Wagner for Der Spiegel!

My latest cover painted for Der Spiegel! This cover was a dream job come true for me. I've been wanting to paint a cover for Der Spiegel for years now, and finally I've done it! Feels good! I was also pleased that they didn't want caricature for this cover, it obviously wouldn't have been appropriate for the article or the man. I've never painted a dragon before and I loved it! They had a very specific dragon in mind and for a while I took it in a very different direction. I soon found out they didn't want a "wicked" looking dragon, or at least, not as wicked as I was making it. Hahah! Wagner was a challenge too but mostly because all the references of him are so old and are of course in black and white. It took me a little longer to figure out my color palette. This was a welcomed challenge and it was a great experience working with Suze who I think is a great art director! That goes a long way. I hope to work with her again real soon? First thing I did was try to get a solid likeness . . . After the likeness was established, I then began to compose the image. Once approved it was time to paint!