Greetings,friends.
I have not posted any new paintings from a month. I was so deeply swallowed making this painting. It took me two months to finish it. This painting will take part in international competition - exhibition named "Keepers of Orthodoxy . This was my first try to make a battle. This painting is named "The battle near Neva river". It was in 13th century when the Swedish army attacks in order to impose Catholicism over Orthodox Russia. The defending army won, lead by the prince Alexander Nevsky on Neva river.
I had to gather information from the history by finding a typical clothing, shields, armors, swords, helmets and etc. The first thing I started from was the composition. I made a decision to use oils. After I made the composition it was time to draw the main figure of the prince Alexander Nevsky.
It was really new challenge to me, but I wanted to try. Sometimes I was lost in to the masks from the brushes thinking about is there any reason or meaning to finish it, or is this the best way to me to present myself, Anyway it was new to me. I wanted to make the main figures on the foreground and the leading figure of prince Nevsky. I used a diagonal composition. The morning sunlight illuminates the snow and the figures. The river is frozen. It was really interesting and also a bit hard to make the texture of ice under the warriors.
Ice without any reflections but at the same time transparent.
I received an email today that this painting will participate in the exhibition. Here some steps of this long process.
Yours,
Silviya