Andromeda and the Sea Creature

Posted on December 2, 2020 by victoria A. Olson

Stolen Spring of 2020

Here is a short clip painting the painting

A lithograph of a woman sitting in front of a spider web

Plaza de los Pintores – Madrid

Posted on September 8, 2018 by victoria A. Olson

On Sunday September 9th, I’ll be at the Plaza de los Pintores. These are some of the pieces I’m going to show.

Lithograph print of a nude with his foot on his knee on a checked floor and light coming through the windows

Alexander Reclining 1992

Aracne 1992

A print of a red headed woman walking through the forest.

Canto I (88) She Wolf 1991

A print of a couple in a row boat with Lauralie near the boat

Lauralie 1992(2of5)

Watercolor of a girl looking in a mirror in a forest with a tall building in the back ground seen through the trees.

Reflection 2011

Print of a red head looking at the sea with a ship in the horizon

Circe Gazing at the Horizon 1990

A lithograph of A woman screaming with a tiger in the background

The Flight of Thisbe 1991

If you are in Madrid, drop by and see us at Plaza Conde de Barajas (Plaza de los Pintores). I’ll be there every Sunday in September from 10-2. Hope to see you there.

Canto VII (67-96) Fortune in the fourth circle with the hoarders and the wasters 2017 Illustrating Epic Poetry.

Posted on October 7, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Epic poetry is my favorite read, here in particular is Fortune in Canto VII, passing out chances, fate and the like. She’s mentioned in Inferno by Alighieri. I paint Fortune holding a wheel,
keeping in pace with modern atrocities such as the Pripyat Wasteland.
Remember the yellow ferris wheel that was never used because every single person in the city of Pripyat city had to run away as fast as they could leaving everything behind, and you would think…but, no, “they” keep making them.
: Canto VII The Wheel of Fortune with The Hoarders and the Wasters 2017; Canto VII Inferno by Dante Alighieri; This book reveals a lot of things about humanity. It’s called a comedy; Yeah, maybe their punishment is humorous. The hoarders rolling huge rocks and slamming them into the squanderers, shouting “Why do you waste?”, and they, in turn, shout “Why do you hoard?”; They are unrecognisable nudes covered in dark slime shouting with twisted angry faces. If the punishments suits the sin, could it be wasting time on meaningless activities?; Today there’s a new sets of hoarders and wasters. Where do they plan on keeping all the hoarded nuclear fuel rod waste and what are they going to do about the already wasted land; keep adding to it? I ask my self. There is a plan on how to let people living in the far future know that the stuff that’s burried deep below is not valuable like a treasure to dig up; but, an invisible killer. Our society finds things they’ve dug up every day, so why wouldn’t our distant future dig things up to find out about pre-existing societies like we do? Could it be that “they” don’t care because they won’t be here.

Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016 – Oil on canvas –

Posted on August 27, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Canto VI Cerberus 2016

The Divine Comedy (Illustration)

Dante awakens in the 3rd circle.

Cold dirty rain-fall, mixing with heavy hailstones, pounding down, finally, streaking the nude bodies of the condemned souls lying supine in the filthy mud. (epic poetry of Dante Alighieri)

Cerberus, the three-headed, dog-like worm beast stands over the souls clawing at the slightest movement made by the supine lying in the filth.

The process of the painting is below.

Drawing for Canto VI

I did a few drawings like this one above and a watercolor.

Canto VI Cerberus 2015

Next, I painted a similar version on a canvas with egg tempera to start with.

On Canvas

I started building up shape and color

Egg tempera

Then I changed my mind about something

Building up the shapes

I wanted a frontal view of the mouth

I put everything more or less where I wanted it

Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016

And then I changed my mind again

That’s what I like about art

Dante’s Inferno Canto IV Modern Language Version. Written by Jim Belton and Illustrated by Victoria Olson.

Posted on March 19, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Canto IV Limbo 2017

The next day, we came to the foot of a noble castle, circled seven times by high walls. A fair creek encircled the walls, but we crossed it as if it was hard ground. I went in through the seven gates with the sages, and we came to a healthy green meadow.

Jim Belton’s modern language version of Canto II by Dante Alighieri. Click here to read Canto IV.

Figure Painting

Posted on February 23, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

Dante’s Inferno Canto IV in process – Mixed Technique: Tempera Under-painting and Resin-Oil Finish.

