Karabakh Orchid

Posted on

Another Portrait is ready!

I was really excited to work on this piece. I loved learning about Azerbaijani culture in the study for Khari-bulbul. I was drawn to how beautiful and elaborate the traditional head dresses are.

I chose the media in this piece for the gentle contrast they offer. Initially, I had anticipated Khari-bulbul being a straightforward execution, but the head dress ended up being more challenging that I initially planned. Having cooperative wood species to work with allowed me to reach the technical level that I was trying to achieve on this work.

It may seem unusual to describe a medium as “cooperative,” but wood grain is natural and diverse and each piece is unique. They vary from species to species; even the angle the wood is cut at can change the direction and behaviour of the grain.