It's a long story. I'm filling in for another teacher at Art Center who suddenly had to take the term off. An option for one of the previous teacher's assignments was to paint an image inspired by Moby Dick. So in class I decided it might be instructive to come up with an original composition. Like any designed painting, there are two elements to the composition: the line drawing or linear arrangement of the design, and the value arrangement or distribution of lights and darks in the painting. So here's what I came up with based on my brief reading (the night before class) of the synopsis of the story filtered through my love for Tintoretto and N.C. Wyeth. Of course I chose a moment of high drama! Fanatics of Moby Dick will probably find my painting completely ludicrous since I'm so uninformed on the story, but I tried... If I were to really paint a composition inspired by Moby Dick, this is how I would start it. The value study was done 90% with white, burnt umber, and ultramarine blue, with a tiny bit of yellow ochre and burnt sienna. From this point, if I wanted to be more realistic I would hire models and start drawing and taking pics... drawing 11 by 17, oil sketch on paper 8 by 12