ILLustration in Process of Canto IV, Limbo

Almost finished…(Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy)

Canto IV Session 20

The mixed technique is oil paint and egg tempera. The resin-oil drying time is more than a few days.

When drying a painting with this kind of mixture make sure the painting is isolated for a few days since all varnishes are volatile and harmful.

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is as Divine as Epic Poetry gets. There’s nothing pretty about the poem to paint and art has never been about painting a pretty pictures.

I’ve posted three sessions, the other sessions in between were mistakes taken off of the canvas. ;).

Session 19

Canto IV Limbo Session 10

Figure Painting

Posted on December 31, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

Dante’s Inferno Canto IV in process – Mixed Technique: Tempera Underpainting and Resin-Oil Finish.

Illustration in Process of Canto IV Limbo.

Canto IV Limbo Last Session

Canto IV Session 12

Canto IV Session 11

Canto IV Session 10

Canto IV Session 9

Canto IV Session 8

Canto IV Session 7

Canto IV Session 6

Canto IV Session 5

Canto IV Session 4

Canto IV Session 3

Canto IV Session 2

Canto IV Session 1

Dante’s Inferno Canto II Modern Language Version. Written by Jim Belton and Illustrated by Victoria Olson.

Posted on December 25, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

Dante’s Inferno Canto II (55) Beatriz Summons Virgil in Limbo 2012

“I was among those who are suspended in Limbo, when a Lady called me. She was so blessed and beautiful that I asked her to command me. Her eyes were more luminous than the stars, and she began to speak to me sweetly and quietly, with an angelic voice, in her own tongue.”

Jim Belton’s modern language version of Canto II by Dante Alighieri. Click here to read Canto II.

Dante’s Inferno Canto I Modern Language Version. Written by Jim Belton and Illustrated by Victoria Olson

Posted on November 23, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

Canto I (49-50)

“and I lost hope of reaching the hilltop. I was like a man who takes his gains willingly, but when the time comes to lose, weeps and is full of sadness. The beasts came at me and little by little pushed me back down the slope toward the dark wood, where the sun did not shine.”

I found Jim Belton’s modern language version on word press; he’s been re-writing The Divine Comedy – by Dante Alighieri. Click here to read Canto I.

Figurative Mixed Media Painting Process of Canto IV, an Illustration of Limbo inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy

Posted on November 19, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

I start with stretcher bars.

73 cm x 100 cm or 28.74 in x 39.37 in

I’m using duck cloth. It’s heavy, plain woven cotton fabric.

duck cloth

I mounted the material on the stretcher bars, gave it a thin coat of rabbit skin glue (let it dry) and then I primed it. Primer: Mix equal amounts of zinc oxide, calcium sulfate and rabbit skin glue. Pour the rabbit skin glue into the zinc oxide and calcium sulfate little by little mixing with a brush.

Primer

Here is the primed canvas on the easel.

Primed Canvas

Egg tempera emulsion is made by mixing an egg, oil, varnish and water together in a tall flask of equal proportions, shaking after each ingredient in that respective order.

Mixing the Emulsion

I started off using these earth colors: blanco de España, zinc oxide, verde Veronese, transparent gold ocher and vine black.

Dry Pigment with Emulsion and Spatula for mixing

This is what the pigments look like when mixed with the emulsion. This is a water based medium.

Pigment mixed with emulsion and water container

Egg tempera can be watered down as thinly as you like, but not always as thick as you like.

Session 1 egg tempera under painting in process

I start adding color and still painting thinly.

Session 2 egg tempera under painting

This is the under painting.

Session 3 egg tempera under painting

Canto IV describes a castle emanating a fire-like-light in limbo within a dark forest void of light.

Session 4 egg tempera under painting

I used gold leaf to represent the light.

Gold leaf

I paint the area where I want to put the gold leaf on because the canvas has to be sealed or the gold leaf won’t stick.

Session 5 gold leaf

Here, I’ve just started to use oil color. I mixed dry pigment with poppy seed oil. When mixed, the paint should stand up like butter.

Session 6 oil painting

Resin oil is a mixture of stand oil, thickened linseed oil and venetian turpentine.

Session 7 resin oil

With wet resin oil, you can paint hair-line brush strokes into it with egg tempera and switch back and forth with tempera and oil. This is a mixed media. You must always follow the rule of fat over lean.

Canto IV, Limbo Session 8