A cast study painting of the Nike of Samothrace I painted in the cast hall in class and out of class. Working with the professor for a semester-long conceptual piece based on the Nike, I illustrated the dynamism of the gesture with bold color and various temperature changes representing the dramatic light and shadow transition. Originally a diptyc, I excluded the lower panel because I do not yet feel as though I have developed the conceptual ideas in it clearly. In the lower panel the cast is fully represented to the bottom, with a huge amount of dark space below to anchor the floating figure, and a misty brushwork to represent the mixing of air and water, the two elements that were so excellently captured in the original sculpture from the Greek isle of Samothrace. The Nike was created and installed in the temple of the Great Gods in ancient Greece, 3rd century B.C., in a pool of water on the coast where there was always a sea breeze rippling the water. The Nike of Samothrace was created in celebration of a victorious naval battle, and she was sculpted to appear to be landing on a sculpted prow of a ship, which sat in the pool of water for centuries.