Grandfather Buzzard (Cathartes Aura) The Golden Purifier - Final

I did a little more detail work and think I am calling this one finished. 

A new project is calling my name so I am moving on. 

Here is the final painting

Grandfather Buzzard

As with all my work Fine Art prints are available on my website and I can also be contacted there in regards to purchasing the original painting.

To see the final steps read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 7

I've been looking at the painting for a couple days and started adding more detail today. 

Here is what it looks like right now.

To see the step by step photos read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 6

I'm getting close to being done. I sprayed a coat of retouch Damar varnish on to see the color better. Now I'll stare at it for a few days and nitpick before starting on the next thing.

To order prints of this painting when it's done and all of my other work, check out my website.

To see the step by step photos read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 5

I have started o the glazing process. First a clear 50/50 turpentine and stand oil glaze to bring out the color and then adding some color and detail to the painting. 

Here it is as it sits on my easel this morning.

 

To see the steps that preceded this one read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 4

I started in with oil glazes today, turpentine with a little linseed oil added. Here is what the painting looks like now.

To see the steps to get to this point read on after the break. 

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Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 4

Continuing the battle of creation. Here is where I am with the painting right now.

To see the step by step battle read on after the break. 

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 3

Plugging along with the acrylic paint. It's nice to work fast in the early stages of a painting. It's really easy to move and change things by just painting over with White. 

I was reading up on the Buzzard and Vulture some more and here are some of the things I found.

"The scientific name for the Turkey Vulture is CATHARTES AURA which means GOLDEN PURIFIER because as it goes about it's lifetime business it purifies the landscape and environment in it's own natural way, ensuring the continued health and life of other living things. The Vulture is a promise that all hardship was temporary and necessary for a higher purpose.  Once a Vulture enters your life as a totem or guide, it will remain with you for life.

Vultures live and work together, both in cooperation and friendliness. They communicate with friends and neighbors when they find something to eat. They let the others know where the food is. And when there is a big feast they communicate with neighboring flocks in distant roosts. Also, Turkey Vultures that range within California Condor habitat areas, when they find food they will go to the Condors and lead them to it. One roost was observed when they had a dead cow in their neighborhood. They somehow contacted a roost of 100 vultures about 30 miles away to come join them. Several days later, before they finished their feast, two more cows died. Within a day the vultures had contacted another roost to join them. At night all the birds visited together in the same or neighboring trees. There were now three different roosts living together. When the cows had been cleaned up the several visiting roosts went home. (source)

In Greek mythology, the Vulture is the descendant of the Griffin.  It was a very Buddhist-like, Zen-like symbol of the non-dual oneness of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, good and evil, guardian and avenger.  The Vulture is the avenger of nature spirits.    Ancient Assyrians believed the Vulture was, like Nagarjuna's middle way, Sunyata, the encompassing overall non-separated union between the day and night. Ironically, regardless of the less than good image the vulture is typically granted by most, think about it:

Unlike the needs of nearly all other living creatures, vultures do not kill.
Their prey either dies or something else kills it."

To see the step by step progress from my last post read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 2

I did a little more painting today. I roughed in the final position of Grandfather Buzzard and started putting in some color. Tomorrow I need to start thinking about my background.

 I'm not sure I leave it like the mock up. Here is how it looks now.

To see the steps to get here read on after the break.

Grandfather Buzzard -Work in Progress 1

I decided to do another Buzzard painting to go with my American Gods series. I found a black canvas on sale the other day and decided to give it a try. I'm going to do this one in Acrylics. Here is my sketch in white pencil on the canvas.

 

This is the mock up I did in Photoshop. I wanted the Great Buzzard to be King of the birds

I photographed my sketch and then layered in over my digital mock up to
check my proportions before painting.

Once I corrected my sketch a little I started painting with white acrylic on the black canvas this will be another painting using the grisaille technique .

Continuing with the white. I thinned it down with water for more gradation in tone.

For the shadows I am using some thinned Paynes grey for now. 

I will add color when I am happy with all the under painting.

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Check it out if you have some free time.

A New World Order Revisited

A New World Order has been drying on the wall in my living room and as I have been looking at it all this time I decided to add the detail back to the people in the bowl and a couple other small details. I had decided to take out some of the politics but after living with it for a while I realized that was the real point of the painting from the beginning.

Here is the painting as it sits on my easel right now. 

I added the flags back and also started painting in an Illuminati ring. 

 I changed the Trump and Hillary flags to Democrat and Republican and also 

added a white surrender flag in the middle of the bowl.

A little more detail and added some more shadows in the bowl.

I thought I would add an "Illuminati Decoder Ring" and actually Googled it

 and this was one of the rings that came up. I'm letting it dry overnight and I will add some more detail and see if I dream up anything else over night. :)

Vulture: Work in Progress 18

I did a glaze of 50/50 turps and stand oil today to bring out the gloss and add a little glaze color over each area. It will be drying for a week now before I do anything more. Next will be a retouching varnish mixed into the oil medium for the final touches.

I am going to order the retouching varnish and then wait until I'm happy the glaze is dry enough before going into the final detail work. Then I'll have to come up with a title for this one.

Vulture: Work in Progress 17

A little more progress today. I'm getting where I'm pretty happy with the painting overall now. A few nitpick spots and I'll call it done.

To see the step by step photos and explanations read on after the break.

Vulture: Work in Progress 16

I've been adding more layers of intense color today, here are the results.

To see the step by step photos read on after the break.

Check out my website and order some Fine Art Prints for the Holidays if you have some time.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 15

I'm really putting the paint on thick now, punching up the color and taking the detail down a notch.

Today's progress.

To see the step by step photos read on after the break.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 14

I've been looking at my painting a couple days now and thinking about some of the comments from some friends online. I decided I've been going a little too far with the small details which really isn't my normal style of work. 

 

I originally started this painting to try out a new technique. Painting in grisaille with acrylics in the first stages and then switching over to oils. Grisaille was a technique used by the Dutch painters to do beautiful layered portraits. I love portraits but I normally have a much looser style of painting, more like the impressionists. I found on this painting I have been getting more and more realistic due I think to the technique. However, looking at a couple areas of the painting where I was a little less careful, I find I really like those areas and so I am going to kick up the color and paint a new layer a little more loosely and see how I like it.

To see how I got to this point read on after the break.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 13

Really getting into the detail and refining work now. Here is a shot of it right now.

Here is a detail shot of the inside of the bowl.

To see the step by step shots and the thinking behind them read on after the break.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 12

I had a dream last night about my painting, this happens quite a lot when I am in a creative space, so I decided to give my Vulture some feather dreadlocks with a nod to the Predator series. 

 

I also did a couple other things. To see what they are read on after the break.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 11

It's been a productive day today and I'm beginning to see just how long this project

 could take before it's finished.

I got quite a bit accomplished today, to see the step by step progress photos read on after the break.

 

Vulture: New painting work in progress 10

I started adding detail on the Vultures head today. Makes a big difference.

To see the step by step photos, read on after the break.

Vulture: New painting work in progress 9

I'm thinking this will be taking a really long time! I added more color and started checking my composition and proportions today.

Each layer of detail adds more interest for me and I see more things to add.

To see the step by step process read on after the break.