Some Lessons Learned

I wanted to title this post, "A Failed Start" but opted for the more optimistic title seen above. What began as preparation for a large multi-figure painting about the Lotus Eater episode in the Odyssey became a gradual admission of my inability to pull it off...At least right now. I began last summer with a couple of compositional posters out of my head. I advanced to figure drawing with a few models, rotating out various poses and completing a new compositional sketch from the selected poses. What became obvious was the enormous cost involved in continuing the pre-production of this painting and the model cost in doing a 5 figure painting from life. I may revisit the project in the future with appropriate resources but for now I'm working on a different 2 figure painting that in the end seems hardly less complicated than this one. I do feel like this project, as arrested as its development was, gave me a bit more experience in planning complicated multi-figure compositions. Ultimately this is the kind of thing I want to paint so I don't regret any steps that take me in that direction. Most of the posted drawings were done in the 20-40 minute range (with the exception of 1 or 2). I wanted to have a lot of pose options as I put them all together. When I get done with the painting I'm working on now, I'll post some of the preparatory work with it.