PAINT A LARGE-SCALE FANTASY SCENE

PATRICK J. JONES explores creating a museum-worthy painting, demonstrating step by step how he works on a beautiful fantasy scene of epic proportions

Escape from the Valley of the Harpies started with a call from Pat Wilshire, the co-creator of the fantasy art show IX in the USA. Pat told me that a collector in Singapore was creating a fantasy art museum and is interested in whatever works I might have, preferably large works.

As most of my private paintings are sold on commission or on completion I only had three originals left, one which was ‘Solomon’s Loss’, my very favourite. The collector made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and sadly I said goodbye to one of my beloved children. Solomon’s Loss is a fairly large piece at 30 x 40 inches. The collector, a man with a big vision, then inquired about a much larger commission specifically painted for the museum, informing me that no size was too large. I love painting big, but how big I can work, without renting space outside my home studio, depends on how high my home studio ceiling is – considering the painting will mostly rest on an adjustable crank easel, not on the floor. With the painting already three feet off the floor to start with, I quoted for a size of 72 x 48 inches, as this is a manageable height for me to stand and paint.

With such a large canvas, this means thinking of the painting in two parts for me to be at eye level at any given point.

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In this article I will focus purely on the ‘how to paint’ steps, with the acknowledgement that I am working with posed life models as I go; my process of working with figure drawing models is well documented in my books and movies throughout my webstore and Youtube channel.

Although my paintings are completed without art direction during the creative process, I usually give the collector a choice of three ideas at the doodle stage based on their broad request. This takes the pressure off the collector and gives me the freedom to paint the best art possible. The request here is for a barbarian painting including a beautiful princess. With the deal struck and the excitement of what lies in the unknown, I get to doodling some ideas…

Patrick J. Jones is a fantasy artist and teacher. His latest books, ‘Oil Painting Masterclass’ and ‘Drawing from Photos’, are available worldwide. www.pjartworks.com