Sky Burial 2

Sky Burial 2 was the first BIG painting I created and for the first time, on a finer grade of linen. SB1 and Buddha Returns were painted on a course linen which isn’t great for maintaining detail and it just doesn’t suit what I wanted. This one was the breakthrough for me, a signature piece.

And this sketch is where this one started. It wasn’t all smooth sailing however.

The left to right composition wasn’t working, compounded by the slope downward to the right.

The very first thumbnail sketch for Sky Burial 2

Sky Burial 2 sketch

Here are some of the in progress shots of the final larger version.

The first time I was going to exhibit Sky Burial 2 was going to be at IlluXcon in Allentown in the US, 2014. At the last minute, I was contacted about showing the work at the Society of Illustrators in NY for the Spectrum exhibition. I couldn’t say no to that but I had already made arrangements to show it at IlluXcon.

Thankfully the super high res scan allowed me to print an exact copy onto canvas which I hung at IlluXcon. Despite being labelled as a print, most people thought it was the original!

SB3, SB2, Buddha Returns, SB1 and Rendezvous hanging at IlluXcon 2014.

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SB2 hanging in the Society of Illustrators, NY, 2014

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SB2 sketch

A friend of mine took one look at the oil painting I was working on and said, flip it and paint it bigger!

So I abandoned that one (see below) and started on a much bigger one with the composition flipped.

This was the first oil painting version, 40in across. Eventually abandoned.

Here are some close up details of the final painting. Click to enlarge.