34 Artists Magazine June 2020
IN MY RECENT WORK, I’ve been
increasingly interested in exploring
more complicated, multi-figure
compositions. At 8x11¾ feet, Wedding
(above, and pages 38–39) is the larg-
est and most complex painting that
I’ve attempted so far. The work, from
planning to completion, took nearly a
year and a half. Here’s an account of
the creative process from the initial
germ of an idea to completion.THE CREATIVE SPARK
The idea was sparked by Théodore
Géricault’s masterpiece, The Raft of the
Medusa (right). The composition’s scale
and energetic movement, and the way
the figures seem to be traveling back
into the deep space of the painting,
excited me. The foreground figures
appear lifeless or despairing while fur-
ther in, the background figures seem
more hopeful, vigorously waving down
a ship on the far horizon that possibly
could be their salvation.The Story
Behind a Painting
What does the conceptual process
look like? Artist Zoey Frank takes us
through the thinking part of a painting
as experienced in the work of building
her monumental work, Wedding.
by Zoey FrankThe Raft of the Medusa
by Théodore Géricault
1818–19; oil on canvas
16x23½ feet
THE LOUVRE, PARIS