The Last Dragon of the Earth
A Commissioned Painting
On 36" x 24" Wood
Acrylic and Resin

It is one of the painting I made for a long time. The work in progress almost took one year. Motivation and idea were scarce for me, and a lot of pressure and side quest awaited me that time. And I really wanted to finish it. Thanks goodness, I finally got time to finish this beast.

Here's the story behind my painting:

The Last Dragon on Earth: Dragonfly

A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera (from Greek ἄνισος anisos, "unequal" and πτερόν pteron, "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing). Adult dragonflies are characterized by large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold the wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each. Source

source

Why do I choose Dragonfly as a subject?

It is said that you possess the power light if your spirit animal is dragonfly. The man who commissioned me this painting is a great man for he is a natural altruist. He helps a lot of friends and people. He reaches their hands and gives them the opportunity to learn and progress on their own. Yes, he is like giving them light in their pathway.

Dragonfly calls you to live your life.

The dragonfly meaning also resonates with wisdom and deep thoughts. Dragonflies are not exactly the biggest and strongest creatures in the world, so every flight they take is perilous and truly unforgettable.

I also believe that dragonflies are the descendants of the dragons. I know this is a silly and childish idea, but it is what runs in my head eversince I saw a dragonfly when I was a kid. I always asked my grandmother if they are the modern dragons, and it fascinates me when I see them fly.

This man, I think also resembles dragon, I can sense his power over people and things he manage. He is a good man.

MATERIALS:

And in order to make this painting come into life, we need earth colors.
I prepared the following materials and color:

White Paint
Dark Blue Paint
Yellow Paint
Green Paint
Gold Powder
Large Wooden Canvas
Sticks
Cup

WORK IN PROGRESS

PART 1

Prepare the materials and canvas on a flat surface. Make sure that the canvas is mounted higher than your working station or table,in my case, since I am working on the floor, I put the canvas above 4 cans so it stay elevated. This is necessary for me to see where the paint will go and so that I can easily lift the canvas on which side I wanted the paint to flow. NOTE: make sure that you cover your working surface with protective paper or cover to avoid a messy station. Remember that pour painting is messy but fun.

Just like my other pour painting, I put the colors on one cup without fully mixing them. I used these colors to make an earthly color combination: green, blue, brown and white

Pouring is the next step. You can just pour the cup on any surface on the canvas.

Next thing to do is to let the paint dry overnight. You will also notice that your poured paint might change position especially when your surface has thick paint mixture on it.

Background

DETAILS:

One of the good things you can get from painting in large canvas is appreciating each small details as if they can already stand alone on their own and represent a different story in the painting itself.
Here are some of my favorite parts of this painting:

(The result of the pour painting was satisfying for me since I like the background to resemble Earth )

PART 2

Once the surface of pour painting has been dried out, it is now time to pour some resin on top of it. But before that, I used some gold and white paint to add accent to the background.

And then I pour the first layer of the epoxy resin.

Note: Mix equal parts of solution A and B in one cup, enough to cover the whole surface. Where mask to avoid inhaling the resin. Also, use gloves to protect your hands. Resin is hard to wash, if it happen to touch your skin use isopropyl alcohol and soap to remove.

I cut out shapes of dragonfly silhouettes from a piece of white paper.
These silhouettes were placed on the first layer of dried resin. And then another layer of epoxy resin was poured on the painting.