– I wanted to paint a phoenix for a long time and at the beginning of the year is a perfect moment, I think.
The pheonix is an unique symbol and a great and fascinating creature, because always he dies, he will be reborn strong, rising from his ashe.
The digitally created reference shows the phoenix arising in a candle´s smoke, which is a great idea. Creating a bright, glowing effect, which is the key feature, with acrylics is a challenge and some time ago I would have not been able to manage it, but it worked by layering lighter colors on darker. In contrast to the reference, I painted the wings loose, open and a bit imprecise, because in my opinion it suits the loose smoke-like rest better, has a nice suitable effect and intensifies his majestic expression. At first, the blank black background was too boring, so I also painted a bit blue smoke and some sparks inspired by the reference. The contrasting blue smoke also makes the phoenix standing out more and the painting more interesting.