alexcastro.com » Canvas & Panels

Spirits of the Cavern Work in -Progress

Alex Castro — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:01:11 +0000

This rough conceptual brunt umber wet drawing will be painted on 20″ x 28″ custom made oil primed Belgium linen panel. Drawing by Alex Castro

Druid Dreams Work in -Progress

Alex Castro — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:43:25 +0000

Dear Friends ,

Druid Dreams , is a complex multi-faceted composition ; one of deep meditative beauty . I ‘ve never been to Stonehenge in England . I had to rely on stock photos, the Internet and anything I could get from books for my research. I would have loved to sketched these stones from life and actually touch them. To me they are magical! As fadmin (admin@classicmonsters.de)or inspiration, I’m a lover of anything that relates to Celtic and always had a fascination for the Druids, Merlin or anything to do with the Arthurian sagas. I’m also a great fan of books by Douglas Monroe, Druids and Merlin.

I have completed the stone work. I will finish the groundwork, grass, for last. In my next phrase I will be adding a moon in the upper left corner of the composition that will add balance and an air of mystery to the painting. As you can see, In the final phrase, I will discuss the issues involving the girl.

Final note, nothing is written in stone (lol . That is nothing is final at this point and some areas are still subject to change.

Thanking you for taking the time to look.

Stay tuned.

Alex
“Druid Dreams ”

This rough conceptual brunt umber wet drawing will be painted on 45″ x 24″ custom made oil primed Belgium linen panel. Drawing by Alex Castro
Composition: Going into this composition, I could think of no better back drop than Stonehenge. That being said, the stones would have to be impressive and significant in themselves but not enough to dominate and overshadow the girl. I used a mixture of elements to compose this composition like the strong static monoliths, against the turbulent tempest of clouds and movement of a dynamic sky with gray clouds on the move; the ying and the yang, to be balanced out with the moon and the girl.
I have included crows an top of most of the stones, since they seem to be present very often in Stonehenge. They are also symbolic of the black arts magic and Merlin.

“Druid Dreams” 45”x 24” graphite pencil on tracing paper, work-in-progress by Alex Castro ©

The painting: I felt that if the composition was to be credible, the stones had to be painted in a manner that they appeared realistic. I started painted the stones from left to right because I’m right handed. As I started painting each of the stones, I was struck by the uniqueness, grace and dignity that each of the stones possessed. I worked one stone at a time. It took me one to two days of painting, making sure I gave each of these stones the artistic attention they deserved.
When I paint, I like to think that each part of my painting is a mini stand alone painting that could be framed. You can see the quality and detail in each of these stones.

“Druid Dreams” painted on 45”x 24” custom made oil primed Belgium linen panel. WIP By Alex Castro

The Old Spaniard

Alex Castro — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:44 +0000

“The Old Spaniard,” oils on canvas, painted by Alex Castro

The Lady of The Rock

Alex Castro — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:36:13 +0000

“The Lady of the Rock, ” measures 20″ x 27,” oils on primed wood panel , work-in-progress by Alex Castro

The Spirit of The Corn

Alex Castro — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:35:19 +0000

The “Spirit of the Corn” measures 48 ” x 36, “ oils on canvas, painted by Alex Castro

Haitian Spiritual Singers

Alex Castro — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:32:42 +0000

The “ Haitian Spiritual Singers”, measures 20″ x 27,” oils, on custom made oil primed Belgium linen wood panel, painted by Alex Castro

Mindscape

Alex Castro — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:25:07 +0000

This work in progress painting entitled “Mindscape “, was conceived by me some 30 years ago, as with most of my concepts and compositions have been with me since childhood put have taken a life time to express on canvas !

These are just some of the thinking that went in to the parts of “Mindscape.” What the whole of these parts represent is up to the viewer! In this rough conceptual drawing, I could not find a better name for this composition then “Mindscape” because for me it represents a mental landscape. The landscape which is the plane of matter or solidify spirit represents the solid world. Note the scull outlined behind the female head representing the physical form in this composition.

The young woman looking up representing the five senses, is the world of feelings and emotions. Both the scull and the young woman are looking upward. At the center or the core is the awareness unit, consciousness that sees and is aware of everything. Note the reflection of the white birds in the eyes; it’s also where they originated from; representing pure white thoughts passing by. Note their flight path is in elliptical nature. I used white cockatoos instead of white doves to depict purity of thoughts, but more importantly speech or the ability to articulate sound and words! The male reaching out to take and the female offering representing the yin and yang of creation through procreation on the alter of matter.

These are just some of the thinking that went in to the parts of ”Mindscape.” What the whole of these parts represent is up to the viewer!

Enjoy,

Alex Castro

The Hands

Alex Castro — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:55:25 +0000

”The Hands ” measures 13″ x 27 “, oils on canvas , work in -progress by Alex Castro