This painting began with me looking at the two entranceways to my living room, both on the same wall at opposite ends of my bookshelf. There was a blank spot above each door, and I had the idea of adding a Lion and Unicorn. I’m an anglophile, and a Leo, and the rare male that loves Unicorns, so this was an idea I had to finish.
I decided to paint the Lion in oils to play and learn creating fur after doing rocky landscapes. This was only my second Oil painting ever, so it was ambitious, to say the least. I purchased a lot of new brushes, especially fan brushes, to get the feathery effects. Also big fat brushes to cover larger areas since I’d been using small brushes to cover large amounts of area and it was tedious.
I have more gallery photos to add when I find them. I switched both phone and computer since finishing this, and the transition was bumpy. I also had some more in progress photos on FB that I need to dig up.
It currently hangs beside the entranceway, not above it. I need a ladder to get up there as my living is in the new addition of the house, and the original house from 1850 is two steps up from the living room. The entranceways used to be the original doors to the back part of the house. When I bought the place, the second entranceway was completely covered, and I didn’t know it was there until we did some minor remodeling and discovered it. Above the discovered entranceway I’m making a Unicorn out of tiles that I’m hand making. I’ll link to that post when I finish it. And that post will show both of them on the wall.
Making this for myself, I never planned on reselling it, and I didn’t expect it to come out well. However, it got such a strong reaction from everyone that saw it that I decided not only can I paint, but I should consider reproductions. That launched SB Studios, and began my foray into art fairs instead book and comic shows.
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