Creating Greed

From First Thought to Finished Painting

Greed did not arrive on the canvas fully formed.

Like most of my paintings, it began with a sketch and an idea of the world I wanted to create. But the original drawing was never intended to become a set of instructions. It was simply somewhere to begin.

As the painting developed, Greed began to demand more.

The figure I had originally imagined no longer seemed extravagant enough for the sin he represented. His head changed, his appearance became increasingly magnificent, the cities grew more elaborate and the painting gradually moved away from that first drawing.

In a strange way, the creative process began to imitate the subject itself.

The more I added, the more Greed seemed to want.

This gallery follows that evolution from the earliest sketch and first layers of paint through to the hundreds of tiny details that eventually created the finished work.

It is a glimpse into the way I work — planning enough to begin, but always leaving room for the painting to become something I hadn't anticipated.

Scroll through the stages below and watch Greed become Greed.

Initial sketch for Julia O’Sullivan’s Greed painting, showing the early composition of the figure of Greed above a city.

1. The First Thought

Greed began, as most of my paintings do, in the sketchbook.
The first drawing established the basic composition: Greed dominating the world above while the city sits far beneath him. At this stage the ideas are loose and instinctive. I am working out where the story might live rather than deciding exactly what the finished painting will become.
Much of what appears here will survive. Other things will change completely.

Early stage of the Greed oil painting transferred from the original sketch onto a large canvas.

2. Taking the Drawing to Canvas

The sketch was transferred onto the much larger canvas and the real scale of the composition began to reveal itself.
Greed sits high above the city, connected to the world beneath him through the strange central structure that would eventually become one of the most detailed areas of the painting.
The drawing gives me the framework, but I never regard it as something I must obey.
The painting is allowed to change.

Greed painting in progress showing the redesigned head becoming larger, more elaborate and increasingly extravagant.

5. Greed Becomes Greed

This was the point where Greed began to change.
The head I had originally planned no longer felt enough. As the painting developed, I realised that Greed himself needed to become more magnificent — more excessive, more elaborate and more consumed by the need to possess and display.
So I allowed his head to evolve as I worked.
His appearance became richer and increasingly extravagant, transforming him from the figure I had originally imagined into Greed himself.
It wasn't a change I had planned.
The character simply seemed to demand more.
And perhaps that is entirely appropriate. When would Greed ever believe he had enough?

Developing Greed figure with a more magnificent head, gold details and an increasingly elaborate city surrounding him.

6. More Is Not Enough

Once Greed had begun to transform, I couldn't stop halfway.
His head became increasingly elaborate, his form more imposing and the world surrounding him more excessive. The gold expanded and the city above became more dominant.
This is one of the things I love about painting. However carefully I plan, there comes a point when the work begins to answer back.
Greed was doing exactly that.
He wanted more.

Greed oil painting at a later stage, with the transformed central figure and increasingly detailed cities above and below.

7. The Painting Changes Direction

By now the difference from the original sketch is unmistakable.
Greed has become larger in personality, stranger in appearance and far more commanding. The city above him is changing too, moving away from simple blocks of architecture towards something darker and more elaborate.
Meanwhile, the city below begins to multiply.
The painting is no longer simply being filled in.
It is evolving.

Detailed stage of the Greed painting showing growing architectural detail, jewellery, ornamentation and darker areas of the city.

8. Detail Takes Over

This is where the painstaking work really begins.
Buildings multiply, surfaces darken and the upper city develops into the dense, almost oppressive place I wanted it to become. Greed himself gains jewellery, ornamentation and increasingly intricate details.
The broad foundations are disappearing beneath hundreds of smaller decisions.
From here, every new detail has to earn its place.

Greed painting in progress showing the contrast between the wealthy golden upper world and the densely populated city below.

9. Two Worlds Emerge

The contrast between the worlds is now much stronger.
Above is wealth, gold and excess. Below, the landscape and tightly packed city become increasingly stark.
The central structure binds everything together, preventing the upper and lower halves from becoming two separate paintings.
At this stage I am constantly moving around the canvas — adding something in one area, stepping back, then changing something somewhere else to restore the balance.

Close development stage of the Greed painting with tiny buildings, figures, textures and intricate details being added across the canvas.

10. Filling the Gaps

Now I begin concentrating on the areas that are easy to overlook from a distance.
Tiny buildings, figures, textures, jewellery and objects start filling the painting. The city becomes more densely populated and the landscape gains depth.
This is the stage when hours of work can result in something only a few centimetres wide.
But those tiny details matter.
They are what turn the composition into a world.

Near-complete Greed oil painting by Julia O’Sullivan as final shadows, highlights and fine details are added.

11. The Final Layers

The major elements are now in place, but I am still looking for anything that feels unfinished.
Edges are sharpened. Shadows deepen. Highlights appear. Details are strengthened or removed. Areas that once seemed important may disappear beneath something better.
This is also when I begin checking whether the eye travels through the painting in the way I want it to.
Greed may dominate the canvas, but I want the viewer to wander away from him and discover what else is happening.

Greed Is Complete — But the Story Isn't

You have now watched Greed grow from a sketch into the finished painting.

But what you have seen here is only how I created it.

Every element within the finished work has a reason for being there: the gold mask and tear, the jewellery, the keys, the city, the boiling oil, the spine, the Charity box, the Devil, the puppets and the many smaller details hidden throughout the painting.

They turn Greed from an image into a story about wealth, power, possession, inequality, charity and our endless appetite for more.

And there is another story hidden within it.

Charity — Greed's opposing virtue.

As with all the virtues in this collection, I haven't simply presented Charity as the answer to Greed. I have questioned what happens when virtue itself becomes complicated, performative or self-serving.

To understand why I painted Greed this way, you need to go beyond the creation of the painting and into the ideas behind it.

Enter the Greed Artist Journal

Discover the symbolism, hidden details and personal thoughts behind the finished painting — and why, for Greed, enough is never enough.

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Creating Greed

From First Thought to Finished Painting

Greed Is Complete — But the Story Isn't

Enter the Greed Artist Journal