of an art tutorial, explaining my painting process in detail: [link]
Original and prints available (as usual). Painting gryphons, seraphs and similar majestic things has made me want to paint something frivolous next.
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Comments: 31
Cheers; glad you enjoyed this piece.
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I think I love every one of your paintings. How long does a piece like this typically take you to create? They are all beautiful!
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I don't know; maybe anywhere between 50-150 hours for a decently-large piece (like this one: [link] ). However, a lot of that time is probably me mucking about late at night, feeling tired after cycling home from work, not very motivated to paint, etc. I could paint a lot faster if I really tried!
Anyway, thanks very much for the nice comment.
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I have a hard time working that long on pieces. Do you use oils or acrylics? I apologize for all of the questions. I am just always curious, and like to learn new techniques! On a side note..have you ever looked into making art for World of Warcraft? It may seem silly, but their artists are very technical, creative, and obviously put a lot of time into their pieces. Your style seems like it would be a good match. Just a thought.
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Don't apologise for the questions- it's no problem! I use acrylics. Incidentally, there's a fairly detailed description of my painting process on my site here: [link]
Regarding your other question, I'm not into WoW so haven't considered that, but I appreciate the thought; thank you.
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Thank you! 
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I love the separation of the image as the whole. The detail is quite remarkable. Great blending and use of the colours, with a pleasant balance.
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Thank you very much- I really do like multi-panel formats. They're pretty fun to do.
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I betcha they are. 
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Wonderful stuff Donna 
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Um... yes... sadism on the part of the artist is an unacceptable excuse, I imagine? Anyway, all my pictures with stories seem to be stalling at the composition stage. I need to get a few off the ground! Thanks for the lovely comment Wendy.
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Love the opening line to your description.
beautiful color scheme, and those crystals turned out fantastic. I'm glad you made a tutorial on this; it was fun to go through at look at your process. I need to keep in mind the initial color wash for the next time I do something with paints (I usually just start slapping paint right out of the tube on the canvas)
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Normally I do the same thing, opaque paint right from the start. But I don't really know what I'm doing whenever I start a painting, so found this a god way to "ease" into the work, if that makes any sense.
Best of luck with your next foray into paints. 
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If you think it's beautiful that I purposely made this poor creature's head on fire, there is no hope for you, I'm afraid. Hang your head in shame Reuben!
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Never! I find Ghost rider beautiful! More burning heads I say!
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I always love seeing what you do next for your terain in you paintings. This one, paired with the critter, just sort of makes me smile. The critter just looks crazy, and like he's about to bite something. I want to give him a hug. 
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I am a firm believer that no garden is complete without a levitating crystal-flower.
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Outstanding as usual... the reflectinos of blue light over the creatureΒ΄s fur, the yellows, that unexpected pink sky,the brilliance in the crystals, and that glorious forced perspective.
You have used that perspective before, it looks as if was taken with a fisheye lens. Do you use a reference for it? I think thats my favorite part because its unusual on traditional paintings.
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Wow, thanks a lot! I didn't know this is called a forced perspective; the reference photo I used for the mountains (Torres del Paine national park) had a straight horizon line and no fisheye effect, so I just added it in for some reason.
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Thats a great effect, adds a lot of drama and tension to your composition. Dynamic as hell! Haha. That could be a great addition to your style; I havent seen anyone using that in fantasy before.
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Thank you; you've given me another point to think about!
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That color scheme is so tasty. 
Those crystal-flower things are pure genius, too. I love how believable they look (logic aside, since they are sprouting from plants). Part of the realism of the crystals comes from the expert coloration. The rest comes from the natural randomness of their forms.
Another thing I really like is the placement of the distance mountains in the backdrop. The swooping dip they provide for the composition is very pleasing to my eye and adds to the dynamic look already established by the griffin's pose. The placement of the crystal-flowers endows additional depth and excitement to an already stunning layout.
Simply amazing work, through and through, just like always. This triptych must look really stunning displayed together on a wall.
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I'd love to see it framed or matted one day; it's always a kick to see something framed because it often makes even a disappointing work look great.
Thank you very very much for your (as usual) very thoughtful comment. As always, you've given me a lot of things to think about for my next pic. I'm glad you liked the blue and pink- I hope the blue part wasn't too painful to look at! I know you have a bit of an aversion to that colour, relative to red at least!
As for logic, I've put that in a shoebox under my bed. It's safe there, though moths may be nibbling holes in it.
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No problem.
I'm not sure why I'm so attracted to the combination of pink and blue, especially considering my usual dislike for blue, but I am.
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I really like how the colors just blend together, and the the gryphon's facial expression.
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He's just happy to be the first gryphon in my gallery, though he thinks I'm cruel to make him burning. Thank you for the comment!
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Thank you very much, I'm flattered (and quite pleased, of course!).
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