Talion in Mordor | 01 / 100
Acrylic on Paper (98 lb), 7×10 in
Painting Materials
Acrylic Heavy Body Paint:
- Mars Black
- Titanium White
- Neutral Gray
- Orange Red
- Lemon Yellow
Other materials:
- White Gesso
- Synthetic paint brushes
- Plastic diamond-shaped palette knife
- Painters tape
Composition Details
This painting was done in two sessions, and it took 0:47:09 to complete. The painting was finished on 9/1/2026.
I based this painting on an image I saw online. I wanted to test this style, and it felt like something I could do at my current skill level. Another point of this painting was to keep things loose and free. Since I am still learning, I felt it was important not to stress out too much about placing each brush stroke perfectly, and instead focus on how to get the paint to flow across the page.
To create this painting, I taped a sheet of mixed-media paper to the back of a clipboard with ½-inch blue painter’s tape. I then applied a thick layer of white gesso straight from the bottle. Once the gesso and paper were dry, I laid in the background by mixing white and gray paint together. These brushstrokes were quick and messy, and I focused on creating interesting, cloud-like patterns. Once the background was covered, I used the palette knife to form the volcano, cliff, and tower structures. This paint was thicker, and I left the painting to dry overnight. When I returned to the painting, I used a palette knife to add a bit more color and texture to the volcano and cliff sections. Afterward, I painted in the figure, remaining loose with a small paintbrush. For the final touches, I added orange and yellow highlights to the painting, then painted in the smoke coming out of the volcano.
Reflection
This is the second time I have painted acrylic on paper. The first time I painted on an unprepared surface, I found that the paint soaked into the paper and wasn’t as easy to work with. I was curious how gesso would affect the paper and how much warping would occur. To my surprise, the paper did hold up rather well. I think that was partly because the paper was already taped down. That said, when I removed the tape, some of the page’s edges tore. This is a problem I need to learn how to fix so future paintings don’t get damaged when I remove the tape. Testing this out was a good learning experience and gave me a few things to think about as I prepare for the next painting.
I enjoy painting with acrylics, but they dry so fast, and I have such a hard time blending them. The fact that I can quickly add layers does make up for this. While working on this painting, I didn’t mix any water into the acrylic paint. Since I was using heavy body acrylic paint, it was rather thick, and working with it was a little difficult. In future paintings, I am going to experiment with the bottle of slow-dry medium that I have, as well as adding more water to the paints. Moving forward, I need to work on blending the colors on the page and improving my brush control.
