The Naga Queen

Hi!

So, at the end of last year, my friend Connie sent me a post for a Call for Artists. It was for the Pao Arts Center, a local gallery in Chinatown. They were looking for artwork celebrating the Year of the Snake- and I knew I wanted to get involved.

So I wanted two things. One was to try my hand at oil painting- something I hadn't touched in nearly 20 years. The second, was to try using gold leaf- to bring an extra level of dimensionality. The Gold leaf didn't work out for this painting, but I did get to try it again later.

I got my materials together and painted. My first thought was to do something with Medusa. I always associated snakes with her- but I wanted her to have a Southeast Asian feel. I made some sketches- both physical and digital, and felt comfortable enough to move forward.

It was kinda like riding a bike, but I still had to remember certain things about the medium- drying times, paint consistency, and color mixing. I did enjoy it immensely though.

I looked up videos on alla prima painting- and read excerpts from different art books I had. In the end- this is what I came up with.