St Michael Painting Sequence and a William Morris Angel

 St. Michael the Archangel Subduing the Serpent.  Acrylic on canvas, 4" x 12".

(A sort of follow-up to my earlier post about St. Ignatius and Mid-Century influences. This one's got a bit of the 60's in it, but is also influenced by William Morris' angels. Hope you enjoy!)

“A good way to rid one's self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.”

-William Morris

I love this quote--it speaks to my personality, but I know from teaching kids for years that it doesn't just apply to me. The Arts and Crafts Movement (of which Morris was a founding force) believed strongly in the benefits of working with one's hands. And sadly, schools (in the U.S. at least) have virtually wiped out wood and metal shop, and art programs are constantly on the chopping block. I'm pretty sure that most student "force vibrating out of order" in class could be mitigated by offering students a chance to "do something" with their hands.

Enough editorializing.  Following is the sequence and inspiration for this post's painting:

 My original preliminary sketch--a skinny St. Michael, and a seriously weird pose. I changed it.

 Paint step 1--Pink, yikes!

 Paint step 2

 Paint step 3--St. Michael in need of an exorcist

 Paint step 4

 Paint step 5
His head's turned too much--not quite right.

 Paint step 6

 Paint step 7

Here I fixed his head turn

 Final painting (detail)

Angel sketch by William Morris

I looked at a lot of angel paintings before I began my drawings. This sketch by Morris was his prelim for a stained glass window.  I liked the treatment of the wings especially.

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Until next time--Peace!