Angus Og 1908

John Duncan painted Angus Og in a dreamy, symbolist style, but it feels like a sketch, with thin paint and a soft, washy palette. The focus seems less on tight representation and more on capturing a feeling. It’s all about process, about getting the idea down. Looking closely, the paint application is really loose. You can see the brushstrokes in the sky and the way the colors blend into each other. It's not about hiding the making, but showing it, like the drips and thin washes on the rocks beneath Angus Og's feet. The wings, are softly rendered with a kind of pearlescent glow. They are painted as though they are catching the light, they seem almost translucent. This interest in mood and feeling, and Duncan's use of color relates to the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, who were also interested in mythology, creating dreamlike images, and art as a conversation across time, where meanings are never quite fixed.