A.R. Danziger, Art & Design

I'll have 3 angels total in the piece I'm currently working on.  There are many different styles of angels in all the Apocalypse manuscripts I've looked at, but I continue to like the look of the angel from the Annunciation in the Westminster Psalter with his Classical tunic and toga combined with what appears to be a Byzantine influenced way of modeling the figure and drapery: Here's my second figure study. I haven't decided whether this one or the previous will be St. Michael standing at the front of the angel cluster:

I had some very kind assistants agree to pose for reference photos that I could use to base my figures on for my latest painting.  They won't bear a real likeness to the people I photographed...mostly I need help knowing what lots of folded and draped fabric looks like. You can't draw or paint anyone from the Bible without a lot of drapery, and I can always tell when drapery looks faked. Here's my first angel study:

I've been scouring the internet for medieval manuscripts of the subject matter I'm going to paint for the Apocalypse Prize .  My first painting will be of the Woman Clothed with the Sun from Revelation chapter 12 .  I want to include the battle between St. Michael and the Dragon as well.  Here are a few manuscripts that inspired me: St. Michael and his angels battling the Dragon by Pacino de Buonaguida, Florence, 1340 A.D. The Cloisters Apocalypse, Normandy, 1330 A.D. The Woman Clothed with the Sun, Cloisters Apocalypse, Normandy, 1330 A.D. The Woman Clothed with the Sun, MS Paris 403, France, 1250 A.D. Next, the way I begin to sketch out the layout involves dividing up the plane using the armature of the rectangle .  Basically, connecting the midpoint of each side with the opposite corner gives you a framework for building a harmonious composition based on proportional intervals. See how I've use the intersections to determine where the i...