Kharon and the dead

This is a small, 10" by 18" oil sketch, done on paper mounted on panel (on masonite panel, which I've since stopped using, now I prefer 1/4" birch plywood. Birch is lighter and stronger and the corners don't get mashed in when dropped, as I inevitably do)

It's an image of the dead pouring out, in all their numbers, demanding passage across the Styx from Kharon, the ferryman of Greek myth. One wonders how Kharon could ever keep up. In my sketch, the dead are impatient and demanding, but I guess in the myth, they've got all the time in the world.


(click to enlarge)

Here's a detail of the boatsman and boat. You can see how loose and sketchy it is when seen at scale (if you click to enlarge it, it'll be quite a bit larger than the original painting)

(click to enlarge)