'Birth of a Tyrant': The Story of My Fantasy Painting

Oil Painting “Birth of a Tyrant” By Artist Dakota G. Thompson

“Birth of a Tyrant” was the biggest and most challenging painting I have ever made. Over the course of 8 months, I was tried, tested, and challenged in ways I never thought I would be. At times, I lost my drive, my desire to create art, and any joy therein. Yet I pushed through almost every limit I had and can safely say this is one of the best pieces of art I have ever made. This large, cinematic painting explores themes like power, corruption, and human nature.

Inspiration and Conceptualization Of This Painting

Power and corruption are common themes in art, and the themes I wanted to explore in this fantasy painting. Not only are they so common in today's world, but they are timeless, larger than any one person, and span across all of history. 

I wanted to explore those themes and the question, how can one person rally so many people to their side? How can one person convince so many to give them power? Not only this, but I wanted to remind people that we have a duty, a responsibility to stand up against exactly this kind of corruption and tyranny, hence the name of the painting. 

Visual Representation of Artistic Themes

The themes I mentioned are represented in a very cinematic painting of a dark, shadowy figure standing high above a sea of people. He holds his knife high, convincing the mob to do the same. The tense scene is set beneath an eclipsed sun in a rocky desert landscape as the shadows of the canyon walls fall atop the people. 

As to the theme of power, this is explicitly shown by the size and position of the characters. The tyrant stands tall, centered in the painting as the eclipse shines its light on him. Meanwhile, the crowd is smaller, one figure blends into the next, indistinct as if they are of one mind. They fall behind the leader, small, seemingly insignificant, and the shadows fall over them, symbolizing the darkness of the path they are on. 

Set in a barren, rocky, inhospitable environment on the dunes of the desert sand, even the world around them tells a story of how this came to be. The harshness and the unforgiving world pushed these people to their limits, and in their desperation, they let one among them rise. The eclipse painting further symbolizes the blocking out of light, metaphorically and literally, creating an eerie, ominous tone. 

Furthermore, even the colors of this painting were used to convey the mood and intensity of the scene. Bathed in warm reds, yellows, and oranges, the coloring creates a feeling of discomfort and harshness. 

Artistic Challenges and Techniques

The First Thumbnail Sketch for “Birth of a Tyrant”

In order to create this oil painting, I had to simultaneously rely on painting techniques I knew well, as well as learning many new ones. For instance, I knew how to paint a gradient for the sky, how to use lighting in art, and even how to paint figures. However, what I did not know was how to paint things like the eclipse, how to paint rocks, nor how to paint a crowd of people. The last one proved to be more trying than anticipated.

Depicting Complex Elements

It is no secret that I had to depict a lot of very big and complex events. The scope of this painting was far more than I have done previously. Not only was this the largest canvas size I’ve worked on, a large 24x36 inch canvas, but it also had, by my estimate, 5000 people in the crowd. To paint this, I needed to show the silhouettes of the characters simply and cleanly while not getting held back by the details. So I simply added one layer blocking out the characters, one layer painting the heads, one for their knives, one for hair, and one for slight shadows. Thus, I had to paint these 5000 people numerous times.

The Finalized Thumbnail Sketch for “Birth of A Tyrant”

In addition to this, I had to paint a convincing desert landscape. It is hard to see behind the crowd, but they stand upon dunes of sand piled high to the canyon wall. To paint this, I simply made it 2 tones, a highlight and a shadow. These colors allowed me to paint the sand dunes that I layered the crowd on top of. To further sell this landscape painting, I painted a rock canyon wall and large rock structures in the distance, dwarfing the people to give a grand sense of scale. To do this, I used the strategy I used with the dunes, only adding many more details, a squared, blocky texture, and varying the colors more.

Finally, my favorite part of the setting is the eclipse. This eclipse painting was done after I saw the eclipse in early 2024. After seeing this site, I wanted to make a painting of it very badly, so I jumped at the opportunity to paint it when someone commissioned me to make this piece. The sight was absolutely stunning and otherworldly. It is hard to put into words, needless to say, but it heavily inspired and motivated me to paint this piece.

Color Palette and Mood

As mentioned before, the colors of this painting tell a story. I intentionally used a limited palette, opting for light yellows and oranges for the highlights and deep reds for the shadows. I only used the dark maroon colors for the darkest parts of the piece and the subject to make them stand out. This limited palette created a distinct mood of dread, suspense, and grandeur. From a technical standpoint, it also made it easy to set everything into the scene easily and uniformly. Sometimes, when using a wide range of colors, objects placed into a scene may not fit correctly and require a deep understanding of color theory. However, when using a limited palette, it serves to create a cohesive mood and look of a painting.

Read More about Fantasy Art Techniques Here

Emotional and Creative Journey

This painting took 8 months to create. 8 months of my life from start until the moment I left it to dry for an additional month. I started with a heart filled with determination and ended with great gratitude to be done with it. Each day was a new challenge, both creatively and mentally, and it started to take its toll after a while. As mentioned, this painting was the most difficult thing I have ever had to paint, by far.

Overcoming Hurdles

Starting the piece, I was excited, passionate, and had a wealth of ideas, so I jumped right in, but as the painting progressed, I eventually hit the rocks. This was my first hurdle. Despite panting rocks many times before, I began to get frustrated. Painting, repainting, and touching up the rocks took me a month alone, and that was after a month or two of prepwork painting the sky and painting the eclipse. This was the point at which I realized this would not be a quick, light, fun few weeks of painting. This will be a long haul.

The First Work in Progress Image of “Birth of a Tyrant” Painted on Canvas

Then I started the crowd. Any momentum I had, whatsoever, completely collapsed. I spent the next 4 months of my life painting figure after figure after figure. One by one, over and over. Every time I finished a session, and it dried, it would change the color ever so slightly. This meant that once it was all finished, I needed to go over everything again and again. Once it was all one color, I had to add the next layer and the next one. Each one adding small details.

By this time, in Michigan, it was getting cold, so I had to force myself to go to the garage and paint for a few minutes until my hands got numb, then go inside to warm my hands to regain feeling, then go back out and do it all again. Once I had finished the crowd, I wanted nothing more than to be done with the piece. So once I finally moved on to the final figure, the thing I wanted to paint the most of the entire piece, I was completely demoralized.

Evolution as an Artist

Yet, despite everything, I am very thankful for this commission and this painting. It was incredibly mentally and physically taxing, but I learned that I could push through my limits. I could overcome the hurdles that were in front of me. I learned that I could have the endurance to keep going and not just make yet another painting but a work of art that tells a story. This marked a significant shift in the kinds of art that I had made in the past, and the direction that I want to create going forward.

Going forward, I want to make art that tells stories and explores the human experience. I don’t want to make paintings just because I can, I want to make art. I want to tell stories. I want to inspire. I want to explore people. Explore human beings, their stories, their triumphs and struggles, and understand them, all while glorifying God along the way. This is a direction that I feel God wants me to move toward and the direction I feel I am most drawn to. 

Sample Art Prints

Reflecting Back on 'Birth of a Tyrant'

This painting has been one of the biggest, the best, the most infuriating paintings I have ever done. I learned so much about art, how I create, and myself through this process. As much as I hated working on this, I still loved it. This fantasy painting was so challenging, but most worthwhile things are, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

If this piece, "Birth of a Tyrant," or its story resonates with you, I invite you to consider purchasing an art print of this oil painting and add to your art collection, as well as support me in continuing to make art.