Monday, November 12, 2012

686 - Archangel Michael, Part VI


 
Kapow!  Icon as superhero!  (Note to self, someone might buy a Superman done in orthodox painting style, although someone might get sued for painting that.)
 
Last week I was unsatisfied with the blue for the clothing.  I decided that maybe I should lay out more colours to see how everything would fit together.  The wings and cape are crimson (although they look pink because I need a dozen more layers of paint), and the floor is blue and yellow in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.  Saint Michael, among other things, is the patron saint of Kiev, the capital city in the Ukraine.  What I have now is a composition bursting with primary colours.  The effect is powerful but not subtle. 
 
When adhering to orthodox standards, we follow the rules of the orthodoxy: that's the whole idea of belonging to such a movement.  However, we are human and subject to many variables which range from what we might consider as controllable to things that are beyond our control at all.  As such, we find ways to bend to fit within rigid orthodox structure.  In this way, orthodoxy itself changes, and our humanity is the agent of this change.  Sometimes, the change is for the worse, such as when a religion endorses murder in God's name.  Sometimes, the change is for the better, such as deciding through trial and error, and perhaps some measure of faith,  the best possible colour scheme for the painting of a fierce angel.