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Motive Force: Step 2 »

Motive Force: Step 1

Motive Force

Welcome back once again to the Artist’s Studio. That’s right… I am back for more. This composition is one I have been working on longer than just about anything I have ever painted. Years ago, I would guess about 1997, I began working on a painting based on the character of Dagny Taggart from Atlas Shrugged. From the beginning, the title of the piece was to be Motive Force, a reference to the powerful locomotive engine in the background, but more specifically to the figure of the woman responsible for keeping not just the train, but the entire railroad running. The theme is that behind even the most amazing products of the human mind is exactly that… a human mind: ultimately the most powerful motive force. My then fiancée, Sara, agreed to model for the figure. The reference material was perfect, the idea was great, but at that time I was not skilled enough to pull the piece off. I abandoned it after several weeks of work.

I kept the reference photos, and a few months ago decided to revisit the composition as part of an effort to think of possible cover ideas for the novel Atlas Shrugged (this effort also yielded the idea for my last piece Self Absolution of the Titan). This compositional sketch is the result. I didn’t intend to paint the piece right away, but the idea I had been working on since the Titan piece just wasn’t working out, and this one was ready to go.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 6th, 2004 at 5:01 pm and is filed under Motive Force. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Motive Force: Step 1”

  1. Kari Christie Says:
    October 6th, 2004 at 7:15 pm

    I am so glad you have returned to this painting. What a challenge it must be but what a wonderful goal. I will eagerly watch your progress and it will be another print I hope to have on my wall one day. I am already moved.

  2. Steven Brockerman Says:
    October 7th, 2004 at 9:00 pm

    Bryan,

    The composition & perspective is powerful, dramatic and entirely fitting. This just may be your best yet.

  3. Joanna Erbach Says:
    October 9th, 2004 at 10:00 am

    Thanks so much for posting these works in progress. I love watching your paintings evolve. The sense of restrained energy in Dagny’s pose, as if she was about to leap off the track, is really effective. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of color palette you go with.

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About Bryan Larsen ~

Bryan Larsen

"I was born on February 12, 1975, and have been drawing as long as I can remember. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be an artist, although at the time I didn't have a clear idea of how exactly I would use my talents to make a living.

"As I continued studying art, I began to suspect that fine visual art was dead. No one seemed interested in teaching students how to draw well, or paint well. More often than not, my own skills exceeded those of my instructors.

"The only field left that seemed to require good drawing, painting, and compositional skills was illustration, and therefore I began studying illustration at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I became even more convinced that I had made the right decision in staying away from fine art as I endured course after course of required "drawing" and "painting" classes in which instructors required me to draw with "less focus", or use ridiculous materials such as shellac, glue, sand, salt, etc.

"My second year at Utah State, I met Damon Denys. In discussing Art with him I realized that there were other people who believed that technique and subject matter were indispensable components of any work of art. I then decided that I would work to develop my own painting skills with the purpose of creating artwork that I considered worthy of being called Fine Art.

"Since that time, I have studied on my own: Drawing from live models to learn the human form, studying proper painting techniques from any source I could find ample reason to trust, and developing a philosophy of Art based on reason, and life on earth.

"My goal is to portray the heroic and romantic in human nature and human achievement in a realistic style and a modern setting. I place particular emphasis on composition, technique, realistic detail, proper craftsmanship and consistency of style."