A Devil in the Detail

Can you find the Devil's face in "Hell's Quagmire"?

At some point along the way as I painting "Hell's Quagmire", it dawned on me to include the laughing face of the Devil.  I certainly hadn't set out to do so, though the "Hellish" theme of this piece was never far from my mind.  Most likely the face just emerged from the torn up landscape of mud and puddle, not unlike how the random forms of clouds can suddenly suggest specific objects. 

And so I went with it.  I didn't want it to be too blatant though.  I preferred it be something that a viewer would one day spot on their own, which would increase the "oh my god" factor.  Perhaps I did my job too well though, as to date no one has spotted it on their own.  So I thought I'd reveal it in this blog post.  But bear this in mind:  once you see it, you won't be able to un-see it. 

If you're staring at the painting for a while and can't find it, here's a couple of clues:



1.  The torn up stumps of trees create the horns atop his head.

2.  The face takes up a large area...almost half...of the muddy field.



And lastly I've provided this graphic which should make it crystal clear:

After all, if Lucifer can't be found on a Great War battlefield, then he is one slippery devil indeed!