Early stages of At Sanctuary's Gate

Enamoured of this three colour background, I wanted to try one more very strong set of colours before I mute them somewhat.

I decided to move away from Ultramarine, Alizarin and Aureolin and use Ultra Violet, Winsor Orange and Green Gold.

The door knocker is derived from the old medieval knocker which used to stand on the North Door of Durham Cathedral. In medieval times, one only had to knock and ask, and Sanctuary was granted to anyone fleeing from the brutal justice of the time. The Law of Sanctuary was abolished in England in the 1600s.

So my sanctuary knocker is set floating in the sky, representational of knocking at the Ultimate Sanctuary gate.

Drawing on the paper first, before putting the background washes in. They were very wet, because I wanted to press some cling film into them to create those interesting textural marks. When the cling film was in place, I weighted it with a couple of books to keep the film pressed in the washes. If you click to make the picture large, you will see that more clearly.

Next I start to paint the knocker, building up the colour in layers.
For this, you have to be patient. Each layer has to dry thoroughly. I'm hoping it will be worth it in the end.