The Conversation

The Conversation
18 x 30 Mixed Media on Artists Canvas
$1325

When I finished The Conspiracy I was already configuring The Conversation in my head. Now I am already working on The Agreement. At least that is what I think the duet of ravens in the next painting will be called. It is difficult to know exactly where a painting begins. Some less imaginary artists probably do not count the start until they put pencil to sketch pad to begin the drawing.

For me this series of paintings began in 2010 at the Petrified forest. A raven had staked out a rock from which to beg. He had obviously used great thought. It was close enough to the foot path that visitors could toss him a crumb but beyond where the people were suppose to walk. And far enough from the Do Not Feed the Raven sign that his audience had forgotten.

Painted Desert Denizen
10 x 10 on cradled Panel

I, of course, took his picture. And once back to my studio began to play with drawing and painting this totem.

But while ravens began playing a larger role in my paintings they did not get star billing until this year. But they also never quite left my mind. I became intensely interested in watching the ravens in my neighborhood and their various behaviors. There is definitely a reason a group of them is called a conspiracy. They seem to be constantly in communication with each other whether verbally or with various body movements.

Sky Poured

I chose Delicate Arch in Arches National Monument to be the background from my threesome. And then for composition reasons put another arch where no arch is. Artistic license. The yellow sky had worked so well in The Conspiracy I had to do it again. The paintings are a different size but because of palette they could exist in the same room.

Laying in middle ground colors, and India ink definitions on the ravens.

The India ink allows for a crisp definition of some of the feathers and to put in the places where the bird should be the darkest.

Colors and details of the background added in

Yes, the La Sal Mountains of Utah can be seen behind the Delicate Arch. And yes, they are frequently snow capped. They certainly were the last May I was there.

Ravens' colors laid in

Painting the ravens is a layered task. Yes, they are black. But an iridescent black and so boring if they were painted black. As discussed in the process blog on The Conspiracy they are about four different colors all overlapping and mixed together. I use a q-tip to lighten some areas up and another coat of paint to darken some down.

Almost done

I got out the oil sticks again for this painting. Did not use them on The Conspiracy but I felt the ground around and under the ravens required more texture and color. I also put some areas of green in; Sage before the arch on the left and a dark pine green before the La Sal's on the right. Patches of rabbit bush and snake week around the feet of the birds.

I changed the value of the red canyon behind Delicate Arch, and put a white wash over the La Sal Mountains and some of the sandstone bluffs on the horizon. There is a lot of details put in between this version of the painting and the finished one at the top of this blog. I changed the background of the raven on the right. And lastly I put in my murder of crows in the sky.

Conspiracy of Ravens - A Process Blog

Conspiracy of Ravens

19 x 44 Mixed Media on Canvas

$2290

First there was this horse painting I did on commission. Subject, size and date of completion were of the primary importance so I ordered stretcher bars.  Two sets of the 19 x 44 because if things can go wrong they will go wrong. Especially with deadlines, and longer stretcher bars can warp. They didn't. The commission was completed without a glitch and I was left with an extra set of 19 x 44 stretcher bars. And a complete boredom with mustang paintings for the moment. So I began looking for another subject for this off standard size.

I have been wanting to do a raven painting but it frankly did not make sense to begin with such a large canvas for an untried subject. Ravens are not everyone's cup of tea and they're black. I decided I could bring color into the composition by placing the ravens in front of a Painted Desert landscape. Or Monument Valley. Or Arches. I settled on Landscape Arch and began drawing. Like with my paintings of horses I had been sketching individual ravens for some time. I only had to pick the ones I wanted to use and place them around on a sketch of Landscape Arch and then trace them as a whole.

Sketch for Conspiracy of Ravens transferred to canvas

I was very pleased with the drawing, and who says ravens have to be black. In the desert sun they seem almost iridescent. Throwing caution to the wind I stretched the canvas and began work. One of the nice aspects of stretching your own canvas is if it does not work out you remove the offending effort and stretch new canvas.

Yellow sky poured and orange sun floated in

If ravens do not have to be black and then skies do not have to be blue. Or suns yellow.

Laying in tones with three colors of India Ink.

Nor do arches have to be sandstone colored.  After the basic colors for the background was laid in I defined the ravens with black India Ink. The ravens are by the way making a pile of colored stones. They do happen to like to play with pebbles and shiny objects. And actually drop golf balls from the course three miles away into my backyard.

Two of four ravens painted in

In my mustang paintings every wild horse has different coloring but I could not see that working with ravens. I was asking enough that they were Cobalt Violet, Payne's grey and Ultramarine blue rather than black.  I did not have four legs and wild manes and tails to define character. It was going to have to be done with cock of head and beaks.

Wrong colors as the background fights with my stars

At this stage I was rather pleased basically with my ravens but unhappy with their environment. Too many values too close. I spent one snowed in day changing colors of the landscape.

Ready for detailing and refining

More green was added as a cooling influence and the purples in the background went magenta. I was ready to add details. Conspiracy of Ravens is quite a departure for me. One I totally enjoyed. And yes, there will no doubt be more ravens as main subjects. My day paintings usually have ravens or a murder of crows in the sky. This one doesn't. And desert scenes often have a stream in them as a prayer for water. I think the abundance of green takes that place in this composition.