First Heat: Step 1
The next piece I will be working on in the Artist’s Studio is another in the series based on cover ideas for Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. This time the subject is Henry Rearden, a steel mill owner and the inventor of a revolutionary metal alloy. In this painting, Rearden will be leaning against a steel beam in his mills, watching the pouring of the first heat of his new metal. The theme is pride in one’s greatest accomplishments. As I discuss the progress of this piece in the studio, I have decided to spend more time on the development of the composition from the original sketch to the final scale sketch before I move on to the painting itself. I think this will allow me to show a little more of the thought process involved in the creation of a painting.
I have included two images with this post. The first is the original compositional sketch, which is already featured in the Cordair Gallery. This sketch represents a preliminary idea for this piece, rendered in enough detail to make a good presentation. For the figure I used some old reference material originally taken for another piece. The background is completely made up. I wanted to show the size of the mills and the brilliant arc of molten metal pouring though space. I have always liked the effect of the high contrast I achieved in ‘Heroes’, between the blast of the rocket engines and the night sky, and I would like to do something similar here. The sky shown in the sketch would be just before dark as a brilliant sunset is fading into orange. The dimming light of the sun would set off the blinding light of the molten metal. The figure watches from a window overlooking the steel yard.
As I began researching reference material for the steel mill, I realized that a few things would have to change. To begin with, it turns out that pouring metal alloys isn’t quite the carefree process I depicted in the sketch. It’s too bad really. I liked the long, graceful arc of metal spilling several stories through the air. But, apart from safety concerns, there are a number of metallurgical reasons for a more controlled pour. I decided to change the composition to represent a more realistic event. After re-reading the passage I had in mind as the inspiration for the piece, I also decided to change the pose and the clothing of the figure and move the scene inside the mills. Already the composition had changed dramatically. As I worked on different ideas based on these changes, I really began to miss the sunset behind the steel mills in the original sketch. I resolved the problem by including a row of windows along the top of the wall inside the mills. The sunset, and perhaps even some of the smokestacks, will be visible outside. The backlighting from the windows combined with the blinding light of the metal will cause the details of the mill to be almost completely silhouetted, increasing the contrast and adding a lot of drama to the piece.
The next step was to bring in a model and get some preliminary reference material for the figure. I also gathered reference material for the steel mill, enough to get a rough idea of what would be in the background. The end result of all this is the second compositional sketch. Now, this sketch is pretty rough, and it is still far from final, but it gives a good idea of the direction in which the composition is moving.
Tags: Bryan Larsen, First Heat
January 8th, 2005 at 12:15 pm
Bryan,
I have watched with fascination and awe as your works have come to life before our eyes on this terrific site feature. I first read Atlas Shrugged in the late 60s - recklessly dating myself. But it seems to me that Henry Rearden would be an older man. In this first sketch, he looks like he might be stretching to make 21 years. Thoughts?
January 10th, 2005 at 8:00 am
Mark,
First of all, I am glad you have been enjoying the Artist’s Studio. I think it is a great idea and have had a lot of fun participating. It definitely makes it more interesting for me when there are questions and comments, so thank you for yours.
Coincidentally, your question is the subject of my next post. Yes, Henry Rearden is much older (he is described as looking young for forty-five) than my primary model (he is eighteen…good guess). It can be surprisingly difficult to find people that have the look you need for a painting, let alone people who are willing to model. Let me assure you, however, that I will address this problem before the painting is finished, and there will not be an eighteen year old steel tycoon in the picture.