The Gabriel Wing is a sculpture created by American artist Robert Longo in 1987. It's a large-scale charcoal drawing on paper, measuring over 14 feet tall and 8 feet wide.

According to various sources, including interviews with the artist, here's how Robert Longo created the Gabriel Wing:

Inspiration: Longo was inspired by the idea of angels and the concept of protection. He wanted to create a work that would evoke a sense of power and vulnerability at the same time.

Reference images: Longo collected reference images of wings, including photographs of birds in flight and pictures of angelic figures from art history.

Charcoal drawing: Longo began working on the Gabriel Wing by creating a large-scale charcoal drawing on paper. He used a combination of charcoal pencils and powdered charcoal to achieve the desired texture and tone.

Layering and blending: Longo built up layers of charcoal to create depth and dimensionality in the drawing. He also used blending stumps and tortillons to smooth out the transitions between different areas of the wing.

Erasing and revising: As he worked, Longo would often erase parts of the drawing and revise them, using a combination of erasers and correction fluid to achieve the desired effect.

Scaling up: To achieve the massive scale of the Gabriel Wing, Longo worked on multiple sheets of paper, which he then assembled into a single large piece.

Final touches: Once the drawing was complete, Longo added final touches, including subtle shading and texture effects.

Longo has said that creating the Gabriel Wing was a meditative process that required intense focus and concentration. He spent many hours working on the piece, often listening to music or nature sounds to help him get into a creative flow state.