This piece was my third try on this canvas. When I was in high school I painted a dark abstract piece for my Grandma Joan, who passed away a few years ago. I decided that she wouldn’t want me to let the canvas go to waste, so started to paint over it.
The initial painting was of a warrior facing off against a dragon that had just landed. I really liked some parts of it, but felt the composition was weak. There was too much uninteresting white space at the top, and too much interesting action at the bottom.
I opted instead to work on something tied to a larger project I am looking to start this year. I have been plotting out around 70 issues of a comic book for a bit now and plan on painting the covers to comics that will likely never exist. This character is a key protagonist, so took the opportunity to work out who they are in a pivotal moment in their life.