Goddess Athena was a Greek Goddess of crafts, wisdom and war.
A symbol of hers is the olive tree, depicted in the owl's beak, which is how she won the right to name the City of Athens. Offering the olive tree for wood, food and trade.
 
She created Medusa who was previously a priestess. She turned her into a gorgon to protect her from further harm from men after she was defiled. She was able to take her revenge on men instead and turn them to stone.
Later after Perseus overcame Medusa with her reflection, Athena used Medusa's head on her shield to scare her opponents in war.
 
Goddess Athena believed that people should only go to war as a last resort and only if they fought for a noble or just cause.
Artworks shown with her and owls associate her with wisdom.
She was a guardian of Athens and the Goddess of heroes.
 
She is usually depicted with armour, her shield and a spear.
I have painted her as a modern Goddess who uses her mind and wisdom from others to solve her problems. She is kind and helps others.
 
Measurements 49.5x60x2cm plus overhanging collage for the tree
 
Look through the photos for close ups, making of and a video.
 
PROGRESS DESCRIPTION
This painting was done in stages as I got "stuck" multiple times and wasn't sure how to proceed. I started with every green and brown bit of nature I could tear from magazines and collaged the background. I purposely left the edges overlapping the canvas as leaves and the trunk. I outlined the shape of the person I wanted.
I hated the green so did a green/gold wash over the top which was hideous. I painted over it again in a darker green making sure that you could still see the original plants and flowers from the collage.
Then I did a brown wash over the tree.
 
I began work on the woman. I didn't know who she was at this stage. I used modelling paste and a stencil for her hair piece/crown/armour. She had a 5 o'clock shadow which I also wasn't happy with so I shelved her for months.
I picked her up again and used poscas to add details on the background and tree. She went back on the shelf again for another few months.
 
I was sad that I hadn't finished her, so began work repainting her face and fixing up her hair on the right hand side so it flowed. Hurray! Some progress I was happy with!
There was a big open space between her and the tree that needed a bird. I had previously painted a spoonbill but ended up using it for it's own artwork. I used some of my gelli printed papers to cut out some birds and glued them on. The colours were similar to her eyes but I ended up disliking them. I contemplated scrapping the whole thing and cutting her out to glue on another artwork. It was a bit drastic but I was really not loving where it was going. Then I decided she was going to be a Goddess and needed an owl so I looked up Goddesses with owls as their symbol and Athena was the one! Next was scouring google images for an owl to fit over the shape of the bird I needed to glue over. I painted it on a separate piece of canvas and used poscas to add details. I also painted an olive branch, another of Athena's symbols, and glued it all down.
Las step was to add some last details with poscas and seal it all.
 
So glad I pushed through and finished her. She is divine!