Battle of Bosworth 2 - Finished

For Want of a Nail - Oil on board, 19" x 10" by Greg Newbold

As I explained when I posted the sketch version of this piece, the symbolism of King Richard III's fall is carried by the rumpled battle flag on the ground and the thrown horseshoe. I preferred this to the the proposed mob battle scene. I think it says more with less and the first piece is plenty to set the battle scene. This ended up being more fun than I thought when I took on the project. I especially likes painting the contrasting textures of the flag, the grass and the horseshoe.

Battle of Bosworth 1 - Finished

Richard III falls in battle signaling farewell to the Plantagenet Dynasty in Britain. I  think this one is done, barring any feedback to the contrary from the client. I enjoyed the challenge of creating a battle scene and overall am pretty pleased with the result. Despite the vibrant primary colors in the heraldry, I think that the neutrals carry the show which is what I wanted. What do you Think?

Battle Of Bosworth Sketch - Part 2

Yesterday I posted the drawing for the opening spread of the Battle of Bosworth article I am illustrating. This second spread depicts the aftermath symbolically by showing the fallen King Richard III battle flag and the thrown horseshoe. This solution was my attempt to simplify the original concept proposed by the AD in which it appeared that the entire royal army would be raging into battle. I don't much like what I call "mob scenes" in my illustration work and I had already given a very ambitious view of the battle in the opening sketch, so this quieter resolution was embraced by the art director.  Both of these will be oil on panel. I'll post the finish pieces later.

Battle of Bosworth - Sketch

Battle of Bosworth- 11" x 17" graphite  drawing by Greg Newbold

Here is the working drawing for a magazine article  am illustrating that recounts the Battle of Bosworth, in which Richard III of England was defeated by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. The popular account of this battle suggests that a poor blacksmithing job resulting from a lack if time and nails led to Richard's horse throwing a shoe in combat. Richard's horse stumbled and fell after throwing a shoe he was forced to engage the battle on foot. He rose from the ground as his horse galloped away shouting "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"  Henry's army ultimately killed Richard and Henry assumed the throne. The Battle of Bosworth Field is deemed the decisive battle that ended the War of the Roses and brought to an end the reign of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. I admittedly am not an English history buff, so it was fun to dig a little into the details to arrive at what I hope is a pretty accurate depiction of the scene. I am limited as for time and space (note the large area to the left of the spread where type will fall), so I had to creatively suggest the raging battle. I also needed to focus on details like  the heraldry in the flag and the styles of armor and weapons of the period. If I did not achieve total accuracy in historical detail, I think that I was able to capture the spirit of the action. For me, that is half the battle, so to speak. This will be a fun one to paint. I am doing this one in oil and hope to get going on the paint phase it today assuming
I get approval from the client.