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Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This is an original work not a print or a copy.
This painting, Odysseus with Bow, comes from my ongoing interest in Greek classicism and how the stories of Homer still connect to our modern ideas about strength and identity. I’ve been teaching the Iliad and Odyssey in my humanities courses, and one scene that always stands out to me is when Odysseus returns home, disguised and unrecognized, and proves who he is by stringing his massive bow and shooting an arrow through a row of axe heads. It’s one of the great moments of literature—about skill, endurance, and self-knowledge.
In this painting, I wanted to show that same mix of control and power. The figure is older, muscular, and focused—his strength coming from experience as much as from his body. The surface of the paint reflects that. I used thick layers, applied with both stiff bristle brushes and plastering knives, to give the forms a sense of weight and tension. The texture builds up across the muscles and bow, making the surface feel as physical as the subject.
The palette is earthy and direct—flesh tones against warm neutrals, with strong directional brushwork showing movement and strain. The background is loosely textured and meant to suggest the plaster walls of Odysseus’s palace, simple and timeless.
This painting is on extra-thick gallery-wrapped canvas, so the edges are painted and finished. It’s ready to hang without a frame. Each piece I send is carefully packed, insured, and shipped from my studio in Illinois.
Details
Title:Odysseus with Bow
Artist: Kenney Mencher
Medium: Oil on stretched canvas
Size: 16 x 20 x 1.5 inches
Year: 2025
Signed: Lower left
Frame: Unframed, gallery-wrapped edges
Condition: Original, new
Shipping: Free, insured, 3–4 weeks
FREE SHIPPING
Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This is an original work not a print or a copy.
This painting, Odysseus with Bow, comes from my ongoing interest in Greek classicism and how the stories of Homer still connect to our modern ideas about strength and identity. I’ve been teaching the Iliad and Odyssey in my humanities courses, and one scene that always stands out to me is when Odysseus returns home, disguised and unrecognized, and proves who he is by stringing his massive bow and shooting an arrow through a row of axe heads. It’s one of the great moments of literature—about skill, endurance, and self-knowledge.
In this painting, I wanted to show that same mix of control and power. The figure is older, muscular, and focused—his strength coming from experience as much as from his body. The surface of the paint reflects that. I used thick layers, applied with both stiff bristle brushes and plastering knives, to give the forms a sense of weight and tension. The texture builds up across the muscles and bow, making the surface feel as physical as the subject.
The palette is earthy and direct—flesh tones against warm neutrals, with strong directional brushwork showing movement and strain. The background is loosely textured and meant to suggest the plaster walls of Odysseus’s palace, simple and timeless.
This painting is on extra-thick gallery-wrapped canvas, so the edges are painted and finished. It’s ready to hang without a frame. Each piece I send is carefully packed, insured, and shipped from my studio in Illinois.
Details
Title:Odysseus with Bow
Artist: Kenney Mencher
Medium: Oil on stretched canvas
Size: 16 x 20 x 1.5 inches
Year: 2025
Signed: Lower left
Frame: Unframed, gallery-wrapped edges
Condition: Original, new
Shipping: Free, insured, 3–4 weeks
