Tales and Legends

For this week's Illustration Friday word(s), Tales and Legends, my thoughts immediately went to one of my favorite fairytales - the story about a mean stepmother married to an oblivious king. She banishes the princess and turns all the princes into swans. It becomes the task of the princess to turn the swan brothers back into people brothers.

Here's just a bit from The Wild Swans, by Hans Christian Andersen. "But however quietly its white glassy surface rested, there was still a motion on the shore, as its waves rose and fell like the breast of a sleeping child. When the sun was about to set, Eliza saw eleven white swans with golden crowns on their heads, flying towards the land, one behind the other, like a long white ribbon. Then Eliza went down the slope from the shore, and hid herself behind the bushes. The swans alighted quite close to her and flapped their great white wings. As soon as the sun had disappeared under the water, the feathers of the swans fell off, and eleven beautiful princes, Eliza’s brothers, stood near her."

When I was looking up the story, it seems there are many versions of the tale, titles and details - as well as a variety of numbers of brothers - 7? 11? I still love it and... it rekindled a desire to illustrate the whole story. So...that could be a good project.

Plain

For this week's word, 'plain', my thoughts went to the Amish, who are the 'plain' people. This girl is having a little trouble with the 'plain' part.

Stitch

To illustrate stitch, stitching...thinking sewing, thinking stitching wounds, thinking about NOT illustrating real wounds but still showing repair. So...perhaps the great unknown stitching up a wound in the world.

100%

I was having trouble thinking of a concept for 100%.....kept thinking of 100% pure 'something'. So, it became 100% pure color-no shades, no gradients-had to push aside my painterly leanings.

Soar

I was thinking of the view of the bird soaring above the landscape. My thoughts then went to Iowa and the upcoming caucus votes, which then led me to think of the Iowa landscape, the focus on Christianity (or just the semblance of), the difficulty of peace on earth and the hope that the soaring peace dove might offer. I doubt that all these things come across in the illustration-but they're there in my head!

if entry sample

This is the illustration background for a child's prayer/poem written by a client. The text goes over most of the illustration.

Beginning

December 28, 2007
I want to be able to post to Illustration Friday, so....just set this blog up-I love so many of them-hoping to eventually get something a bit more personal-in the creative realm, that is. So...here goes. These are my girls, Maggie and Camelia - ready for Christmas and whatever wonderful thing each day brings.